QCCL Media Release
The President of the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties, Ian Dearden, today supported the proposed apology to indigenous people to be delivered by Chief Magistrate Diane Fingleton on behalf of the Queensland magistracy. In doing so, Mr Dearden rejected the reported criticism from Chief Justice Paul de Jersey that the move was “not a proper use of the court”.
“The Queensland Council for Civil Liberties considers it entirely appropriate and an important step in the reconciliation process that the Queensland Magistrates Court apologise for any past injustice to indigenous people. This apology does not, in any way, affect the ability of magistrates to deliver impartial justice to all who come before their courts, regardless of their racial or ethnic origin, in the future”.
While recognising that Chief Justice de Jersey was entitled to his views, Mr Dearden noted that there was little difference between the proposed apology by the Chief Magistrate and the regular attendance of magistrates at National Police Remembrance Day Ceremonies honouring police officers killed in the line of duty. “No-one suggests that magistrates attending such ceremonies become incapable of impartially dealing with matters before the court that involve police officers as complainants or witnesses” Mr Dearden said.
The Queensland Council for Civil Liberties joins with the Attorney-General, Matt Foley, in supporting the apology, which it believes is long overdue and an important step forward to recognising past injustices in order to correct present and future attitudes. “This is most important in the Magistrates Court, which deals with 95% of criminal cases in Queensland.
This is the coalface of the criminal justice system, where most indigenous people have to deal with the courts. We see the proposed apology as an important step in coming to terms with our past so that we can deal more fairly with our present and our future” commented Mr Dearden.
9 August 2000
Queensland Council for Civil Liberties