Key groups are stepping up a campaign for a major court, police and justice precinct in Werribee and will meet next month to hammer out their case.
The Wyndham justice precinct meeting is an invitation-only event involving 30 stakeholders from business, social and legal justice services, government and health care sectors.
Chris Potaris, executive director of the Committee for Wyndham, which is organising the March 28 event with the Wyndham Legal Service, says the need for the specialist precinct is urgent.
Mr Potaris said local infrastructure had failed to keep up with Wyndham’s booming population, resulting in “patchy access to basic justice services”.
He said the precinct – earmarked by the Metropolitan Planning Authority for a four-hectare site around the existing Werribee police station – needed a new court house, police station, Legal Aid centre and a “one-stop shop” for numerous services.
“Access to pre and post-court services [including] mental health, drug and alcohol, welfare and housing, gambling and other services is an integral part of the justice system and needs to be as accessible as traditional justice infrastructure,” Mr Potaris said.
Wyndham Legal Service senior policy lawyer Shona Moore said people in outer-metropolitan areas who were unable to travel to the city had poor access to justice services.
“Considering the demographics of those living in outer-metropolitan areas, there is even more of a need to make sure access to justice is obtainable,” she said.
“The question of equality of the law for outer-metropolitan communities needs to be one of concern to all local, state and federal governments in Australia. Wyndham has an old and inappropriate court building that does not meet the community’s needs, limited physical presence of Legal Aid, a single community legal centre whose resources restrict its community outreach [programs], a police station that cannot even accommodate its staff and other significant challenges.”
Speakers at the meeting will include Inspector Damien Christensen, Collingwood Neighbourhood Justice Centre director Kerry Walker, magistrate Noreen Toohey, Wyndham Community Legal Service manager Denis Nelthorpe, and Paul Byrne from the Metropolitan Planning Authority.
