Redfern 'ideal' location for state's first Koori court

Director of the NSW and ACT Aboriginal Legal Services, Trevor Christian, revealed to The City News that talks are currently being held with the NSW Chief Magistrate and Chief Judge about introducing a specific division that sentences Aboriginal defendants who have pleaded guilty.

"There's no doubt at all that Redfern would be the ideal place to put the state's first Koori court," Mr Christian said.

Proposals have already been drafted, according to Mr Christian, and are based on models used in the Victorian Koori Courts, the Murri Courts in Queensland, and the Nunga Court in South Australia.

"I think it's got to happen at Redfern . . . with Aboriginal people sitting up there with the magistrate, advising them about how to sentence people who plead guilty," he said.

Mr Christian believes that a Koori Court in Redfern would encourage more positive participation from offenders, and could address many of the broader issues facing the local Indigenous community.

"We could organise to have corrective services there, we'd have people from rehabilitation centres, from drug rehabilitation centres, and Aboriginal rehabilitation centres," he said.

"Support like this [will] help Aboriginal people and stop them from trying to be repeat offenders."

Mr Christian raised the issue after expressing his concern over the ongoing implications of the closure of Redfern Courthouse - which he said has been a big loss for the Aboriginal population in the area.

The City of Sydney shares this sentiment, outlining its concern in a recent submission to the NSW Inquiry into Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage.

The City called upon the Standing Committee on Social Issues to recommend to the State Government to restore chamber magistrate services and access to legal advice for Indigenous communities in the Redfern area.

The Council also called for "the creation of a specific Aboriginal service to assist local Indigenous people to successfully re-integrate back into the community, to assist in preventing continued Indigenous over-representation in the criminal justice system."

The NSW Attorney-General, John Hatzistergos, last year stated his intention to develop a Koori court in NSW, with the aim of having a number of options available to magistrates and communities in dealing with Aboriginal crime – allowing them to choose the most appropriate option, both for the offender and the nature of the crime.

Mr Christian said it is his intention to push the matter even further with the Chief Magistrate in coming months.