Changes to the Landscape in Queensland

With the departing words ‘Queensland I love you!’, Peter Beattie vacated his position as Premier, and the station of self-confessed media tart. After nine years in the top job, Beattie let his emotion show. Associate Professor Heather Beattie was equally emotional to have her husband back in the family. Beattie’s departure has heralded a new direction for Queensland politics, in which females will play a prominent role: Member for South Brisbane, Anna Bligh, was this morning anointed as Premier by Queensland Governor Quentin Bryce. Anna moves from her position of Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure, and draws on her experience as Education Minister and her initial post as Minister for Disability Services and Families, Youth and Community Care.

In another significant gesture, the Treasurer of Queensland has been announced as MP for Mount Coot-tha Andrew Fraser. A passionate advocate for civic engagement, Andrew is 30 years old, and as such one of the youngest members of the Queensland Parliament. He has served as Parliamentary Secretary since July 2005, and has assisted in the beleaguered Health portfolio.

In an unrelated dramatic moment in my electorate last Saturday which certainly changed the landscape, a large warehouse down the road caught fire and exploded around 9.30am. Given that its roof was full of asbestos, Sherwood Road was closed for the day, and residents were asked to keep their windows closed.

The smoke was rather full-on during the evening, as ash landed in our yard. The next day revealed a smoldering wreck, which once housed 90 businesses and 400 storage units.

Queensland Judge Appointed to High Court

Queensland citizens and advocates today celebrate the appointment of Justice Susan Keifel to the High Court of Australia. Justice Keifel is the third female to be appointed to this position, and will share the bench with Justice Susan Crennan, appointed in 2005. Her Honour replaces Queenslander Justice Ian Callinan, who is retiring on 31st August, one day short of his 70th birthday.

In an interview conducted with ABC television news, the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC Chief Justice of Queensland commented that it was important for Queensland to maintain its position on the High Court, to illustrate the on-going role to be played by the State in federal affairs.

Moreover, this appointment, albeit widely considered to fit with the Howard Government’s conservative agenda, illustrates the importance of female presence on the bench.

Justice Keifel famously left school when 15, going to work as a legal clerk at a ‘prominent law firm’ Messrs Fitzgerald, Moynihan and Mack. Keifel gained no ordinary legal training: in 1984 she was awarded a Master of Laws from Wolfson College, Cambridge, with the CJ Hamson prize in Comparative Law. Excelling at her bar exams, she was the youngest female to make silk in Queensland in 1987, whereupon she was appointed to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1993, and to the Australian Federal Court in 1994.

At a recent lunch-time address to the Australian Academy of Law, of which she is a foundation fellow, reported by The Australian, Keifel J stated:

"Perhaps the time has come for judges to give detailed consideration to their concerns and articulate them. I am not sure solutions will be obvious but clear statements about what is unacceptable in presentation must be a starting point. Case management is not itself the solution."

We wish her all the best for her appointment.