Page 40 - Keeping the Peace

34 Keeping the Peace – A History of Honorary Justices in Victoria
The Magistrates’ Court Act 1989:
a new era
In 1989, the government introduced a Bill, which, among other purposes, abolished the role of JPs sitting on the bench. This, they said, was the culmination of the professionalisation of the Magistrates’ Court and was intended to promote accessibility of the court and create a more efficient and effective justice system.70 The opposition argued that the role of JP had been reduced because ‘the government does not believe in the services of volunteers’ despite the fact that JPs have served the community well for over two hundred years.71
At the same time, the Office of BJ was created to meet the needs for after hours bail applications and the government encouraged JPs to apply to become a BJ. The issue of the training and legal knowledge of JPs was central to these debates. The creation of the Office of BJ, for example, included the requirement that all BJs undertake training designed and paid for by the Attorney-General’s department. It was also stated that the Attorney-General, the Honorable Mr McCutcheon MP, would do everything he could to ensure that a JP or a future appointment would have the opportunity to become a BJ and that there would be an intensive course run by the Leo Cussen Institute. Speaking of the ‘tragedy’ over the years of not having compulsory training for JPs, regrets were expressed about the ways the office had been neglected and the declining numbers of appointments over the 1980s.72
The RVAHJ raised strong concerns about the dramatic changes in their role. It cancelled its journal for December 1987 to focus its energies on opposing the Bill and urged its members to write to their local parliamentarian advocating for the preservation of the current roles for JPs. They conducted a media conference and ran an advertisement in The Sun and The Age on 23 October 1987.73
The commencement of the Magistrates’ Court Act 1989 (Vic) in September 1990 introduced several changes for HJs. For example, it abolished the office of JP for mayors, removed the need for JPs to be re-registered every few years, abolished the retirement age for JPs which was previously 72 years, and abolished the position of Commissioner for Taking Affadavits. The Office of BJ could be filled by people who had not yet reached 65 years and the post had to be abandoned once the office holder reached 70.
70 Victoria Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Assembly, 26 May 1989, Government Printer, p. 2132. 71 Victoria Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Council, 26 May 1989, Government Printer, p. 1281. 72 Victoria Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Assembly, 26 May 1989, Government Printer, p. 2129. 73 ‘The Justice of the Peace’, December 1987.