Page 3958 - Week 10 - Thursday, 20 September 2018
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
In the tabling speech to my bill, I quoted many supporting comments, but among the most pertinent included that from the President of the New South Wales Bar Association, Mr Arthur Moses SC, who stated that there were compelling reasons to lift the judicial retirement age, including stemming the loss of experienced judges who would otherwise have had the capacity to continue to make significant contributions to the development of the law.
I quoted Mr Andrew Fraser who said:
The ACT’s magistrates are the victims of mandatory sentencing.
They must quit when they hit 65.
In New South Wales and Tasmania, magistrates run to 72; in Victoria, the Northern Territory, Queensland and South Australia it’s 70 … What’s holding us back here?
Thankfully we are no longer being held back.
Specifically the government has accepted the operative purpose of the bill we introduced, but the government bill extends the 70-year compulsory retirement age to the DPP, ACAT presidents and the Master of the Supreme Court.
The bill also includes some technical amendments not directly related to the Magistrates Court (Retirement Age of Magistrates) Amendment Bill 2018, making it more of an omnibus bill. For example, it updates the clauses around the appointment, conditions and procedures relating to principal registrars, the appointment of consultants and minor court procedures. None of these amendments appears controversial.
As ever, we have consulted with industry, and in this instance we have also sought the input of the Chief Magistrate. She has made statements publicly in support of the original bill, and certainly no-one has raised any issues with the extensions proposed by the government bill.
I recognise that the Attorney-General has not sought to grab the limelight or the credit for this bill but has acknowledged the input and initiation of me and the Canberra Liberals. He has added some legitimate extra clauses to the final product that I think improve the bill that I tabled.
While we are sharing the credit, I extend the credit to Ms Lee who came to me with the idea. There would be very few people in this town with her experience of the ACT legal system—both as a practitioner and now as a legislator—to understand its nuances. I do not think she has been a defendant yet; she cannot claim that credit, but that is not necessarily one she would aspire to.
I make particular note that the Canberra Liberals support not just this bill but the recognition throughout our society of the contributions that citizens can make as they get older. Although this bill relates only to specific legal positions, the attitude that we
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video