Speech by Peter Dunning KC to welcome the Hon. Justice Dowling
24 July 2024
CEREMONIAL SITTING OF THE FULL COURT
TO WELCOME THE HONOURABLE THE HON. JUSTICE CRAIG DOWLING
Speech by Peter Dunning KC, President of the Australian Bar Association
Justice Dowling, Chief Justice Mortimer, Justices of the Federal Court, retired judges of this Court, Justices Gordon and Steward of the High Court, Chief Justice Alstergren, Justice Niall of the Victorian Court of Appeal, ladies and gentlemen. It is my privilege and pleasure in equal measure on behalf of Australia’s more than seven thousand barristers, Justice Dowling, to offer our congratulations on your Honour’s well-deserved appointment.
The Attorney for the Commonwealth has spoken eloquently to the personal, professional qualities your Honour brings to this task. It is always a day of pride for the Bar when one of its own, so well deserved, takes an appointment such as this. And on behalf of all of our members, we offer congratulations. It is noteworthy on a day like today to acknowledge the sense of public service that comes with your Honour’s commitment to the taking of this Court.
Your Honour has left a busy and vibrant practice at the Bar, with all of the highs and lows that come with that for a task that is distinctly one of public service. And it is appropriate that it be acknowledged on a day like today. Part of that public service will be the exercise of this Court’s important jurisdiction in its interactions with First Nation’s people. And the Chief Justice has today and previously spoken of the interactions of First Nation’s peoples with our justice system. It’s an important part of what this Court does and judges generally to bring peace in that relationship. And we acknowledge the personal skills that your Honour will bring to that.
Of course, nobody arrives at a day like today without the love and support of family and friends. A busy and vibrant, as I have said, practice at the Bar requires much support around you. Your Honour’s family and friends should be justifiably proud of your appointment today and the success it marks and the career that you are moving from.
But your Honour is, in every sense, a product of the Victorian Bar. And today is properly a day for the Victorian Bar who are rightly proud in your Honour’s appointment. And on that note, I shall wish your Honour well and for a long and happy career on the Court and pass to my friend, Ms Schoff.
1 March 2024