Macarthur region’s court system buckling under population pressures
The Macarthur region’s court system is at breaking point and in desperate need of investment if it’s going to cope with booming population growth.
Macarthur
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THE MACARTHUR region’s court system is at breaking point and in desperate need of investment if it’s going to cope with booming population growth.
That’s the view of Macarthur Law Society president Brett McGrath, who says the local court system is ‘buckling’ under pressure.
Mr McGrath is backing calls by Law Society of NSW president Doug Humphreys for investment in local courts and the establishment of a multi jurisdictional court precinct in the area.
“With the region anticipated to have about 600,000 people, it means that we need urgent investment in infrastructure for our courts now,” Mr McGrath said.
Camden Courthouse currently sits two days a month and only deals with domestic violence cases.
“Picton Courthouse has similar restrictions,” Mr McGrath said. “The actual physical structure of the buildings is no longer appropriate, which is why we would need a new court facility at a state level for local and district courts.
“Campbelltown is already at capacity for its local and district court matters and is the feeder for Liverpool and Cabramatta which has some of the highest volumes of violent and gun crime in the state.”
Mr McGrath said building a multi jurisdictional facility should include a federal circuit court for family law cases.
“Anywhere in the Macarthur region would be a win because it would be accessible within 20 minutes to half an hour for people,” he said.
“Multi jurisdictional means local and district courts, but also a federal circuit court for family law matters because at the moment it’s at least and hour travel in good traffic to get to either Parramatta, Sydney or Wollongong.”
People living in the Macarthur region having to go through family law courts are faced with an ‘agonising’ experience, according to Mr McGrath.
“Not only are you going through the separation of family and loved ones,” he said.
“You’ve also got to take time out of your life to resolve it, and what is exacerbating that problem are the delays in the court.
“You can wait up to two or three years for a final hearing which is particularly difficult for matters involving children.”
Mr McGrath said establishing a new court precinct would be an economic driver for the community.
“People can stay in the area but you’ve also got law firms that will come in and all the ancillary services that are provided for a family court once its established,” he said.
A NSW Department of Justice spokeswoman said the government was committed to ensuring justice infrastructure was able to meet community needs.
“The government has under review court capacity across the state, including in south-west Sydney and at specific locations in regional NSW,” she said.
“It will also consider the continued use of digital technology, both in asset management and service delivery,”
Campbelltown Courthouse currently operates seven courtrooms which includes courtrooms for local court magistrates sitting every day and over 40 weeks of district court sittings every year, as well as children’s court sittings.
The last major work at Campbelltown Courthouse was carried out in 2016 which was a $770,000 technology upgrade to all courtrooms.
Major upgrades were carried out at Picton and Camden Courthouses in 2013.
Further restoration work was completed at Picton Courthouse in 2017 at a cost of $650,000 after the building was damaged by storms and floods.
A $150,000 audio-visual link was aldo installed at Picton last year.
Law Society of NSW backs calls for justice precinct
Law Society of NSW president Doug Humphreys has called for expanded court services in the Macarthur region.
In an editorial published on the Law Society’s website, Mr Humphreys said without investment the local court system would be crippled by an increasing population.
“The justice facilities in Macarthur are overloaded and this is causing unmanageable delays and costs for residents,” he said.
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“Macarthur is serviced by three court complexes at Campbelltown, Camden and Picton, all of which are clogged with matters.”
Mr Humphreys said residents, legal practitioners and community groups had expressed concerns about the overloaded courts at the recent Macarthur Access to Justice Forum.
“It was agreed the only way to address the urgent need for court resources was to establish a new multi-jurisdiction justice precinct in the Macarthur,” he said. “This is a project now vigorously being advocated by the NSW and Macarthur law societies.”