Chief Magistrate Louise Taylor (insert) has become the new leader of the ACT Magistrates Court. Photos: Albert McKnight/Michelle Kroll.
“Louise is respected because people know exactly who she is,” Aunty Violet Sheridan said.
“Here on Ngunnawal Country, we are so proud of her too.
“Today is a proud moment for her family, for the Kamilaroi people, for the Ngunnawal people and for First Nations people across this country.”
These words from the Ngunnawal elder were part of her Welcome to Country in the ceremonial sitting to acknowledge the ACT Magistrates Court’s new leader, Chief Magistrate Louise Taylor this week.
A clear example of the Kamilaroi woman’s popularity, both in the Territory and beyond, was the need to open a second courtroom to seat everyone.
“I am deeply grateful to you all for your attendance to mark this point in my career,” she said.
She was appointed a magistrate in 2018 and became the country’s first First Nations woman to serve on a superior court when she was became a judge of the ACT Supreme Court in 2023.
Now she is back to helm the Magistrates Court after the retirement of her predecessor, Lorraine Walker. She said leading the court was a great privilege.
“There is nothing more serious to me than the work we do in this building for the service of the community,” she said.
“It is to the people’s court that I have now wholeheartedly returned.
“I went into law in the hope it might permit me to understand its power and to permit me to help those whose lives have been upended by it.”
Chief Magistrate Taylor said the position of her people in the criminal justice system, both as offenders and victims, was “a disgrace”, and the decisions made in courtrooms comprised the statistics that told the sad tales of many in their communities.
It was critical for her people to be seen as capable of administering the legal system that influenced their lives, she said.
During her time as a Supreme Court judge, she oversaw the court’s pilot circle sentencing program, which is a sentencing option for First Nations people. She said this had been a deeply rewarding experience and she believed the future of criminal justice was therapeutic and focused on solving problems.
Chief Magistrate Taylor also said the pride her mob had in her career was humbling.
“I strive every day to continue to make you proud that I am one of you,” she said.
The ceremonial sitting was repeatedly called a historic occasion by the other speakers at the event.
“Chief Magistrate Taylor has a human capacity to recognise what injustice looks like and what it feels like,” ACT Attorney-General Tara Cheyne said.
ACT Law Society president Vik Sundar said her appointment carried a significance that extended beyond this courtroom.
“It is sometimes said that your honour is equal parts inspiring and terrifying,” he said.
He said she set clear standards in her courtroom, which meant matters were decided well, and her empathy shaped her style.
ACT Bar Association president Prue Bindon said the chief magistrate had a persistent belief that institutions can do better, and she would have a hand in ensuring they do.
Chief Magistrate Taylor finished the ceremony by thanking her loved ones in the audience.
“Mum, all that I am is because of who you are,” she said.
She told her four children they were “excellent human beings” and “nothing makes me prouder than being your Mum”.
But she also told her children she was looking forward to their ending their references to this ceremonial sitting as her “coronation”.
Original Article published by Albert McKnight on Region Canberra.
