Speech to open David Malcolm Justice Centre The Hon Michael Mischin MLC Attorney-General of Western Australia
Thank you. Pauline Bagdonavicius, Acting Director General of the Department of the Attorney General, and I note and endorse your acknowledgment of the special guests present today. Thank you also to Dr Richard Walley for his warm welcome to country. I also acknowledge that the Chief Justice of Western Australia, the Hon Justice Wayne Martin AC, is unable to attend today due to his commitments as Lieutenant-Governor. On 14 September 2009, Chief Justice Martin, delivered his Law Week address, 16 | BRIEF AUGUST 2016
and mentioned the challenges facing the administration of justice in this state. He opened on the theme of court infrastructure, and was critical of the condition of some of the courts around this State. In respect of regional courts, he spoke of the inadequacy of the courts in Kununurra, Broome, Karratha, Carnarvon and Kalgoorlie, and complained that although Fitzroy Crossing had been blessed with funding for a new police complex, there was none for the
courthouse. He also made specific reference to the failure, notwithstanding some 20 years of proposals, submissions, arguments and promises, to provide adequate and contemporary facilities for the Supreme Court of Western Australia. Fast-forward to today. I am proud to be part of the Government that in the past seven years has addressed many of these inadequacies to an unprecedented scale.