Membership of the Land Court

President of the Land Court of Queensland

Contact

(07) 3738 7442

University education

• Masters of Law, University of London (Queen Mary College) (1984) – the first law graduate from the then QIT to be accepted into a Masters’ program
• Bachelor of Laws (Honours LLB), Queensland Institute of Technology (1982)
• Certificate of Mediation (1996)

Pre-judicial career

• Admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland (1984)
• Admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of Australia (1984)
• Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Registrar, Planning and Environment Court of Queensland (2007-2009)
• Member, QCAT – Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (2009-2012)
• Senior Member, QCAT – Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (2012-2017)

Judicial career

• Member, Land Court of Queensland (Appointed 21 July 2017 - present)
• Acting President, Land Court of Queensland (May 2023 - May 2024)
• President, Land Court of Queensland  (Appointed 31 May 2024 - present)

Other positions

• Director, Vasey Housing Auxiliary (1990-2000); Director and Chair (2000-2007)
• Director, RSL Care (2006-2007)
• Director, St Michael's College (2000-2006)
• Member, Board of Imaginary Theatre (2016)
• Member, Vasey Housing Auxiliary (1990 – 2000)
• Chair, Vasey Housing Auxiliary (2000 – 2007)
• Member, Zonta (various dates)

Awards

• OAM – Medal of the Order of Australia (general division), for services for dispute resolution (2013)

Publications

Articles

Hybrid hearings at QCAT — the why, the how and a progress report: Australian Alternative Dispute Resolution Law Bulletin 2014 Vol 1 No. 4

Speeches and papers

ADR in planning and environment matters: four things you need to think about (PDF, 280.4 KB)

'Digging deep: dealing with social aspects of environmental harm and public interest issues of mining in Queensland' (PDF, 502.4 KB)

'Big sister is watching - Orwellian overtones or no cause for alarm?' (PDF, 608.3 KB) (paper presented at the COAT Conference, Hobart, June 2016)

Guidelines for expert evidence in the Land Court and the CMEE process - a court perspective (PDF, 422.6 KB)

'Big sister is watching - Orwellian overtones or no cause for alarm?' (PDF, 608.3 KB) (paper presented at the COAT Conference, Hobart, June 2016)

'You can lead a horse to water – and you can make it drink!' (PDF, 388.1 KB) (paper presented to the 13th American Bar Association ADR Spring Conference, Denver, Colorado, March 2011)

'Is ECR really “faster better cheaper”?' (PDF, 167.0 KB) co-authored with John Haydon; Jan Crawford, Town Planning Consultant and ECR Practitioner, Auckland, New Zealand; and Dr Jianbo Kuang Science/Mediator and ECR Consultant at EcoDirections International Pty Ltd, Brisbane, Australia, (paper presented to the 5th Conference of the United States Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, Tucson, Arizona, May 2008)

Biographical notes

President Stilgoe was admitted to the Bar in 1984 but transferred to the Solicitors’ branch of the profession in 1986. She had a career in private practice, specialising in commercial litigation from 1986 to 2007.

In 2007, President Stilgoe was appointed as the first ADR Registrar to the Planning and Environment Court of Queensland. President Stilgoe introduced court facilitated mediation to that jurisdiction.

President Stilgoe was a Member of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal from its inception in 2009. In 2012 her leadership potential was realised when she was appointed as a Senior Member to that Tribunal. She has also developed and presented ADR and other training programs for Members of QCAT and other Tribunals.

President Stilgoe was pivotal in introducing innovative and effective ADR processes at both QCAT and the Planning and Environment Court.

President Stilgoe is a well-respected litigation lawyer and highly regarded by judicial officers, practitioners and expert witnesses for her mediation skills as well as her experience in planning and environment matters. Her contributions to ADR were recognised in 2013 when she was awarded an OAM.

Member of the Land Court of Queensland

Contact

(07) 3738 7443

University education

Bachelor of Laws, Queensland University of Technology

Master of Public Administration, Harvard University (Ma)

Accredited Mediator (Bond University, Resolution Institute)

GAICD (Australian Institute of Company Directors)

Pre-judicial career

Admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland (1988)

Admitted as a barrister of the High Court of Australia (1989)

Member, National Native Title Tribunal (2014-2020)

Judicial career

Member, Land Court of Queensland (Appointed 9 march 2020 – present)

Biographical notes

Member McNamara commenced practice in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions before moving to various practice areas in the Crown Solicitor’s Office.

He became engaged in Native Title law and policy in 1993 and for the next 20 years worked as a legal advisor and senior executive at a State and National level in Native Title, Cultural Heritage, resources, land administration and land management issues.

During 1999-2000 Member McNamara worked as a legal consultant to the Ministry of Justice, British Columbia, on treaty table negotiations.

He completed post graduate studies at Harvard University with a focus on environmental economics, international law and mediation. In 2014 he was appointed a Member of the National Native Title Tribunal and worked extensively throughout Queensland and Western Australia. He assisted and facilitated engagement between traditional owners, project proponents, and government agencies to inform, educate and to assist agreement making, particularly in regional Australia.

Member McNamara was appointed to the Land Court of Queensland in 2020.

Member of the Land Court of Queensland

Contact

(07) 3738 7445

University education

Bachelor of Laws, University of Queensland

Bachelor of Arts, University of Queensland

Pre-judicial career

Admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland (2005)

Admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland (2010)

Judicial career

Member, Land Court of Queensland (Appointed  31 May 2024 – present)

Biographical notes

Prior to being appointed to the Court, Member Loos practiced in the Planning and Environment Court and the Land Court, as a solicitor and then a barrister.

He appeared in and advised about cases concerning:

• development approvals for significant sites in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, North Queensland and Far North Queensland;
• the valuation of key CBD parcels of land;
• the development and maintenance of mining infrastructure;
• the determination of financial assurance/ estimated rehabilitation costs for mine sites;
• State and local heritage;
• determination of complex infrastructure charging arrangements; and
• enforcement/ prosecution actions involving allegations of environmental harm.

Judicial Registrar of the Land Court of Queensland

University education

• Master of Laws, Queensland University of Technology (2010)
• Bachelor of Business (Property Studies), The University of Queensland (1996)
• Practice Management Certificate, Queensland Law Society (1993)
• Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice, Queensland University of Technology (1989)
• Bachelor of Laws, Queensland Institute of Technology (1988)

Pre-judicial career

• Acting Research Officer, Land Court of Queensland (2014–15)
• Sessional Academic (2013–15)
• Valuer, Private Practice (2012–13)
• Team Leader, Land Court Advocacy Team, Legal Services, Department of Environment and Resource Management (2008–12)
• Senior Legal Officer/Principal Legal Officer, Department of Environment and Resource Management (2007–08)
• Valuer, Private Practice (2005–07)
• Legal Compliance Officer, Queensland Thoroughbred Racing Board (2004–05)
• Senior Legal Officer, Legal Services, Department of Natural Resources (2003–04)
• Assistant Valuer/Valuer, State Valuation Service, Department of Natural Resources and Mines (1999–2003)
• Solicitor, Private Practice (1989–99)
• Admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland (1989)

Judicial career

• Judicial Registrar, Land Court of Queensland (2015–present)
• Acting Judicial Registrar, Land Court of Queensland (Nov 2014–Jan 2015)

Awards

• Director-Generals Award, Department of Environment and Resource Management (2010)—awarded to the Land Court Advocacy Team for the resolution of more than 400 valuation appeals during a ‘mediation intensive’ from April to June 2010. Mediation was aimed at resolving as many appeals as possible before the commencement of the 2010 amendments to the Valuation of Land Act 1944.
• Executive Director’s Award, Department of Natural Resources and Water (1999)—awarded for the resolution of a large number of objections pursuant to s 42 of the Valuation of Land Act 1944.

Papers

GJ Smith, ‘Legal Update’ (Paper presented at the 2016 Brisbane Property Seminar organised by the University of Queensland, Brisbane, July 2016)

CAC MacDonald and GJ Smith, ‘Use of Dispute Resolution in the Land Court’ (Paper presented to the Resolution Institute in Brisbane, April 2016)

GJ Smith, ‘Legal Update’ (Paper presented at the 2015 Brisbane Property Seminar organised by the University of Queensland, Brisbane, July 2015)

GJ Smith, ‘Land Court Judgments’ (Paper presented at the Australian Property Institute National Property Conference, Gold Coast, November 2012)

GJ Smith, ‘Expert Witness Duties in the Land Court’ (Paper presented at the Australian Property Institute Regional Conference, Cairns, November 2008)