The Australian’s Australian of the Year: Open justice advocate and anti-Semitism denouncer Michael Lee

Michael Lee has unpicked challenging legal cases, fought hard for open justice, and stood publicly against anti-Semitism; that’s why he is nominated for The Australian’s Australian of the Year.

Federal Court judge Michael Lee has been nominated for The Australian’s Australian of the Year.

Federal Court judge Michael Lee has had a huge year. He unpicked one of the nation’s most challenging cases in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation stoush with the Ten Network, delivering an (at least temporary) answer to the long-running question of what happened in former Coalition minister Linda Reynolds’s office.

He presided over significant commercial and employment cases, including those starring Qantas and the Super Retail Group.

He became a staunch advocate for open justice, and an even firmer opponent of anti-Semitism.

For these reasons, Justice Lee has received a nomination for The Australian’s Australian of the Year.

While the renowned jurist joined the Federal Court bench in 2017, he rose to prominence while presiding over Mr Lehrmann’s case against Ten and presenter Lisa Wilkinson, in which the former Liberal staffer claimed the network defamed him when airing an interview with Brittany Higgins in early 2021.

Mr Lehrmann claimed he was recognisable as the anonymous man whom Ms Higgins accused of raping her in Parliament House, an allegation he denies.

Justice Lee ruled in favour of Ten and Wilkinson in finding that, on the balance of probabilities, Mr Lehrmann assaulted Ms Higgins. The decision is subject to appeal.

In delivering the complex judgment, Justice Lee was heralded for his well-reasoned decision which dispelled rape myths while berating those who “surrender their critical faculties” in order to “believe all women”. He said it was “dangerous” and “superficial” to make assumptions about the reliability of a rape complainant based on “so-called ‘typical behaviours’ of genuine victims”.

The fact Ms Higgins accepted a coffee from Mr Lehrmann and sent an email to him “phoning a friend” in the days after the incident at Parliament House did not rule out rape occurring, he said.

With trademark humour and wordplay, he uttered the now iconic line: “Having escaped the lions’ den, Mr Lehrmann made the mistake of going back for his hat.”

Justice Lee has been a key driver behind a quiet campaign for open justice, regularly rallying against skyrocketing suppression orders granted in the Federal Court. In August, he issued instructions to journalists at a Women in Media event to hold courts “to account” by enlisting “some young junior barrister” who is “cheap as chips” to oppose suppression orders.

He criticised corporations that “time and time again” requested extensive orders, and encouraged publishers to exercise a “statutory right” to oppose them and fight harder to preserve open justice.

Justice Lee speaking at a Women in Media event in August.

Further, while speaking at the Piddington Society Conference in October, Justice Lee suggested attempts should be made to “Marie Kondo-fy” piecemeal, inconsistent laws that allow suppression orders to be made.

“Tidying-up, simplifying (and harmonising between jurisdictions) the statutory provisions under which suppression and non-publication orders are made is a task worth pursuing,” he said.

Towards the end of last year, Justice Lee emerged as a staunch advocate for the Australian Jewish community, delivering a deeply personal speech saying that the “growth and mainstreaming” of anti-Semitic behaviour stemming from the October 7, 2023 massacres must be tackled.

In the extraordinary address, delivered the night after a car was set alight and buildings vandalised in a prominent Jewish suburb in Sydney’s east, Justice Lee said some Australians did not understand the “complex narrative” of the Middle East conflict and instead preferred “historically flawed” reports from parts of the media.