A spokesman for Wyndham City Council said Werribee Magistrates’ Court, which currently serves the area, was “outdated and unsafe”.
“Wyndham’s population has grown from 40,000 people to more than 300,000 since these [existing] law courts were built, and as such, it is failing to properly service the community,” he said.
An artist’s impression of the completed Wyndham Law Courts complex.Credit: Court Services Victoria
“Without immediate action the severity of the issues at the existing court will only increase as Wyndham’s population is estimated to surpass 500,000 by 2040.
“We welcome the significant investment into the new court precinct in recent years
and reinforce the importance of them being operationalised.”
Specialist family violence courts were included in the planning and design of the Wyndham site. This was done under efforts to meet a key royal commission recommendation, to offer victims greater security, including private interview rooms and the option to give evidence through video links or behind privacy screens.
Melissa Hardham, the chief executive of community legal centre Westjustice, said she was concerned about the delay in opening the new courts.
Treasurer Tim Pallas and Premier Jacinta Allan on May 7, the day of Victorian budget.Credit: Getty Images
She said when the complex does open it might present an opportunity to work with the government on developing further services in the precinct, such as mental health or drug and alcohol support.
The delay has also disappointed those who want the complex to be an anchor for the government-designated East Werribee employment precinct, which the council wants to turn into a major employment destination to service the region. The precinct’s backers want to prevent two-thirds of the area’s residents leaving their boundaries for work.
An artist’s impression of Wyndham Law Courts.
Wyndham City councillor Mia Shaw, whose ward covers East Werribee and who has previously run for state parliament with the Liberal Party, said the decision to push back the courts’ opening date indicated the state government was never serious about creating jobs in the area.
“If the government has run out of money to staff their law courts, how can we possibly believe they’ve got money for East Werribee and won’t sell the land for housing?” Shaw said.
A state government spokesperson said the courts were an enormous investment in the western suburbs.
“We are in discussions with Court Services Victoria on plans to operationalise the courts once construction is completed,” the spokesperson said.
Labor insists the Wyndham and Werribee regions are still being adequately serviced by specialist family violence courts in surrounding areas.
Shadow Attorney-General Michael O’Brien said Victoria had the nation’s worst court backlogs.
“Delaying the Wyndham Law Courts will just mean more Victorians forced to wait even longer for access to justice,” he said.
“Only Labor would fund a new court complex without the money to also staff it. It’s like a Yes, Minister episode except it’s not funny.”
The development comes as about 100 guards at Victoria’s largest maximum security jail, Port Phillip Prison, say they will strike for more than five hours on Tuesday as the Community and Public Sector Union seeks a pay increase of 13.5 per cent over four years.
The workers will be off the job between 7.30am and 1pm. The strike escalates previous industrial action, which included stoppages on filing paperwork and ignoring non-urgent requests from management.
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