Dear Editor,

I note with some concern the NT News article regarding the stand-off between the CLP and the judges of the Local Court regarding the proposal for the court to sit at the prisons.

A solution is urgently required – everyone is better off when lawyers have access to their clients.

As a way forward, I propose the following interim solution as a Darwin-only pilot:

1. Retrofit one or more floors of the current Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal premises in the CasCom Centre in Scaturchio Street to become the Casuarina Local Court.

2. Retrofit the old Palmerston police station in Chung Wah Terrace to become the Palmerston Local Court. If that premises cannot be made fit for purpose, there are a number of vacant properties in Palmerston that could be made suitable.

3. Move NTCAT to Nichols Place in Darwin city, or the failed Nightcliff police station in Progress Drive.

4. Provide criminal and domestic violence registry services at the satellite courts, but keep all other matters at Nichols Place (i.e. civil matters other than DV). Provide vulnerable witness video-link facilities at the satellite courts

5. Allocate non-custodial and low-risk custodial matters to the satellite courts. And continue to deal with medium- and high-risk custodial matters at Nichols Place.

This will increase traffic for surrounding businesses, and boost the local economy, while keeping capital expenditure to a minimum and reducing logistical demands. Obviously, purpose-built court precincts co-located at the Casuarina and Palmerston police stations capable of handling medium- and high-risk custodial matters would be the superior option if we could afford it.

If the CLP’s plan for crime works, the demand will ease in a few years, and the temporary measures can be reassessed.

Eric Withnall, Darwin