George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Yes there are, Senator Macdonald. A vacancy on the High Court will be filled by the Hon. James Edelman, a judge of the Federal Court of Australia and formerly a judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia. I imagine my Western Australian colleagues on all sides of the chamber will be delighted by the appointment of Justice Edelman. Justice Edelman, at the age of only 42, has had a most distinguished career, both as a judge and as a barrister but also as a scholar of international reputation. Justice Edelman was appointed Professor of the Law of Obligations at Oxford University at the age of only 34—by the reckoning of some, the youngest person ever appointed a full professor of law at Oxford University in history. He is a scholar of international distinction, a very fine judge who I can tell you from the evidence of those who have appeared before him in the Federal Court where he sits in Brisbane is a most welcome appointment. (Time expired)