Launceston's new federal magistrate is likely to face plenty of family law cases when he or she starts work at the end of June, statistics obtained by The Examiner yesterday show.
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The figures show that about 141 cases were awaiting Family Court pre-trial hearing in Tasmania last November, and clearance is well below performance standards set for the service.
It is understood that about 55 of the cases involve property settlement and about 90 concern arrangements for children.
Last June the delay in hearing child custody cases was 75 weeks, a massive blow-out from 46 weeks in June 1998. The delay for property cases in June 1999 was around 68 weeks.
Yet performance standards stipulate that delays should be no greater than 43 weeks for child cases and 48 for those involving property.
The statistics highlight the urgent need for extra Family Court resources in the State, and support the Federal Government's decision to appoint a magistrate in Launceston under the new Federal Magistrates Service.
Attorney-General Daryl Williams on Monday announced the appointment of 16 new magistrates for the service, which will relieve judges of many of the less complex cases under federal jurisdictions.
The service is expected to be operating by the end of June.
Although the move fell short of calls for the appointment of a Northern Family Court judge to replace Justice Edward Butler, who retired in December 1996, it met with general approval among family lawyers.
Senior family lawyer Kim Paterson said yesterday that the biggest problem in clearing the Family Court backlog would be that the cases held up were generally the most complex, which required a judge rather than a magistrate.
But he said the appointment of registrars in the senior executive service band in Hobart in early 1999 had relieved judges of many less complex cases.
