September 2024
DPP who lodged two complaints about judges joins the bench
Kerri Judd, KC, has been appointed to the Victorian Supreme Court, less than a year after making complaints against two sitting judges.
November 2023
This $25k-a-hearing barrister is happy to be losing money
Top silk Bret Walker has welcomed news the High Court will scrap special leave days as part of an overhaul of its appeals precess.
February 2023
Pell endured ‘modern-day crucifixion’, Abbott tells funeral
Former prime minister Tony Abbott delivers heated tribute at George Pell’s funeral railing against his since-overturned conviction. Follow updates here.
Pell endured ‘modern-day crucifixion’, Abbott tells funeral
The former PM used his eulogy to rail against George Pell’s since-overturned conviction as John Howard, Peter Dutton, Alan Jones gathered for the Sydney service.
January 2023
‘Unwavering courage’: Vatican holds funeral for George Pell
Pope Francis gave a final blessing for the Australian cardinal who lamented that the current papacy was a “disaster” and a “catastrophe”.
PNG regional leader pushes Albanese for more climate action
Worst of the omicron wave over; secret Pell memo accuses Francis papacy of being a disaster; Perrottet says he has ‘overwhelming support’ from his colleagues. Follow updates here.
Letters: Chinese envoy well-versed in diplomacy
China’s man in Canberra; Sun Cable fiasco; safeguard mechanism and alternative technologies; China’s reaction to travel rules; George Pell and the church; alcohol advice.
Pope praises Pell’s ‘perseverance in his hour of trial’
Pope Francis’ condolence telegram lauded the Australian for his religious conviction and his work on Vatican finances. It also referenced the child abuse saga.
George Pell: the most powerful and controversial Catholic in Australia
A deeply divisive figure during his life, the Cardinal is no less polarising in death.
Pell leaves complex legacy as Abbott remembers ‘a saint for our times’
Politicians’ reactions to George Pell’s death ranged from accolades that he was “a fine man” and “saint” to “a new entrant” to hell.
George Pell: a priest who endured scandal and success
To his supporters, the cardinal was at the heart of the struggle for the soul of the church in a secular world. To his enemies, he was a dogmatic and abrasive bully who surrounded himself with yes-men.
September 2022
Lawyers audition for Catholics work Corrs vacated
Advising the church is a seriously lucrative calling if your conscience can suffer it.
July 2022
Why Corrs dropped the Catholic Church as a client
The decision to drop the church after 60 years was a commercial one that also played to younger lawyers.
January 2022
Meet the High Court’s busiest barrister
Taking on 32 matters, from criminal law to complex corporate matters and more, Bret Walker, SC, was the busiest advocate in the High Court in 2021.
June 2021
Pell contempt case shows courts must adapt to digital age
If the courts just continuing to punish the owners of the printing presses, their frustrations with modern communications technology will just undermine the administration of justice.
Media companies fined $1.1m for Pell coverage
Fourteen media outlets pleaded guilty to contempt of court for reporting the conviction of a high-profile person without naming Pell, after a judge suppressed the publication of his identity.
March 2021
Porter inquiry would enhance rule of law: judge
NSW Supreme Court Justice Francois Kunc cites public trust and confidence ‘in the proper administration of government’ as a reason for an independent inquiry into a historical rape claim against the Attorney-General.
February 2021
Deal reached over trial of media in Pell contempt case
All charges brought against individual journalists have been dropped, and the media organisations, including Nine and News Corp, will plead guilty to a breach of the suppressed order relating to Cardinal Pell’s conviction in December 2018.
January 2021
Pell articles were about media coverage, court hears
The stories did not name Cardinal Pell, instead they focused on the media’s coverage of the issue and the judge’s anger at other publications’ coverage despite a suppression order.
Pell stories aimed to dispel conspiracy theories, court told
Australian media were banned from covering the conviction under a suppression order due to Mr Pell facing a second trial in 2019.