Page 2175 - Week 07 - Thursday, 16 May 2013
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Justices of the peace
MR COE (Ginninderra) (4.08): I rise today to speak about the important work of justices of the peace, or JPs, here in the ACT. Justices of the peace are appointed in the ACT under the Justices of the Peace Act 1989 and serve the community in a wide range of duties. JPs are given powers under various territory and commonwealth laws, including the power to witness a statutory declaration, administer an oath or affidavit, attest or certify a document, endorse a bill of sale and issue an order for an external search of a detainee in certain circumstances. JPs are unpaid volunteers and provide a valuable service to the community.
Many JPs in the ACT are members of the ACT Justices of the Peace Association. The ACT JP association was formed in 1990 to promote, support and protect the status and interests of JPs. The association now has a membership of about 270 JPs and provides opportunities for professional development, resources and support for its members.
The ACT JP association has nominated 2013 as the JP year of outreach. As part of its commitment to getting out into the community, the association has set up JP signing centres at the Belconnen, Dickson and Erindale public libraries as well as the Village in Gungahlin and the Magistrates Court. These signing centres offer a convenient place for members of the public to contact a JP and are expected to help at least 40 people at each two-hour session.
The association has a great website which can be found at www.actjpa.org.au. The website provides lots of information about the work of JPs and the ACT JP association. It is a great starting point for those looking for a JP or interested in becoming one. I recommend that all members have a look at the association’s website to find out more about JPs.
I would like to acknowledge the office bearers of the ACT JP association. They are Rod Nicholas, Beverly Alley, John Coghlan, Paul Adams, Geoff Wood, Cissy Parker, Luba Neiden-Bach and Russell Hearne. The association’s patron is Simon Corbell.
This morning 15 new justices of the peace were sworn in to the ACT Supreme Court. I would like to commend these new JPs for their commitment to serving the ACT community: Christopher Scally, Kar Kumar, Glenn Bellingham, Paul Thompson, Peter Launder, Niraj Mehta, Kelly Barry, Brian Franklin, Gary Green, Brenda Newham, Gregory Oberscheidt, Helen Palethorpe, Kattemalayadj Prakash, Rajnish Sharma and Pradnya Sood.
I would like to place on the record my thanks to all the JPs in the ACT who have given thousands of hours of service to our community. It is particularly appropriate to thank all these community volunteers during National Volunteer Week, and I hope that the government has given thought to an appropriate way to acknowledge those who serve our community in this way.
For further information about the work of JPs, I recommend that members visit the ACT JP association’s website and if members would like to find a JP, I recommend they visit the JP database at www.justice.act.gov.au/jp.
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