Australians for Constitutional Monarchy

Brisbane's new court complex will be named in honour of Queen Elizabeth II, Premier Campbell Newman has announced.  Mr Newman told Parliament the new court complex on George Street, to be opened tomorrow, would be named “The Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law”, reports The Brisbane Times on 2 August 2012 (Queen to lend name to new courts complex).

He said this year marked the Queen's diamond jubilee. He and Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie felt it was “most appropriate” to name the building in honour of the monarch.

Mr Bleijie is a staunch monarchist.

Mr Newman said planning for the courts complex began under the Borbidge government in the 1990s.

He took the opportunity to take a swipe at Labor, saying the former court complex on the corner of Adelaide and George streets had served the state well and significant cases included the trial of former Labor minister Gordon Nuttall.

Mr Newman said the opening of the new court complex would herald a “new era” in Queensland's justice system, but he made no mention in his speech as to whether court transcription services would be outsourced.

Yesterday, Mr Newman did nothing to dampen expectations the government was looking to outsource court transcription services.

Hundreds of workers in the State Reporting Bureau, which provides transcripts of proceedings in Queensland courts, are awaiting news of their fate.

brisbanetimes.com.au last week reported claims from multiple separate sources that the government was looking at outsourcing the service. Mr Bleijie refused last week to deny the claim.

Asked by the opposition about the matter yesterday, Mr Newman said the government did not respond to speculation about the September budget.

Mr Newman said if there was going to be an announcement in the budget, it would be announced in the budget.

If a measure was going to be announced sooner, it would be announced sooner, he said.