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WA Supreme Court proceedings to be streamed live
West Australian residents will be able to better access the courtroom experience via public live streaming moving forward, marking a step forward for access to justice in Australia’s largest state.
Jerome Doraisamy
WA Attorney-General John Quigley said that for the first time in the state’s history, the wider community would have access to proceedings in the Supreme Court, starting with the streaming of the civil trial arising from the 2014 bushfires at Mt Helena, Parkerville and Stoneville.
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Courts in the state’s David Malcolm Justice Centre and Stirling Gardens complex will have the capacity to webstream.
The webstreaming facilities mean that the court can stream a hearing live to the Internet or record a hearing and make it available to the public for download, both of which will be accessible via the Supreme Court website.
Speaking about the development, Mr Quigley said he was pleased that the public streaming of selected court proceedings had finally become a reality.
“It means members of the West Australian community now have the opportunity to see our courts in action firsthand,” he said.
“This is an important step in facilitating access to our courts to all members of the community, particularly those residing outside of the Perth metropolitan area who might otherwise not be able to attend court to view a trial.”
Broadcasting proceedings will hopefully debunk many of the myths that surround the operation of our courts, he continued.
“Further, it will encourage and promote more respect for our judicial system and provide a better understanding of how our courts work,” he said.
“This was an important project championed by the Honourable Wayne Martin, former chief justice, and I am pleased that after more than a decade of his hard work and perseverance, it has finally come to fruition.”
