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Valedictory Ceremony for the Honourable Judge Robertson

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Valedictory Ceremony for the Honourable Judge Robertson AUSCRIPT AUSTRALASIA PTY LIMITED ACN 110 028 825 T: 1800 AUSCRIPT (1800 287 274) W: www.auscript.com.au E: [email protected] TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS Copyright in this transcript is vested in the State of Queensland (Department of Justice & Attorney-General). Copies thereof must not be made or sold without the written authority of the Executive Manager, Support Services, Queensland Courts. DISTRICT COURT OF QUEENSLAND CHIEF JUDGE O’BRIEN IN THE MATTER OF A VALEDICTORY CEREMONY FOR JUDGE JOHN ROBERTSON MAROOCHYDORE 9.17 AM, THURSDAY, 17 MAY 2018 Any Rulings that may be included in this transcript, may be extracted and subject to revision by the Presiding Judge. WARNING: The publication of information or details likely to lead to the identification of persons in some proceedings is a criminal offence. This is so particularly in relation to the identification of children who are involved in criminal proceedings or proceedings for their protection under the Child Protection Act 1999, and complainants in criminal sexual offences, but is not limited to those categories. You may wish to seek legal advice before giving others access to the details of any person named in these proceedings. 1 20180517/MCY/DC/2/Robertson DCJ __________________________________________________________________________________ Also Present: Mr Peter Dunning QC, Solicitor-General, on behalf of the Attorney-General; 5 Mr Christopher Hughes QC, on behalf of the Queensland Bar Association; and Mr Bill Potts, on behalf of Queensland Law Society 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 2 20180517/MCY/DC/2/Robertson DCJ __________________________________________________________________________________ THE CHIEF JUDGE: Members of the profession, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you all here today on this important occasion when we gather to mark the retirement of Judge John Robertson, a Judge who for more than two decades has served the people of Queensland with great distinction. Among the 5 many present here today to honour Judge Robertson, I acknowledge in particular the presence of a number of Judges of the Supreme Court, members of the Magistracy, and a number of retired Judges of this Court. It’s always a pleasure on these occasions to welcome our retired Judges. I will not name them all now for fear that I may miss someone, but I do acknowledge in particular the presence of retired Judge 10 Keith Dodds, who provided many years of judicial service to the people of this region, and Judge Hugh Botting, a friend of Judge Robertson’s since their college days. We are also delighted to welcome the many friends of the Judge – too numerous to 15 mention individually – who join us, and we are, of course, especially delighted to welcome members of his family, including Dr June Redman, the Judge’s daughter Caroline, grandchildren Naimh, Liam, Oliver and Hugh. Unfortunately, and much to their regret and, I know, to the Judge’s regret, the Judge’s sons Jeremy and Jonathon are unable to join us today. One has been required to perform an emergency surgery 20 - - - JUDGE ROBERTSON: No, a bone marrow. THE CHIEF JUDGE: A bone marrow. 25 JUDGE ROBERTSON: Nothing serious. THE CHIEF JUDGE: Nothing serious. And the other is in transit to the United States. 30 JUDGE ROBERTSON: Miami, yes. THE CHIEF JUDGE: Miami. Right. How selfish of them. But I know that the Judge has had the opportunity to speak with them over the past two days. There are 35 many others who cannot be here but who have asked that their apologies be conveyed to the Judge. They include the Honourable Chief Justice of Queensland Justice Catherine Holmes, my predecessor as Chief Judge of this Court Judge Patsy Wolfe AO, Justice Martin Daubney the President of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Justices Atkinson and Burns of the Supreme Court, 40 Magistrate Tonkin, Mr John Allen QC the Public Defender, and Ms Sandra Bolton MP the Member for Noosa. I am sure that I have omitted to mention some names, but that is purely through my own inadvertence. Finally, in this regard, there are many of our own judicial 45 colleagues who have other Court commitments and who are unable to join us today. All, however, have asked that their apologies and good wishes be conveyed to Judge Robertson. Fortunately, the Judges of the Court had the opportunity last Friday 3 20180517/MCY/DC/2/Robertson DCJ __________________________________________________________________________________ evening to gather and to honour and farewell Judge Robertson and June in a collegiate way. Judge Robertson was sworn in as a Judge of this Court on the 23rd of September 5 1994. That, though, was not his first association with the Court, for he had previously been Associate, or Clerk, as it was then called, to the late Judge Alan McCracken. He was the first solicitor to be appointed to the District Court in this State in the modern era and became the first resident District Court Judge in Ipswich. In January 1999, he became President of the Children’s Court of Queensland, 10 following the retirement of Judge McGuire, and moved then to Brisbane. In August 2000, he was appointed to Maroochydore as the second resident Judge, joining here on the Bench Judge Keith Dodds. Judge Robertson came to this Court at a time when the full impact of jurisdictional 15 change had begun to take effect. The Court had acquired an equitable jurisdiction and had inherited a range of civil and criminal matters previously dealt with by the Supreme Court. The District Court was becoming the Court that it is today: the busiest trial Court in this State. And Judge Robertson’s legal experience, his analytical skills, his learning, and his knowledge of the law equipped him well for 20 this challenging role. When he was sworn in as a Judge, the Acting Attorney-General, Mr Foley, observed that Judge Robertson was deeply respected in the legal profession as an excellent lawyer, as a humanitarian, and as a deft problem-solver. Others made reference to 25 his industry and to his commitment to the passionate delivery of justice. Those who made those prescient observations knew Judge Robertson well, for they were the very qualities that have defined his time as a Judge. Courteous, thoughtful, decent, knowledgeable, and learned in the law, he has 30 exemplified the best kind of Judge. The energy which he displayed as a solicitor and as a very active member of the Law Society he brought with him to the Bench. He involved himself in the affairs of the Court. He played a significant role in the development of the Higher Court’s bench book, which is today a valuable source of reference to all Judges and lawyers. 35 His retirement will be a great loss to the Court. Not only do we lose a very good Judge, but we lose someone who has been an excellent judicial companion to us all. Judge Robertson will be difficult to replace, but replaced he must be, and I publicly express the hope that the Attorney will move expeditiously to ensure that that 40 replacement occurs in the very near future. The proper delivery of justice in this region requires nothing less. All of you who know Judge Robertson will know that he is a man of many interests and a man of great energy, and I know that he will have little difficulty occupying his 45 time after he retires. We of the District Court will miss him, and we will miss June as well. Sad though we are to see him depart, we wish both he and June a long and deservedly happy retirement. Mr Solicitor. 4 20180517/MCY/DC/2/Robertson DCJ __________________________________________________________________________________ MR P. DUNNING QC: May it please the Court. Your Honour Judge Robertson, Chief Judge, Judges of the District Court, Judges of the Supreme Court, other judicial officers, retired judicial officers, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I rise today on behalf of the State to express its gratitude to you, Judge Robertson, for 5 your distinguished service to this Court. At the outset, I’d like to express the Attorney-General’s personal regret that she is unable to be here today, but other government business detains her. That, however, is a delight for me, because I get the opportunity to present on behalf of the State its good wishes. 10 Your Honour before coming to this Court was, it would be no exaggeration to say, a giant among solicitors in the practice of criminal law in Queensland and, indeed, in Australia. It would be hard for anybody who took an interest in public affairs in the 1980s and 90s not to recollect a vision of your Honour leaving Court alongside some glamorous silk of the day. 15 JUDGE ROBERTSON: I thought you were going to mention my clients. MR DUNNING: Occasionally you left with them; occasionally you didn’t. 20 Your Honour commenced an articles clerkship at Elliot and Co before admission in 1973 and becoming a partner of Elliot and Co. Better known, though, was your Honour’s time in the eponymous firms of JM Robertson & Co and, after that, Robertson and O’Gorman, and Mr O’Gorman joins us today. In that period in which your Honour practised as a solicitor, your Honour discharged an important role in 25 our civil society in ensuring that justice, including criminal justice, is according to law, that it’s fair, that it’s open, that it’s transparent, that it engenders confidence in the system. Your Honour brought all of those same qualities to this Court when you were 30 appointed 23 years ago, first of all in Ipswich, and then Brisbane, and then for the last 17 years in Maroochydore.
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