Ceremonial sitting of the Full Court
To welcome the Honourable Justice McDonald
Transcript of proceedings
THE HONOURABLE DEBRA MORTIMER, CHIEF JUSTICE
THE HONOURABLE JUSTICE YATES
THE HONOURABLE JUSTICE CHARLESWORTH
THE HONOURABLE JUSTICE SNADEN
THE HONOURABLE JUSTICE O’SULLIVAN
THE HONOURABLE JUSTICE NEEDHAM
THE HONOURABLE JUSTICE McDONALD
GUESTS OF THE BENCH
THE HONOURABLE JOHN VON DOUSSA AO KC
THE HONOURABLE CATHERINE BRANSON AC SC
THE HONOURABLE JOHN MANSFIELD AM KC
THE HONOURABLE ANTHONY BESANKO KC
ADELAIDE
9.30 AM, Tuesday, 27 AUGUST 2024
MORTIMER CJ: A warm welcome to you all. We’re on the country of the Kaurna People. I listened recently, when I was here in Adelaide, to a wonderful welcome to country given by Aunty Elaine Magias. She urged us to reflect about Kaurna connection in terms of how many generations of Kaurna People have walked these lands, and cared for their country, rather than to measure time in years. So I share that thought with you today. I acknowledge the ongoing contribution of Kaurna People to the wider South Australian community, as well as to their own communities, but we must also be honest about the challenges facing the entire Australian community in our relationships with First Nations peoples, including how First Nations peoples are treated by our justice system.
What a pleasure to see so many people here today, publicly, to welcome the recent appointment of Justice Stephen McDonald. There is a long list of apologies. As I look around, in a way, just as well, because I don’t think we could have fitted anybody else in. I acknowledge that present today are many distinguished former justices from several Courts, including this Court, and many serving judges and colleagues from a range of Courts and Tribunals, present and former members of counsel and solicitors, not only from South Australia, but from elsewhere, and distinguished members of the Academy. Your collective presence provides overwhelming and warm support for Justice McDonald’s appointment to this Court.
Joining us for this ceremony and celebration are Justice McDonald’s partner and three children, as well as many friends and family members. These occasions are days to be remembered, and it’s wonderful to see all of Justice McDonald’s family and friends here. To Justice McDonald’s children, who I met just before the ceremony, while I’m sure that people say nice things about your father all the time, do listen carefully, because there are going to be many nice things said about him in a very short period of time today.
This is an opportunity, publicly, to reflect on the qualities of our new colleague, and to acknowledge the dedication to public service that is shown by the acceptance of an appointment to this Court. Justice McDonald, you were sworn in on 8 July. We welcomed you then, and again today when we have the opportunity to give you the public acknowledgement that your appointment deserves. On behalf of the Registrars and staff of the Federal Court, I congratulate you on your appointment, and I’m confident that you will serve the Australian community with distinction. I invite the Attorney-General for the Commonwealth, the Honourable Mark Dreyfus KC MP to address the Court.
MR M. DREYFUS KC MP: May it please the Court. First, I acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands on which we meet today, the Kaurna People, and pay respects to their elders past and present. I also extend that respect to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here today. It’s a great privilege to be here today to congratulate your Honour on your appointment as a judge of the Federal Court. I thank you on behalf of the Australian Government for your Honour’s willingness to serve as judge of this Court. The Government extends its best wishes for your career on the Bench.
Your Honour’s appointment to the Federal Court has been warmly welcomed by the Australian legal community, after a diverse and eminent career. That so many of your colleagues in the Judiciary and the legal profession are here today is testament to the high regard in which your colleagues hold your Honour. I particularly acknowledge the Honourable William Alstergren AO, Chief Justice of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Michael Evans, Chief Judge of the District Court of South Australia, the Honourable Mark Livesey, President of the Court of Appeal of South Australia, the Honourable Stephen Dolphin, President of the South Australian Employment Tribunal, and other current and former members of the Judiciary and members of the legal profession.
I also acknowledge the presence of your Honour’s family who proudly share this occasion with you: your wife, Claire, is here today, with your children, James, Rory and Catherine, and we’re also joined by your mother, Joy, as well as your sister, Fiona, and your brother-in-law, Tristan.
Your Honour grew up in Adelaide’s east with your parents, siblings and several Red Heeler dogs. I’m told your Honour’s childhood featured a lot of cricket, swimming and Weber barbecues. Your Honour was a talented wicket-keeper growing up, playing district cricket for Kensington and the University of Adelaide. I am told by a reliable source that your Honour wrote to Australian cricketer, Rod Marsh, who provided coaching notes, and arranged for you to train with two of the Australian Cricket Academy keepers. The ability to stump an opponent who strays beyond the crease, or to catch out those who play a loose shot, are invaluable training for a lawyer, and we are pleased your Honour has now channelled your passion for cricket into a career in law.
Your Honour attended the University of Adelaide, and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in 2001. Your Honour then went on to complete your Bachelor of Laws in 2004 with First Class Honours and the University Medal in Law. I’m told that it was at law school that your Honour also met your wife, Claire. Your Honour was admitted to practice in 2004, and worked as the first Associate to Justice Richard White of the Supreme Court of South Australia. In 2005, your Honour worked as a Research Assistant to the then-Solicitor-General for South Australia, now Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis.
Your Honour then joined the Crown Solicitor’s Office in South Australia in 2006, before being called to the Bar in 2011, and taking silk in 2020. At the Bar, your Honour practiced predominantly in the areas of Constitutional, Administrative and Criminal law. I am told that your Honour’s work in these early years showed you to be an utterly thorough and deeply logical thinker, whose writing skills were highly sought and highly regarded.
I am told that one of the most memorable aspects of your Honour’s time at the Bar was having the opportunity to appear in the High Court as junior counsel to Chris Kourakis QC, as his Honour then was, and Greg Parker in the WorkChoices case, New South Wales v Commonwealth. Your Honour has also made significant contributions to legal education, including as Adjunct Associate Professor, teaching Administrative Law and Government Law and Policy at the University of Adelaide.
Your Honour’s dedication to serve the Bar is evident in your commitments beyond the courtrooms and the lecture hall. Your Honour served on various boards and committees until your appointment to this Court. Some of your recent roles have included Vice-President of JusticeNet South Australia, Vice-President of the Australian Association of Constitutional Law, and Member of the South Australian Law Reform Institute Advisory Board.
I now turn to recognise a few of your Honour’s personal qualities. Throughout your career, your Honour has been known as extremely hard-working, and generous with your time and knowledge. Your colleagues spoke of your willingness to assist with difficult legal problems, despite your busy practice. I’m also told you’ve acted as a mentor to a number of readers, and that you undertook a significant amount of pro bono work, especially in migration and criminal appeal cases.
Over and above your devotion to legal work and scholarship, I’m told that your Honour has always been very involved in the life of your family, including your three children. I understand that your Honour is an avid listener of jazz music with a great sense of humour and a talent for puns and wordplay. I am told your Honour was highly regarded in the Twitter community for – now known as X – for sharing insightful and often amusing commentary on developments in Australian law, which extended to law-related poems and alternative song lyrics. A good example was when your Honour encapsulated the history and jurisdiction of the High Court in verse to the tune of Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start the Fire.
I am told there was profound disappointment when you discontinued your Twitter presence as many people referred to your commentary as a go-to source for understanding new decisions and statutory reforms. While your Honour’s appointment to the Bench has seen you abandon Twitter, I am confident we can now look forward to many years of fine judicial writing, although I would urge you to resist any urge you may have to exchange 140 characters for 140 pages. Your Honour’s appointment to this Court acknowledges your dedication to the law and accomplishments in the legal profession, and your Honour takes on this judicial office with the best wishes of the Australian legal profession.
You will approach this role with exceptional dedication to the law, as you have shown throughout your career. On behalf of the Australian Government and the Australian people, I extend to you my sincere congratulations and welcome you to the Federal Court of Australia. May it please the Court.
MORTIMER CJ: Thank you, Mr Attorney. Dr Rachael Gray, President of the South Australian Bar Association and representing the Australian Bar Association.
DR R. GRAY KC: May it please the Court. I’m honoured to speak on behalf of the Australian Bar Association and the South Australian Bar Association to welcome your Honour on behalf of these associations and their members. I also acknowledge the land upon which we meet as the land of the Kaurna People and I acknowledge the elders of the Kaurna People past and present. I recognise that the land upon which we meet and on which this building is built, Victoria Square, which was referred to as the Great Square by Colonel William Light, was known long before then as Tarntanyangga and is one of the two traditional meeting places of the Kaurna people in the Adelaide CBD.
In true colonial style, it is around this square that many of our public buildings have been established, and it’s in my living memory that action has been taken to dissuade First Nations People from meeting in this place. I acknowledge the long road of reconciliation that we as a profession and our public institutions have to the First Nations People of this land.
Your Honour’s appointment has been well received by the profession and this is, no doubt, testament to the high regard in which your Honour has been held as a member of the profession. Your Honour, as we’ve heard, holds a First Class Honours from the University of Adelaide, was a University Medallist and admitted in 2004. Your Honour had a long association with the University which I, no doubt, understand that the University hopes will continue. Your Honour was an Associate to Justice White and I’m told that your Honour took his actual physical room in Hanson Chambers and made no changes to the room in homage to your mentor.
And although I’m told that you have taken what’s been referred to as a “junior judge’s room”, I’ve been strongly advised to make no comment as to whether your Honour is already eyeing off your mentor’s room in this building. Your Honour had a career-long interest in constitutional law, no doubt assisted by your Honour’s time as a research assistant to the former Solicitor-General Chris Kourakis QC, as his Honour then was, now Chief Justice Kourakis, and I think it was through your Honour’s long association with the AACL that I first met your Honour. Your Honour’s depth of understanding and ability to recall relevant High Court cases is truly remarkable, but it’s not only the cases that your Honour recalls. It’s the distinction between the judgments, and your Honour’s interest in constantly reading such cases is truly remarkable.
I’m sure your Honour will acknowledge that such dedication to the law could not have been possible without the strong support of your family and I also acknowledge the presence here today of your wife Claire, your three children, James, Rory and Catherine, and your mother Joy. Fortunately for the profession, your Honour’s sister, Fiona, who is here today, also shares your Honour’s interest in constitutional law.
The learned Attorney-General has spoken at length about your Honour’s illustrious career, so I will focus upon your Honour’s time as a member of the Bar, noting, of course, that your Honour’s text message, “Please be nice” does not necessarily carry the weight of authority of the Federal Court, and I’m concerned that your Honour may have misinterpreted my thumbs-up emoji as agreement rather than as a “thanks for the material”.
I’m told by one silk, who’s asked repeatedly to remain nameless, Mr Michael Roder KC, that he first met your Honour when your Honour was junioring Mark Livesey QC, now President Livesey, in the Full Court of the South Australian Supreme Court. In the best traditions of the South Australian Bar, Michael Roder and Mark Livesey, after arguing against each other all day, went to have beers together. I’m told your Honour attended, presumably, it was thought, on the basis that you would be inducted into this after-court beer-drinking culture. I’m not sure your Honour quite understood the assignment. Michael Roder recalls that your Honour ordered one Baileys and milk and made a hasty exit.
Your Honour was, however, to become one of the most sought-after juniors, and I recall Michael Roder being devastated upon your Honour’s appointment as silk, not because it was not well-deserved, but because he would lose such a capable junior. Michael Abbott KC, also recalls your Honour’s skills as a junior. He recounts that, on every occasion he discussed a matter with your Honour, the Michael Abbott approach was, “Let’s go, let’s go,” and your Honour’s approach was, “Hold back, hold back.” Michael has, however, asked me to say that he acknowledges, on reflection, your Honour was always right.
And, of course, we’ve heard much of your Honour’s generosity to junior members of the Bar. Your Honour was a generous mentor to barristers within chambers, and an inclusive mentor readily sharing your calm and logical approach. Your Honour was a mentor to many Bar readers, and your generous contribution in this regard is acknowledged by the great number of your Honour’s bar readers who are present here today. So generous was your Honour that one junior recalls your Honour’s insistence on driving to a Bar Association CPD. For those of you not familiar with Adelaide, some would say that the distance between Hanson Chambers and the Rob Roy Hotel, where Bar Association CPDs are held, is not so great to necessitate driving. The same junior recalls her surprise, following your Honour’s assistance on driving your Honour’s choice of motor vehicle, saying, “You never would have picked it.” I’m reliably informed that the same red MG is often seen cruising and terrorising Burnside. In fact, so great is your Honour’s affection for motor vehicles that it was only ever going to be a Federal Court appointment for your Honour, the Supreme Court car park not quite having the same level of weather protection.
Your Honour is a witty and disarmingly intelligent person. The loss to the Bar will be a great gain to the Federal Court. Your Honour’s depth of understanding of the law, and your commitment to practice in the areas of Migration and Administrative Law will be a great attribute to the federal jurisdiction, but, beyond your Honour’s knowledge of and dedication to the law, your Honour has so many personal attributes that will serve you well in this new role. Your Honour has been described as universally loved and respected for good reason. Your Honour has a calm and careful manner, and a good mix of confidence and humility. I am sure your Honour will understand the assignment. On behalf of the members of the Australian Bar Association and the South Australian Bar Association, it is my great privilege to wish your Honour a long, fulfilling and illustrious judicial career. May it please the Court.
MORTIMER CJ: Thank you, Dr Gray. Mr Greg McIntyre SC, President of the Law Council of Australia.
MR G. McINTYRE SC: I adopt the acknowledgement of the Kaurna People, which many of the previous speakers have made, and it’s a great pleasure to welcome your Honour on behalf of the legal profession. Your Honour’s appointment has been warmly embraced and supported by those who’ve had the privilege of working with you throughout your career. It seems clear that you’re universally well-liked and respected. While there are many reasons your colleagues feel this way, a few of the attributes that shine through brightly are your generosity of spirit, your sense of humour, and your humility, despite so many others predicting, throughout your career, that you were destined for great things.
When I talk about your generosity, I’m talking about the already mentioned enthusiasm for mentoring others. The junior practitioners who have been fortunate to have you in their corner speak of you taking them under your wing, and sharing your analytical thought processes, and giving them opportunities to learn by doing. We heard more than once that you go out of your way to check in on those around you to inquire about their wellbeing, and ensure that they know you are there for them if they need you. As I understand it, the law is one of your Honour’s great passions, to the point that you read Court rulings for recreation, and you’re well reputed as an intellectual powerhouse, as has been mentioned by others. Your depth of expertise is exemplified in your co-authoring the text Government Accountability: Australian Administrative Law.
I’m informed that your love for the written word is reflected in your fondness for challenges like cryptic crosswords and Wordle puzzles. The extension of this is your enjoyment of puns, which others have mentioned. I’ve heard your Honour likes to critique the pun lines in newspapers and your Honour reached the pinnacle of pun pundits back in 2020, winning the Law Pun of the Year honour at the Australian Legal Research Awards. I couldn’t find a record of the pun itself, but perhaps you will acquaint us with it in the course of the morning. Your Honour’s interests extend beyond the law and are quite diverse, as the Attorney has already mentioned, your engagement in cricket.
Living in South Australia, of course, there will be plenty of big matches played on your home soil each summer. I’ve been told that friends and colleagues have to watch the program closely when planning end-of-year events if they want to ensure you are available to attend and not otherwise engaged at the Adelaide Oval. I also have it on good authority that your Honour is a toasties aficionado, so I hope that the quality and type of morning refreshments meet with your Honour’s standards. Of course, as others have mentioned, your greatest love, though, is for your family, your wife and your children and I’m sure they’re very proud of what you are achieving.
Your Honour’s commitment to the profession through your teaching, your articles, your analysing judgments, and your membership and involvement with legal organisations means that your Honour’s appointment has been universally welcomed by all the profession, and on behalf of the lawyers of Australia I congratulate you on your elevation and I have no doubt you will make a significant and exceptionally positive contribution to the administration of justice. Please the Court.
MORTIMER CJ: Thank you, Mr McIntyre. Mr Alex Lazarevich, President of the Law Society of South Australia.
MR A. LAZAREVICH: May it please the Court. I, too, repeat the acknowledgement that the land on which we meet is Kaurna land. It gives me the greatest pleasure on behalf of the South Australian Legal Profession and the Law Society of South Australia to welcome your Honour’s appointment as a Justice of this Honourable Court, which had commenced on 8 July 2024. When you speak to members of the profession about an appointment, there’s always gossip, talk, comment, critique, and in your Honour’s case the reception from the profession was overwhelmingly positive, so there was nothing but nice things to say about you. Your appointment has been warmly received. About the worst stories that we could find in trying to trawl through people’s recollections were that there was an occasion in which your Honour might have used complex mathematical formulas in written submissions, but that’s about as bad as it gets.
What we have heard is about your Honour’s intelligence, patience, courtesy, respect. They are all worthy attributes for any appointment and, combined with your Honour’s experience in constitutional law, administrative law and public law, the Federal Court of Australia is going to be well served by the breadth of your Honour’s experience. Your Honour graduated from the University of Adelaide with a Bachelor of Commerce and subsequently completed a Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours in 2004 and, as we’ve heard, your Honour’s career started as an Associate to the Honourable Justice White. Being an Associate, no doubt, your Honour would have had the unique vantage point of the judicial process in looking not only at what advocates do well, but also at what they do poorly, and that has stood you in good stead.
After being admitted to the profession, your Honour had a distinguished career at the Crown Solicitor’s Office and in 2011 was called to the Bar. Your Honour practised at Hanson Chambers for some 10 years in wide areas of law, including constitutional law, administrative law, criminal and civil appeals, and appeared many times in this Court and the Supreme Court, and in 2020 your Honour’s experience was recognised in taking silk, a well-deserved accolade and testament to your Honour’s skill, experience and commitment to the profession.
Today we celebrate your appointment to the Bench of the Federal Court of Australia. One point that the Society makes is the appreciation to the commitment that your Honour has had to share your knowledge with others in the field. This has included not just working as an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Adelaide
Law School, but also the numerous papers that your Honour has written. We also understand that your Honour had an Australian public law blog with articles which reflected a deep engagement with contemporary legal issues. The Society is particularly grateful for your Honour’s service to the profession through the Society, including through various memberships of its Administrative Law Committee from 2013 to 2016, and as a representative to the Legal Practitioners Education and Admission Council from 2017 to late last year.
Amongst other things, your Honour’s extracurricular service has included Vice-President of the Australian Association of Constitutional Law, a member of the Ethics Committee for the Australian Bar Association, an advisory board member for the South Australian Law Reform Institute, the Management Committee as a member for JusticeNet, a member for the South Australian Chapter Management Committee for the Australian Institute of Administrative Law, and a member of the Prizes and Scholarship Committee for the Australian Academy of Law. The respect with which your Honour’s work is held and your Honour’s breadth of experience were, no doubt, factors to your appointment to this Honourable Court. On behalf of the profession, we say that your Honour will fulfil the role of Federal Court Judge with distinction. We wish you the warmest of wishes for the next chapter of your legal career, and we extend those well wishes to your Honour’s family, friends and colleagues that are here today. May it please the Court.
MORTIMER CJ: Thank you, Mr Lazarevich. Justice McDonald, I invite you to reply.
McDONALD J: Thank you. Chief Justice Mortimer, Mr Attorney, judges of the Federal Court, the Federal Circuit and Family Court and the Courts of South Australia, colleagues and friends, I begin by acknowledging the Kaurna people, the traditional owners of the land on which we meet: the land on which I’ve lived and studied and worked almost my entire life. I thank them for caring for this country and for the role that they play in educating our community about their country and their culture. This Court has a significant role to play in Australia’s relationship with its First Nations Peoples, including through its native title jurisdiction.
Thank you to those who have spoken, the Attorney-General, Dr Gray, Mr McIntyre, Mr Lazarevich. Thank you all for your kind words. For people who don’t frequent courtrooms, you need to understand that these people are all seasoned silver-tongue advocates conditioned through decades of experience and training to pick out their best points and to say exactly what judges want to hear. Thank you, Mr Attorney, for the confidence that you and your Government have placed in me and thank you especially for attending in Adelaide to personally welcome me to the Court this morning.
My father, Ross McDonald, would tell the story that when I was a newborn baby he would hold me in his arm, my head in his hand and say to me, “You are good and clever.” Ross would often remind me of that, and in time I came to both believe it and to aspire to it. Of course, what each of us views as good and clever is shaped by our own experiences and, in the case of lawyers, by the recognition that we each have a particular role to play in an adversarial system of justice that serves the public interest.
My parents, Joy and Ross, provided me and my brother Michael and my sister Fiona with an ideal childhood, surrounded by love and fun and, well, yes, a lot of Weber barbecues. So much of our good fortune is due to the hard work and entrepreneurial talents of Ross, who introduced Australia to the Weber, and the incredible care and love and support of Joy. I’m so happy that Joy is able to be here today. It’s hard to believe that the day that I became a judge of this Court was 10 years and one day since the day that Ross died. He was always so proud of his three children and, although I’m sure this was not in contemplation when he held that baby on his arm, I know that he would have been extremely proud today.
I’m also delighted that Michael and Fiona are able to be here today. Mike is now the Managing Director of Weber in Australia, New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific. Fi is not just my sister, but one of my best friends in the law, and a brilliant government lawyer. One of the personal highlights of my career in practice at the Bar was having the opportunity to appear with her in two High Court appeals, albeit on opposing sides of the Bar table.
Until I began studying law, I had no connection with the legal profession, and I had never thought of becoming a lawyer. My main interest at that time was cricket, and, in particular, wicket-keeping. I really only knew one lawyer growing up, who was the father of two of my best friends at school. David Lovell, then a barrister, now Justice Lovell of the South Australian Court of Appeal, gave me my first legal job as a very casual research assistant while I was studying.
At university, I found almost all the law subjects interesting, but I only really felt that things clicked for me when I started studying Australian Constitutional Law, taught by Professor John Williams. I was fortunate to have a succession of great teachers, who encouraged my interest in Constitutional and Administrative Law including, Professor Wendy Lacey, Professor Michael Detmold and my Honours supervisor, Professor Rosemary Owens. Beyond the subjects that they taught, they spent time with me personally discussing the law, and encouraging my interest in it.
I then undertook my practical legal training at the Legal Services Commission of South Australia, and, in that short period, I was fortunate to work with, in particular, Marie Shaw KC and Greg Mead, later SC, who retired from practice last year after decades of selfless devotion to the criminal law clients of the Legal Services Commission. Later, when I was at the Bar, both Marie and Greg provided me with amazing opportunities to continue to be involved in criminal appeal work.
A common theme in my legal career has been that, whenever a door has appeared to close, a window has opened. Approaching the end of my studies, the first step I took was to apply for and be rejected for several judges’ associateships. It was Chief Justice John Doyle who, after informing me that I had been unsuccessful in obtaining an associateship with him, explained that a new judge had just been appointed to the Supreme Court, and asked whether I would like him to forward my CV to the new judge. I was incredibly lucky to become Associate to the new judge, Justice Richard White, one of the State’s best and most respected judges, first of the Supreme Court and, then, later, of this Court. I could not have hoped for a better introduction to the Courts and to the practice of the law.
When I completed my associateship with Justice White, I was offered a position interstate; however, after initially accepting the position, I suddenly felt unsure that it was the best move for me, and I turned it down. The Solicitor-General, Chris Kourakis, immediately offered me the position as his Research Assistant, for which I’d also applied. Again, this turned out to be very lucky for me. Chris and I worked so well together, we so often seemed to be on a similar wavelength. In Court, he would be on his feet, and I would basically hiss some garbled thing in his direction. Somehow, this would go into Chris’s ear, and almost instantaneously, out of his mouth would emerge a polished version of precisely what I had been attempting to say. I was incredibly fortunate to be involved in significant High Court cases, mostly Constitutional and Criminal Law cases, and to witness firsthand some of the very best counsel in Australia at such an early point in my career. I’m grateful for Chief Justice Kourakis’ continuing friendship.
When Martin Hinton was appointed as Solicitor-General, I was again privileged to be able to work with him in his early years in that role on some very interesting and significant cases. I express my gratitude to him for those opportunities.
I then became a member of what was then called the Advising Section of the South Australian Crown Solicitor’s Office, led first by Greg Parker and then Judy Hughes, two of the State’s best administrative lawyers, both of whom were later appointed Crown Solicitor and then Presidents of the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and judges of the Supreme Court. When a Crown Counsel section was created within the CSO, I applied, but was not selected. Yet again, that apparent disappointment turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because it prompted me, in due course, to leave the Crown and join the independent Bar.
At the beginning of 2011, I joined Hanson Chambers, the best chambers in South Australia, though I may be biased in that assessment. I had to pinch myself almost every day in the first few months working with and alongside Jonathan Wells KC Dick Whitington KC, Tim Stanley KC, Chris Bleby, and Ben Doyle. What a lineup. I have learnt so much from all of them about the law, advocacy and strategy. Over my time at Hanson Chambers, we were joined in due course by Tom Cox KC, Darren Blight KC, Robert Williams, Anna Wells, Tom McFarlane, Hannah Doyle, briefly Sam Ure and Hannah Tonkin, and most recently Ben Lodge and Tessa Hume. I thank them all for their friendship and the positive impact that they’ve had on my working life.
I would especially like to thank Justice Chris Bleby, who has been a great supporter and friend of mine, and Jonathan Wells KC, who was always so generous with his time and wisdom. It’s also a source of great happiness to me that I’m embarking on this new phase of my career at the same time that my friend, Ben Doyle, starts out in his new role as a judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia.
I must also express my enormous gratitude for our excellent chambers clerks who’ve kept things running smoothly and provided me with all the support I’ve needed and, along with my colleagues, have made Hanson Chambers such a great place to work, in particular, our permanent clerks, Jill Barnes, Margaret McPhee – both now enjoying well-deserved retirements – Mandy Cannon and Nickie Waddington.
During my time at the Bar, I had the opportunity to act as a mentor for nine Bar readers, and I’ve also had several research assistants and even one PLT student. It’s lovely to see many of you here today. I consider myself fortunate to have worked with and against so many other great counsel in South Australia and from other States as well.
Throughout my career, I’ve also attempted to stay in touch with the academic side of the law and I would like to acknowledge the friendship of members of the Academy, including especially my sometime co-authors Gabrielle Appleby, Anna Olijnyk and Anne Carter. I’ve also been involved, as you’ve heard, with several professional and law-related organisations which have given me great fulfilment and often fun. They include the Australian Association of Constitutional Law, the Australian Institute of Administrative Law, JusticeNet SA, and the South Australian Law Reform Institute.
The law is a unique and stimulating profession, demanding a mix of integrity, creativity, delight in language, problem-solving, intellectual effort and rigour, empathy and competitiveness. As lawyers, we enjoy the very great privilege of being invited into some of the most personal aspects of other people’s lives and, in the case of clients, being trusted with some of their most important concerns. I thank the many solicitors who have engaged and instructed me and, in particular, those who have instructed me in pro bono matters, which have contributed in significant ways to some of the most rewarding work of my life as a barrister.
We live in a global and connected world. The internet and social media present new hazards, but they also enable people with like interests from all walks of life to connect. There are pockets of the internet where academic and practising lawyers support each other, debate ideas and share geeky and whimsical law jokes and poems. I’ve been fortunate over the past decade or so to be able to converse with legal academics from around the globe and with practising lawyers from every jurisdiction in Australia, people I just never would have come into contact with in an earlier age, or whom I wouldn’t have had the confidence to approach in person. I’ve been fortunate to meet and work with several of them in real life, and many of them I now count as personal friends.
It will be apparent from what I’ve said that I’ve enjoyed a very fortunate life to date. It’s not lost on me that I fall into basically every privileged group. I’ve never suffered the systemic disadvantage which many people do confront and overcome. All of the people I’ve mentioned and many, many others have been generous to me and I’ve learnt so much from them. To continue to maintain and improve the legal profession and the legal system and the public interests that they serve, we all have an obligation to pay it forward.
As Justice Bleby said at his own ceremonial sitting to welcome him as a judge a few years ago, the Bench, Bar and profession more broadly have a great responsibility to further opportunities for junior lawyers and aspirants to the profession from all backgrounds. I’ve done my best to live up to that responsibility so far, and I will continue to try to do so.
Thank you Chief Justice and all of the judges and staff of the Federal Court who have been so kind and welcoming to me in my first few weeks here. What could be better for a judge than serving on a national Court with a broad and interesting jurisdiction while being based in this incredible building here in Adelaide – recently named by Architectural Design as the world’s most beautiful city – and with two great judicial colleagues in Justices Charlesworth and O’Sullivan.
Speaking of the Court and its staff, I especially want to mention my two Associates, Alice O’Connell and Georgie Russell. You’ve done such a great job of getting the work of my chambers off to a positive start. You are helpful and hardworking and fun. I could not have asked for better chambers staff, and I know that we’re going to continue to be a great team.
Of course, I’ve saved the best for last. The person who has shaped my adult life more than anyone else is my life partner and wife, Claire. We met when I was 20. It was close to love at first sight. When we first met we seemed to have so much in common, including, notably, our mutual love for the film The Princess Bride. We’ve been a team ever since and over time those initial superficial things that seemed so auspicious have paled into insignificance compared with the life we’ve shared together since then. I look forward to continuing our journey together. Thank you, Claire, for your unwavering support of me and for everything that you do for our family, which is far more than anyone could reasonably ask. Of course, the greatest thing that has shaped our life together is our three wonderful, intelligent and thoughtful children, James, Rory and Cate. I love you all, I am so proud of you all, and I’m so happy that you’re here to share this special occasion.
Being appointed to the Federal Court is a once in a lifetime event, except in the case of Chief Justice Allsop, and so I’m so pleased that so many of you have done me and the Court the honour of attending today. Thank you all. I still have a lot to learn in this new role and I look forward to the challenge. I look forward to continuing my endeavour to be good and clever.
MORTIMER CJ: Thank you, Justice McDonald. The court will now adjourn.
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