Michael Kirby Justice Orations

Catherine Holmes AC SC was appointed Chief Justice of Queensland in 2015 and retired in March 2022. She had previously served as a judge of the Court of Appeal (2006 – 2015) and of the Trial Division (2000 – 2006) of the Supreme Court of Queensland. From 2011 to 2012, Ms Holmes was Commissioner of the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry.

Commissioner Holmes is a graduate of the University of Queensland and the Australian National University, with undergraduate degrees in Law, Arts (Hons) and Economics and a Master's degree in Law. She was admitted as a solicitor in 1982 and as a barrister in 1984. In 1999 she was appointed Senior Counsel.

Ms Holmes was a founding member of the Women's Legal Service (from 1984) and was a member of the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Tribunal (1992 – 2000). From 1998 to 1999 she served as Counsel Assisting the Commission of Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland Institutions.

In January 2020, Ms Holmes was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia for 'eminent service to the judiciary, notably to criminal, administrative and mental health law, and to the community of Queensland'.

Topic: Miscarriages of justice in Australia - some famous (& infamous) cases

The Australian criminal justice system generally works well. Trial by jury, with the presumption that the defendant is innocent, is a great protection against unjust convictions. The availability of appeal to intermediate courts of appeal in each State and Territory provides a further layer of protection; and finally, of course, there is the possibility of obtaining leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia. But every so often a case emerges which shows that the system has failed to recognise and correct injustice.

Remedying of wrong convictions, when it does occur, can take a disturbingly long time. This speech focuses on the cases of five individuals who were wrongly convicted and ultimately vindicated: Lindy Chamberlain, who served three years imprisonment, missing the early years of the child she gave birth to in jail; John Button, who served five years; Andrew Mallard, who spent 12 years in jail; and Kathleen Folbigg and Henry Keogh, who respectively spent the appallingly long periods of 20 and 21 years in custody. What caused those miscarriages of justice? Why did the criminal justice system not work to rectify them? And what might be done for the future, either to avoid such miscarriages happening at all or to remedy them more quickly when they do?

Barry Jones has been a teacher, lawyer, academic, writer and politician, a Labor Member of the Victorian Parliament 1972-77 and the Commonwealth Parliament 1977-98.

He led the successful campaign to abolish the death penalty. His book Sleepers, Wake!: Technology and the Future of Work (1982) became an international best seller, read by Deng Xiaoping and Bill Gates.

Australia’s longest-serving Minister for Science 1983-90, he was the first politician to draw attention to the existential challenge of  climate change/ global warming, and the way that the IT revolution would transform employment and politics.  He represented Australia in Paris at UNESCO 1991-95 and the World Heritage Committee 1995-96 and has consulted for the OECD.

The only person elected to four of Australia’s five learned academies, he became a ‘living national treasure’ in 1997 and was made a Companion of the Order of Australia, the nation’s highest award, in 2014.

What Is To Be Done: Political Engagement and Saving the Planet was a best seller in 2020. The Penalty is Death, first published in 1968, had a second edition, updated and much expanded, in 2022.

Recording & transcript

• Recording of Hon. Dr Barry Jones AC, FAA's oration
• Transcript of Hon. Dr Barry Jones AC, FAA's oration (PDF, 337.94 KB).

Her Excellency Vicki Treadell CMG, MVO delivered the 9th annual Michael Kirby Justice Oration on 27 August 2019. The address was titled “Universal Values – Justice & Fairness”.

Her Excellency Vicki Treadell CMG, MVO, took up her appointment as British High Commissioner to Australia on 13 March 2019. As High Commissioner, she will continue to advance and maintain the relationship between the UK and Australia. The High Commissioner is the UK government’s representative in a Commonwealth nation.

Mrs Treadell has held senior roles in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office since she began her Foreign Service career in 1979. Most recently, she served as the British High Commissioner to Malaysia (2014 to 2019) and New Zealand (2010 to 2014) and Deputy High Commissioner to India (2006 to 2010). Additionally, Mrs Treadell was Director of UK Trade and Investment for the North West of England from 2002 to 2005 where she was responsible for driving trade and investment as a key pillar of regional and economic development.

Watch the recording of Vicki Treadell CMG, MVO's oration

Emeritus Professor Gillian Triggs delivered the seventh annual Michael Kirby Justice Oration.

Professor Triggs' address was titled "Overreach of Executive & Ministerial Discretion: A threat to Australian democracy".

The annual oration provides a platform for leaders within our community to share their experiences, deep understanding, knowledge and reflections on issues of justice.

Emeritus Professor Triggs, an international lawyer and former dean of the University of Sydney’s law school:

• Was President of the Australian Human Rights Commission by The Hon. Nicola Roxon (Adjunct Professor, Victoria University)
• In 2012 prompted a major inquiry into children in immigration detention. The Forgotten Children report was handed down in 2015, and included a chapter dedicated to the plight of 116 children detained on Nauru.

Speaking to a full lecture theatre in the heart of Melbourne’s legal precinct, The Hon. Julia Gillard tackled equality and challenges to reform in her address at the annual Michael Justice Kirby Oration.

Dr Gillard seized the opportunity to discuss marriage equality and modern challenges to good governance.

She said she had developed a sense of concern about the Abbott government’s proposal to have a plebiscite or referendum on same sex marriage, and flagged potential long-term ramifications the proposal could have on democracy and Australia’s future capacity to reform.

I feel a responsibility to respectfully lay out a case for rejecting this idea of a plebiscite or referendum and, with your indulgence, I intend to do so this evening. 

Indeed, given the important lessons Michael (Kirby) and his much loved partner Johan have taught our nation about bravery, honesty and inclusion, there could be no better occasion than tonight for me to make these remarks.

Recording & transcript

• Recording of The Hon. Julia Gillard's oration
• Transcript for The Hon. Julia Gillard's oration (PDF, 135.9 KB)

• 2013: The Hon. Justice Yvonne Murphy on church and state and the challenge of investigating child sexual abuse with religious organisations in Ireland
• 2011: Chief Magistrate, Ian Gray on sentencing and other controversial issues
• 2010: Michael Kirby on social justice and human rights.