Fare well, Justice Kirby

Who can believe it? ‘The great dissenter’, the judge with a Facebook site dedicated to him,1 the person known affectionately to his associates as ‘our Judge’, Justice Michael Kirby has reached the end of his federal judicial tenure. Justice Kirby has turned 70 and, as required by section 72 of the Constitution, must leave his office in the High Court of Australia. Analysis of the Judge’s jurisprudential influence will flow soon enough. This piece is instead a reflection on the experiences of his associates to provide some different insights, such as into the workings of his High Court chambers. Those chambers consisted of a small team — the Judge, his indomitable personal assistant Janet Saleh and the two associates. There was never any doubt that the associates (who changed annually) were the least expert of the four. But between the Judge and his PA, no-one can say who had the upper hand. Janet, may you enjoy your retirement (that coincides with the Judge’s) and may ‘The Edit Queen’ live on for many happy years without ever having to see another ‘edit’.