High Court announcement leaves South Australia without representation on the nation’s most senior court, but change could come in two years
SA has missed out on sending a judge to the High Court – but the next chance, two years away, is already on the minds of cabinet.
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South Australia has again missed out on having representation on the country’s most senior court, but the Federal Attorney-General has indicated that our century-long absence weighed on his mind.
South Australia has never had a justice sit on the High Court since its inception in 1903.
On Wednesday Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter announced Federal Court Justices Jacqueline Gleeson and Simon Steward will replace outgoing Justices Virginia Bell and Geoffrey Nettle, both of whom are approaching mandatory retirement.
When asked about the century-long snub of South Australian jurists, Mr Porter said it “weighed heavily on my mind, and the mind of cabinet”.
“And the consultation process we went through starts with a long list, and as you will see, that list becomes shorter with each iteration,” he said.
“But that is something that has played on cabinet’s mind, and there are always people from all over Australia geographically considered in that list.
“But there are future appointments obviously, but they did play very much on our mind.”
The next scheduled vacancy on the court will be in 2022 when High Court Justice Patrick Keane reaches mandatory retirement age.
Chief Justice Susan Kiefel reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70 in 2024.
In the lead up to the selection, the South Australian Law Society said that numerous local jurists had been qualified enough to be selected for the High Court.
In the wake of Wednesday’s announcement, Law Society President Tim White said it was encouraging that South Australia’s lack of representation had been on the minds of cabinet.
“The High Court appointment process should of course be merit-based, and we congratulate Justice Jacqueline Gleeson and Justice Simon Steward on their well-deserved appointments. “We’re not asking for special treatment in SA, just an acknowledgment that there are SA jurists with a level of expertise, work ethic and experience in the interpretation of complex laws that is commensurate with their interstate counterparts.
“The value of a High Court bench that represents a Federated Australia should also be contemplated by Cabinet.”
“We would hope that due consideration is given to South Australian judicial officers when the next search for a new High Court judge is conducted.”
Members of the legal fraternity suggested that recently appointed South Australian Supreme Court Justice Chris Bleby could be a candidate for the High Court.
Justice Bleby was previously the Solicitor General and is known as a formidable legal mind.
South Australian prosecutor turned Federal Court Judge Wendy Abraham, who prosecuted the Snowtown trials, has also been named.
Established jurists Justice Sam Doyle, Chief Justice Chris Kourakis and Director of Public Prosecutions Martin Hinton QC have also been suggested as possible candidates.
