6 appointments made to WA Magistrates Court
Western Australian Attorney-General John Quigley has named six appointees to the Magistrates Court of the Wildflower State.
Genevieve Cleary, Benjamin Tyers, Joanne Andretich, Andrew Matthews, Gavin MacLean and Benjamin White have all filled regional positions in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia, having commenced earlier this week.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
WA Law Society president Nicholas van Hattem said: “On behalf of the wider WA legal profession, I warmly congratulate the six new [magistrates].”
“Each appointee possesses a wealth of legal experience, and every other essential quality required to discharge their duty as a member of the [court] with distinction. I wish them all the best for a successful and rewarding judicial career,” he added.
Both Mr MacLean and Mr Matthews are Indigenous practitioners, and all six of the appointees have worked variously at Legal Aid WA, the Aboriginal Legal Service, as prosecutors or have operated their own practices as barristers and solicitors.
“They have a demonstrated level of Aboriginal cultural competency, thereby supporting the [Attorney-General’s] efforts to improve representation of [Indigenous] people in the Magistrates Court,” the Law Society said in a statement.
Moreover, the appointments of both Ms Andretich and Ms Cleary help improve the representation of women in judicial roles.
The appointments follow last week’s announcement of three new judges to the state’s District Court.