Magistrates Mandy Bowen and Scott Luxton will permanently join Cairns Magistrates Court this October. Photo: File.
Two acting magistrates with extensive experience working across regional Queensland have been permanently appointed to the Cairns Magistrates Court.
One of the two positions, soon to be held by Magistrate Mandy Bowen and Magistrate Scott Luxton, was established in recognition of increasing workload demands.
Magistrate Bowen has acted as a magistrate when required for the past two years since leaving more than one decade of service across remote communities in the state’s Far North.
Her Honour was admitted as a solicitor to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2004 and worked as a criminal lawyer with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service’s (ATSILS) Cairns office for 16 years. Across that time, Magistrate Bowen spent more than a decade working in remote Cape York communities, including a number where English was a second language.
Her Honour’s ability to manage busy courts and work well under pressure gained her the ongoing respect of her peers, the more junior of whom she regularly assisted and mentored.
The second new appointee, Magistrate Luxton, began his career after being admitted as a solicitor in 1999. Over his career, he gained extensive experience in court registries.
His Honour assumed acting magistrate duties in some smaller courts early in his career and prior to his permanent appointment had sat in 36 different centres across central, north and far north Queensland, as well as suburban Brisbane. During this time, Magistrate Luxton implemented innovations at several courts in which he sat, resulting in greater efficiency and access to justice.
He was also heavily involved in community work in his hometown of Charters Towers, serving as a volunteer, committee or board member of several local sporting clubs and a local P-12 school.
Queensland Attorney-General and Justice Minister Yvette D’Ath welcomed the permanent appointments of the two new magistrates.
“Magistrates Bowen and Luxton bring a wealth of experience to the roles and will be great assets to the Cairns Magistrates Court,” she said.
Attorney-General and Minister D’Ath said the appointments demonstrated the Queensland Government’s commitment to providing resources to allow courts to function at optimum capacity. “The new magistrate position in Cairns comes on top of the Government funding a new magistrate in July, specifically dedicated to the local Domestic and Family Violence court,” she said.
“At the same time, the Government provided funds for the creation of three new permanent coroner positions.”
Magistrates Bowen and Luxton will formally begin their new roles on Monday 30 October.
