It's a case of out of sight, out of mind for the Launceston Family Law Court and the federal government.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Six months after lawyers first raised safety concerns over the adequacy of the Family Law Court building, and four months since federal Attorney-General Christian Porter committed to visiting the site, there has been no sign of him.
Lawyers who work at the court have been raising concerns about the adequacy of the court's location and its facilities since August last year, and have reiterated incidents of violence and intimidation that have occurred.
They want the court relocated because they think the location on the corner of Brisbane and George streets is too small and set up in a way that puts the safety of court users at risk.
Family Law Practitioners Association of Tasmania chairwoman Julia Higgins said a man tried to jump a front counter while children were in the building in November and court users are routinely intimidated.
A proposed new location for the court had been previously suggested, but no action appears to have been taken to advance the idea. Bass MHR Bridget Archer, to her credit, has visited the court. But she has not yet been able to secure a visit from the AG, who has said he remains committed to visiting Launceston. However good the intention, the promise of a visit will not solve the problems that families who need to use those facilities face every day, let alone the lawyers who represent them. These constituents have raised concerns for six months, without any type of action on behalf of the government.
That is unacceptable when we are talking about violent and intimidation incidents faced by families. The safety of the people who work at the court, along with those who need to attend, should be paramount, and facilities should not make it harder for justice to be carried out. A commitment to visit would fall on deaf ears to those who are dealing with the fallout of these violent incidents - we are waiting for some concrete action. Action and solutions, even interim ones, need to be found, before something more serious happens.