Minister Ben Carroll saw one-stop-justice in action on 16 January when he met Magistrate David Fanning, GM Rachel Powning and the Neighbourhood Justice Centre’s leadership team.
During his visit, Minister Carroll learned more about our community justice model which targets the causes of offending and supports victims of crime in the City of Yarra. The Minister was also apprised of our long-term objectives including replicating the model elsewhere.
We are currently doing building works to expand our specialised family violence services, and this development plus plans to open a second courtroom were discussed for how we give more Melbournians access to community justice services.
The Minister heard from staff from Victoria Legal Aid, Fitzroy Legal Services, Community Correctional Services and Police Prosecutions who sit on our Leadership team about how the model would work in other locations across Victoria where community justice would have a significant impact.
We were also pleased the Minister had an opportunity to reacquaint himself with a place he last visited in 2016 when he was a guest speaker at our 10th anniversary celebration.
As Minister for corrections, crime prevention, youth justice and victim support, Ben Carroll’s extensive portfolio reflects our inter-disciplinary approach to addressing the complex web of issues the justice system faces.
We thank Minister Carroll for giving so much of his time and looks forward to ongoing dialogue.
Caption: NJC’s Leadership Team and ministerial adviser with the Hon. Ben Carroll, MP (second from right), Magistrate David Fanning (fourth from left) and NJC General Manager, Rachel Powing (third from right).