EXCHANGE OF CHRISTMAS GREETINGS WEDNESDAY 18 DECEMBER 2013

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1 EXCHANGE OF CHRISTMAS GREETINGS WEDNESDAY 18 DECEMBER 2013 May it please the Court, Mr Chief Justice, Your Honours. This is my favourite ceremonial occasion that the Court hosts each year. Our adversarial system necessitates conflict; but this occasion, more than any other, each year is an occasion for the legal community to gather in a spirit of peace and goodwill. It is also an occasion to recognise achievement the achievement of this and the other courts of the State in disposing of litigious matters; the achievements of senior members of the legal profession in being recognised by their peers and the bench by taking silk; and the achievement of new members of the Bar who have begun

2 their professional careers as counsel in the previous twelve months. In addition to recognising achievement, this occasion is an opportunity to reflect and take stock of the year that was. Whilst statistics can be boring, I think it is important to place on record the executive government s appreciation that the courts of Queensland have achieved excellent clearance rates. In the criminal jurisdiction, the Supreme Court achieved a clearance rate of 110%, the District Court clearance rate was 119%, and the Magistrates Court clearance rate (including Children s Court) was 98%. 2

3 Outstanding results were also achieved in the civil jurisdiction, with a clearance rate of 111% in the Supreme Court, 107% in the District Court, and 97% in the Magistrates Court. These clearance rates demonstrate that our courts are working efficiently in managing their workload despite more and more matters being brought before them. On behalf of the executive government, I congratulate and thank the Chief Justice, the Chief Judge and the Chief Magistrate as well as all the court staff who serve the people of Queensland for achieving these clearance rates. I again also place on record the government s congratulations to the new members of Queensland s judiciary. Justices Morrison and Thomas joined the Supreme Court (and in Justice Morrison s case, the Court of Appeal), Judges Carmody and Smith joined the District 3

4 Court, and Magistrates Hay, Gett, Shearer, Stjernqvist, and Ryan joined the Magistrates Court of Queensland. Additionally, I note and congratulate Justice Thomas on becoming the President of QCAT, Justice Martin on becoming the President of the Industrial Court, Judge Carmody on becoming the Chief Magistrate, Magistrate Ryan on becoming the State Coroner, and Magistrate Rinaudo on becoming a Deputy Chief Magistrate. I can happily advise that on account of retirements and vacancies, I anticipate making some further appointments to the magistracy shortly. This year also saw the successful re-introduction of appointments to the office of Queen s Counsel. I was pleased to see that this initiative was broadly welcomed and taken up by members of the Bar, and I particularly wish to congratulate the 13 new silks here today announcing their appearances to the Court. 4

5 On a personal note, I wish to place on record my thanks to Mr Roger Traves QC, outgoing President of the Bar Association, for the work he undertook over the past year to foster a good working relationship with the Government. I am also very proud of the work the Government has done to support victims of crime. We have worked to give victims more of a voice by mandating that victim impact statements be read out in court should the victim wish to, unless it is not in the interests of justice to do so. Through regulation, we have also made provision for victims of crime that involve personal violence and families of victims who are murdered to receive a free court transcript. 5

6 We have also provided an extra $2 million over four years to groups that support victims of crime and $750,000 over three years to the Womens Legal Service to help vulnerable women in Queensland. I am proud of our efforts so far and look forward to continuing this work next year. In terms of reflecting upon the previous twelve months, it is important for me to make some remarks about the perceived cooling of relations between each end of George Street a perception that I think has been somewhat magnified out of proportion. As I have said on a number of occasions, I am unashamedly a strong believer in the importance of civility especially in public discourse. I was therefore pleased to 6

7 see that the public debate that we have had over the last four or so months was conducted in a civil fashion. It is stating the obvious that the executive government and some members of the legal community have had their differences over a variety of topics in the last twelve months. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with this. I would much rather live in a society where the executive and the judiciary can go about their business without fear of each other. That is not to say that the executive and judiciary are not exempt from criticism. We legislators are robustly criticised; and of course, the decisions of magistrates and judges are not exempt from criticism, even robust criticism. As your Honour the Chief Justice recently observed, occasional robust exchanges do not erode stability; rather, they corroborate judicial independence and stability. 7

8 Historically, there is nothing strange about the judiciary being criticised for a perceived misapplication of the sentencing discretion. The late Bruce McPherson wrote in his history of the Supreme Court of the terrible reputation of, and public campaign against, Chief Justice Cooper s criminal sentences. McPherson tells us that after the Tramways strike of 1912 that a campaign for shorter sentences was pursued by the Government and vigorously supported by some sections of the press. What is important to observe is that whilst the legislators and members of the legal community may, from time to time, disagree on important issues, that criticism should respect the institutional integrity of both the executive and the judiciary. Lest the view from one end of George Street to the other has become blurred, the government and people of Queensland continue to have full confidence in the 8

9 members of this and every court of the State to dispense justice according to their oaths taken. Now; returning to other matters, it would be remiss of me to not record the executive government s congratulations to his Honour Justice Keane who was appointed to the High Court of Australia in March of this year. I am very pleased that there are now two Queenslanders on the bench of the High Court. And, on a very respectful note, I record my disappointment at not being able to be here in the Banco Court on Monday for the important ceremony to recognise the life and judicial achievements of the late, and great, Bruce Harvey McPherson an outstanding former judge of this court. I wish to be publicly associated with the remarks of the Chief Justice on that occasion. 9

10 Finally, I record the government and people of Queensland s appreciation to the judges, magistrates and members of the Supreme, District, Magistrates, Land and Industrial Courts of Queensland, as well as the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, for their service to the State of Queensland over the past twelve months. I offer the season s greetings to the Bench and Legal Profession. May it please the Court. 10