{"id":258935,"date":"2020-06-02T14:57:57","date_gmt":"2020-06-02T04:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=258935"},"modified":"2020-06-02T15:12:02","modified_gmt":"2020-06-02T05:12:02","slug":"new-face-on-the-bench","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2020\/06\/02\/new-face-on-the-bench\/","title":{"rendered":"New Face On The Bench"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Magistrate Andrew Sinclair
(Photo: LinkedIn)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

June 2, 2020<\/b><\/p>\n

Magistrate Andrew Sinclair is the new face on the bench in local courts.<\/p>\n

Magistrate Sinclair, who heard his first South Burnett cases in Kingaroy Magistrates Court on Monday, has taken over from Magistrate Louisa Pink who has been based in the region for the past two years.<\/p>\n

He will be the presiding magistrate at Nanango, Kingaroy, Murgon and Cherbourg courts.<\/p>\n

Mr Sinclair comes to the South Burnett after serving as a magistrate at Southport.<\/p>\n

He was admitted as a barrister to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1989 and enjoyed a long and distinguished legal career before being appointed a magistrate in 2017.<\/p>\n

His Supreme Court Library profile notes he was engaged on the Fitzgerald Inquiry and worked as a Crown Prosecutor at the Special Prosecutor’s Office.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He also acted as junior counsel assisting the Royal Commission into Operation Trident, an inquiry into corrupt practices in the used car parts industry.<\/p>\n

Magistrate Sinclair also spent 10 years in private practice in Cairns and the Sunshine Coast.<\/p>\n

He was the founding president of the Environmental Defenders Office of Northern Queensland, a volunteer contributor to the Cairns Community Legal Centre, president of the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties,\u00a0 a member of the Bar Council of the Bar Association of Queensland and\u00a0taught law at James Cook University.<\/p>\n

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New COVID-19 court arrangements have been released in regards to the operation of Magistrates Courts in Queensland.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The new Practice Directions – which detail who can appear in person, by telephone or video conference – will begin on June 15.<\/p>\n