Andrew Leigh (Fenner, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to rise to pay tribute to Sir Anthony Mason, one of the most distinguished jurists Australia has ever produced. As an associate on the High Court of Australia to Justice Michael Kirby, I had the privilege of coming to know Sir Anthony Mason somewhat. He turned up as a surprise guest to a book launch we did in 2004 and was as gracious then as he was throughout his career.

Sir Anthony Mason served as an aircraftman in World War II, and his career began in the black-letter realm of the Sydney bar. Many at that stage would not have expected him to be the innovative jurist that he became later in his career. He served on the Supreme Court until 1972, when he was appointed to the bench of the High Court of Australia and was one of the last Australians to receive a knighthood. He served for 15 years as a puisne judge and then in 1987 was appointed Chief Justice. He retired in 1995 after reaching the constitutionally mandatory retirement age of 70.

As I said, his career began as a conservative judge, but he moved the court away from the strict legalism that had characterised the chief justiceship of Owen Dixon towards a more flexible approach, epitomised in cases such as Cole v Whitfield, Polyukhovich v Commonwealth and most notably during Mabo v Queensland (No. 2). The Mabo decision shook Australia. It got rid of that outdated falsehood of terra nullius, the idea that there was nothing here when European settlers arrived. Terra nullius is a doctrine to which no-one in the House or the Senate would today subscribe; not even our most extreme members of parliament would suggest that terra nullius is true, and yet, remarkably, that was the law of the land. With Mabo the notion of native title was introduced. There were critiques that it was overly activist, but, ultimately, native title has become a firm part of the Australian property law system.

In other decisions such as Dietrich v The Queen, the High Court under Sir Anthony Mason established that an accused was entitled to publicly funded legal representation. And there were important decisions on constitutionally implied freedom of political communication through Australian Capital Television Pty Ltd v Commonwealth and Nationwide News Pty Ltd v Wills. These decisions, though not unanimous, were important in shaping the notion of rights in Australia.

Sir Anthony Mason enjoyed a relatively quiet retirement. He served on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal, but he just popped up in interesting places, as he did in a pub in Sydney when four young Australians launched a book called Imagining Australia: Ideas for Our Future. A couple of us had served as High Court associates, but really I'm not quite sure why it was worth his time, except that he was always interested in big ideas and in the future of the country.

Sir Anthony Mason shaped Australia for the better and he shaped the Australian legal fabric for the better. He has left an indelible mark on law students, lawyers, judges and presidents alike and will be justly mourned and rightly recognised.

Sitting suspended from 11:19 to 11:35

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