Report on the Review of the Murri Court

Description

In September 2005 an internal review of the Murri Court was commissioned to assess the court’s effectiveness and whether its operations can be improved with a view to making it a recognised and permanent fixture of Queensland’s Magistrates Court and Childrens Court system. The review was conducted by the Department of Justice and Attorney-General’s Strategic Policy Unit. In this report, chapter one sets out the review process, provides a short history of the first Murri Court, the reasons for the development of an Indigenous court and a description of other Australian Indigenous courts. Chapter two describes the features of the Murri Court, and chapter three presents an analysis of current objectives. The review found that additional resources would support the Murri Court by improving operations and alleviating stresses on the court system and stakeholders, which has resulted in additional funding from the Queensland Government. Chapter four sets out the additional resources that would help ensure the Murri Court continues to operate in its current locations, listing 18 recommendations with an update of their current status.