Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

THE LAW AND JUSTICE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (NEW SOUTH WALES LOCAL COURT) BILL

I move that this Bill be now read a second time.

The Law and Justice Legislation Amendment (New South Wales Local Court) Bill will make consequential amendments to Commonwealth legislation arising from the passage of the Local Court and Bail Legislation Amendment Act 2025 of New South Wales.

On commencement, the New South Wales Act will replace the office of New South Wales magistrate with the office of judge of the Local Court of New South Wales.

Commonwealth law confers jurisdiction and powers on state and territory courts and judicial officers, reflecting the important role of these courts in the federal justice system.

Some federal jurisdiction and powers are conferred explicitly on magistrates, while others are excluded from magistrates and instead conferred on judges.

The amendments this Bill will make are necessary to ensure that, on commencement of the New South Wales Act, jurisdiction and powers conferred on state magistrates by Commonwealth law can continue to be validly exercised by judges of the New South Wales Local Court.

Conversely, the amendments will ensure that judges of the New South Wales Local Court will not be able to exercise federal jurisdiction and powers beyond the intended scope of their office.

The amendments will do this by providing that judges of the New South Wales Local Court are considered magistrates under Commonwealth law.

The Bill will commence at the same time as the New South Wales Act commences. The New South Wales Act will commence by Proclamation. This concurrent commencement will ensure that there is no disruption to the intended operation of Commonwealth legislation.

The Bill will have positive implications for residents of New South Wales, along with Commonwealth and New South Wales entitles involved in matters arising under Commonwealth law which rely on the New South Wales Local Court.

Given the central role that the New South Wales Local Court plays in the prosecution of offences against Commonwealth law, the Bill is of critical importance to stakeholders involved in law enforcement and prosecution.

Conclusion

This Bill will ensure that the New South Wales Local Court can continue to perform its important role in the federal justice system, dealing with a range of matters under Commonwealth law including both civil and criminal proceedings.

I commend the Bill to the Chamber.

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Law and Justice Legislation Amendment (New South Wales Local Court) Bill 2026. This is an important yet uncontroversial piece of legislation that reflects recent reforms to the New South Wales legal system, specifically those introduced to the Local Court and Bail Legislation Amendment Act 2025 in New South Wales. On commencement, the New South Wales act will replace the Office of the New South Wales Magistrate with the Office of the Judge of the Local Court of New South Wales.

Commonwealth law confers jurisdiction and powers on state and territory courts and judicial officers, reflecting the important role these courts play in the federal justice system. Some federal jurisdiction and powers are conferred explicitly on magistrates, while others are excluded from magistrates and are instead conferred on judges. This bill makes the consequential amendments to Commonwealth legislation necessary to ensure the transition occurs without disruption. The bill achieves this through a clear and practical mechanism. It provides that judges of the New South Wales local courts are to be considered magistrates under Commonwealth law. This will ensure that jurisdiction and powers previously conferred on magistrates by Commonwealth legislation can continue to be validly exercised by the new judges of the New South Wales Local Court. At the same time, it ensures that those judges cannot exercise federal jurisdiction and powers beyond the intended scope of their office, maintaining the jurisdictional clarity that both the Commonwealth and New South Wales legal framework require. The bill will commence concurrently with the New South Wales act, which itself commences on proclamation. This concurrent commencement is deliberate and important. It ensures there's no gap in the operation of the Commonwealth legislation and no disruption to the New South Wales Local Court's ability to perform its functions.

The practical significance of this bill should not be understated. The New South Wales Local Court plays a central role in the prosecution of offences against Commonwealth law, dealing with a wide range of matters including most civil and criminal proceedings. The bill will have a positive implication for residents of New South Wales as well as for the Commonwealth and New South Wales entities involved in matters arising under Commonwealth law. Given the court's critical role in law enforcement and prosecution, ensuring this transition is seamless is of real importance to those who rely on it.

The coalition, as I said, supports this bill. It is uncontroversial. It's a minor and technical yet necessary measure to ensure the consistent application of Commonwealth law following a significant change to the New South Wales court system. The opposition is supportive of any commonsense measures that allow judicial officers to perform their important roles efficiently without confusion or disruption. The bill delivers that. I commend the bill to the Senate.

David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Greens do not oppose this bill. But, for the life of us, we cannot work out how it isn't contained in schedule 12 of the miscellaneous provisions act bill. It highlights just how small the Labor Party agenda is when they have to devote as much time as they can in the Senate to a bill that basically deals with the consequential amendments of the New South Wales government changing the name of Local Court magistrates to Local Court judges. That's what's happened.

It is the busiest court in the country. I've appeared in the Local Court. Sometimes you feel like you are in this sardine factory, as they are churning through thousands of cases a day in the New South Wales Local Court. Hats off to those magistrates/judges who deal with the reality of justice, civil and criminal, in this country. We often put District Court judges, Supreme Court judges, Federal Court judges and High Court judges on a pedestal as though that's where justice happens but, actually, no; justice overwhelmingly happens in local courts across the country.

In New South Wales, the Local Court system is the backbone of the criminal justice system and the backbone of the civil justice system, at least for claims within its statutory reach. Those magistrates are sometimes dealing with the reality of a broken society, where, instead of society providing support for people in desperate need, society punishes them for poverty, punishes them for the lack of opportunity, punishes them because of who they are, quite often. I've seen those magistrates—some of them are my friends—seeking to deliver as much justice as they can in that space. It can be really brutal and hard because many of them realise that the coalface of the justice system isn't about justice. It might be about law, but it's so often not about justice—people going to jail because of their poverty, people going to jail because of just terrible circumstances. Of course, some people go into jail because they do bad things. I'm not pretending that doesn't happen as well.

Obviously, we want the Local Court to be able to continue to function when the presiding officer changes from being a magistrate and 'Your Worship' to a judge and 'Your Honour'. Obviously, if there are certain federal laws that confer powers on magistrates and they change their name from magistrate to judge, then we need to make sure that gets tidied up. But to suggest that this is substantive law reform is a nonsense. It should be schedule 7 of a consequential miscellaneous amendments bill, but, because there is such a small legislative agenda from the Labor government, such a small reform agenda from the Labor government, they've desperately tried to have this as a stocking filler. This is the cheap chocolates you buy at Christmas for the uncle you don't like. That's what this is. It's a stocking filler. It's not a real, substantive legislative reform, and we should see it for what it is.

Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Law and Justice Legislation Amendment (New South Wales Local Court) Bill 2026 will make a range of important amendments to the Commonwealth legislation in response to the New South Wales Local Court and Bail Legislation Amendment Act 2025. On commencement of schedule 1 of the New South Wales act by proclamation, the office of the New South Wales magistrate will be replaced by the office of the judge of the New South Wales Local Court. The bill will make amendments to Commonwealth legislation and set up transitional provisions to ensure that the jurisdiction and powers conferred on state magistrates by Commonwealth law can continue to be exercised by judges of the New South Wales Local Court. Conversely, the amendments will also ensure that judges of the New South Wales Local Court will not be able to exercise federal jurisdiction and powers beyond the intended scope of their office.

I will keep my comments brief and conclude by saying that the bill will ensure that the New South Wales Local Court can continue to perform its important role in the federal justice system, as noted by colleagues opposite. It is an important court dealing with a range of matters under Commonwealth law, including both civil and criminal proceedings.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.