The Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council (QSAC) has welcomed four new members.
Jon Rouse is Queensland’s Interim Victims’ Commissioner. Jon previously served with the Queensland Police Service for 39 years, notably leading Taskforce Argos, and continues to be an ambassador for victim-survivors, with a particular focus on child exploitation and sexual abuse.
Sherrie Meyer is Chair of the board of Queensland Homicide Victims’ Support Group (QHVSG). Sherrie became a founding member of QHVSG following her son’s murder in 1993. An accredited mental health social worker specialising in child trauma counselling, she has also been a victim support case manager, child safety support officer, and domestic and family violence support worker.
Thelma Schwartz is Principal Legal Officer of Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service (QIFVLS). Thelma is currently a member of QSAC’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Panel and is of Torres Strait Islander heritage. She was a member of the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce, is a member of the Queensland Human Rights Commission and the Queensland Police Service’s Advisory Panel supporting a review into diversity and inclusion in the police service, and is co-chair of the Queensland Justice Police Partnership Cross Agency Working Group.
Jakub Lodziak is Acting Public Defender at Legal Aid Queensland (LAQ). Jakub is a qualified barrister, working in a range of roles at LAQ since 2005.
The appointments bring the total membership of the council to 14. Members are appointed for a three-year term, though Jon will remain in the position until the permanent Victims Commissioner is appointed.
Two appointments were the result of recent legislative change which added extra members to the Council, including the appointment of the Interim Victims Commissioner and a person with a lived experience as a victim of crime.
The other two appointments – an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person and a representative of Legal Aid – replace recently retired members Neta-Rie Mabo and Katarina Prskalo.
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