Following the swearing in of the new magistrates, there will be 70 female and 71 male magistrates in the Local Court.

They will replace magistrates who have retired from the court and will undergo training and spend at least a year in the Sydney metropolitan region sitting in the Local Court, Children’s Court and Coroners Court before commencing country service.

Attorney-General Mark Speakman welcomed the expertise of the new appointees, calling the Local Court the “engine room of the NSW justice system, dealing with 96 per cent of all criminal prosecutions and more than 90 per cent of civil cases”.

“Our new magistrates have an impressive breadth of experience across the legal system and will be a tremendous asset to the Local Court,” he said.

“In addition, the new appointments will bring the local court nearer to gender parity than ever before, with 49.6 per cent of magistrates being women. It is encouraging to see this figure edge closer in a profession that has traditionally been male-dominated.”

Law Society of NSW president Juliana Warner also welcomed the appointments, praising Mr Speakman for recognising four people who “each have considerable experience” as suitable appointees to the bench.

“Michael Ong, Kasey Pearce, Gareth Christofi and Rebecca Hosking will each bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Local Court and I warmly congratulate them on their appointments to the bench,” she said.

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“Members of our profession play a valuable role in the community and in providing access to justice. It is pleasing to see that this contribution has been reflected in these latest appointments and I have every confidence Mr Ong, Ms Pearce, Mr Christofi and Ms Hosking will make exceptional judicial officers.”

Ms Warner added that while the Law Society welcomes the four appointments that replace retiring magistrates, she will continue to advocate additional magistrates to ease the pressure on the state’s local courts.