Opening screen: Western Australian Courts & Tribunals Reconciliation Statement Joint Sitting 29 May 2023
[knock, knock]
Usher: Silence in court. All stand.
Chief Justice Quinlan: This is a special sitting of the courts and the tribunal responsible for the administration of justice in Western Australia.
Before proceeding further, I ask Vaughan Maguire, a representative of the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation to Welcome us to Country.
Vaughan Maguire: Thanks.
Aboriginal Welcome to Countries have always existed since time began, since [Whadjuk word] our God, our creator has actually placed us here as the carers, the keepers of this country.
Over 75,000 years of knowledge, understanding and culture customs and civilizations, our people utilize that [Whadjuk word] as a place and a source of carrying on stories, generations after generations.
So as we stand here today, proud of who we are as Aboriginal people of the First Nations of Aboriginal people of Australia - may we unite with each and every one of you within this court and may we actually look at a better, better future for the people who are coming behind us. Still carrying on our stories, our culture, our language.
[Whadjuk language.]
Hello and welcome, welcome to Whadjuk Country, my Country, your Country and our Country. Lands of my grandmothers and grandfathers before us.
[Whadjuk language.]
As as I stand here looking at you seated.
[Whadjuk language.]
Makes my heart happy, strong and proud, to be here. I'd also like to acknowledge the First Nations peoples of this country who are seated in this room, and to especially welcome our interpreters who actually play a very, very special role.
This song is about the trapdoor spider and it actually originates from [Whadjuk word] Kings Park, where my great great grandmother was born, who happened to actually see the white sails coming up the [Whadjuk word].
[Singing in Whadjuk language with tapping sticks.]
Thank you.
Chief Justice Quinlan: Thank you Mr Maguire.
As I noted at the beginning of this hearing, this is a special sitting of the courts and the tribunal responsible for the administration of justice in Western Australia.
For the first time in the state's history, the Supreme Court of Western Australia, the District Court of Western Australia, the Family Court of Western Australia, the Children's Court of Western Australia, the Magistrates Court of Western Australia, the Coroner's Court of Western Australia, and the State Administrative Tribunal sit in joint sitting.
We do so, not only on the lands of the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation, whose Elders past and present we acknowledge, but throughout the entire state of Western Australia.
This sitting is being live streamed to courts sitting on the traditional lands of the various peoples, who make up the original owners and custodians of the lands of this state.
In those courtrooms, we are joined by members of the various courts and the tribunal sitting with us, in addition to members from all of the courts and the tribunal who join us in this courtroom.
It is likely to be the largest formal gathering of judicial officers that has occurred in this state.
We pay our respects to all first Australians, and to the custodians of the lands in which we work. And we particularly acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons, present both in this courtroom and in the other locations in which we are sitting.
Including members of the Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee, Senior Aboriginal Liaison Officers of the courts, board members and interpreters from Aboriginal Interpreting Western Australia, representatives from the Aboriginal Legal Service, and our own court and tribunal staff.
The purpose of our courts and tribunal sitting in this way is to launch the Western Australian Courts and Tribunals Reconciliation Statement.
That statement, which has been developed in consultation with the Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee, is intended to mark the formal acknowledgments by the courts and the tribunals in Western Australia of the history of the relationship between the justice system and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Western Australia, as we look towards our shared future.
The statement acknowledges, with regret, the failures of the past and commits all of the courts and the tribunal to which we belong, to equal justice for all in our community.
Following today's launch the statement will be displayed prominently in all court and tribunal locations. The statement will be displayed as a reminder of our commitment and a statement of the principles to which we will continue to hold ourselves accountable.
On behalf of all of our various jurisdictions, we thank those who have assisted to make today's statement a reality. To the members of the Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committee, who met with the heads of jurisdiction and shared their own experience and perspectives on how the courts and tribunal might best express the aspirations both of the courts and the tribunal and the communities that we all serve.
To Nikita Hawke, Executive Manager, Aboriginal Strategic Services and Gina Hill, Aboriginal Justice Transformation and their teams for their support. To the Courts and Technology Group for its work in enabling this sitting to take place cross the state.
And to Jamie Freestone and Ann Hatten for their tireless work in organizing and preparing today's sitting. With those thanks we formally launch the statement by reading it now.
Coroner Fogliani: We, the heads of jurisdiction of Western Australian courts and tribunals, acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the first Australians and the Aboriginal peoples of Western Australia as the traditional custodians of the lands on which we live and work.
Chief Magistrate Heath: We acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their Elders past, present and future. We respect and celebrate the diverse languages, cultures and spiritual connection to the land, seas, sky and waterways of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
President Quail: We acknowledge, with regret, that over the course of our shared history, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have faced significant barriers to justice in our courts and tribunals, whether as parties to civil proceedings, witnesses, victims of crime or accused persons from criminal proceedings.
Chief Judge Wager: We acknowledge, with regret, that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to be over-represented in the criminal justice system and face obstacles in pursuing their rights in a variety of other ways in our justice system as a whole.
Justice Pritchard: We acknowledge, with regret, that negative experiences within our courts and tribunals on the part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have contributed to mistrust and a lack of confidence in the justice system.
Justice Sutherland: We recognize that our justice system can only truly be said to be fair and just, when it is fair and just for all people. We accept that it is our responsibility to create and foster trust and confidence in our justice system on the part of everyone in our community.
Chief Justice Quinlan: We therefore commit ourselves, and the courts and tribunals to which we belong, to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Western Australia to improve access to court and tribunal services across the state, to ensure that Western Australian courts and tribunals are culturally sensitive and culturally safe, and to foster mutually respectful relationships between our courts and tribunals and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
That concludes today's formal sitting. Thank you for your attendance and your attention. We invite you now to join us for refreshments in whatever location you have been able to attend. We will now adjourn.
Usher: All stand. This honourable court is now adjourned.
End.