Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Monday my colleague the member for Fremantle paid tribute to former WA Chief Justice David Malcolm. On that same day the Western Australian community farewelled this great jurist and community pillar at a ceremony in St George's Cathedral. I had a very personal reason for attending the service, as I was articled to David Malcolm QC, as he then was, at the very beginning of my legal career. He was a very generous and expansive principal who gave his clerks and his pupils every opportunity to learn at the side of a master the creative recrafting of precedent, the attention to detail of the evidence and the strategizing that underpins successful litigation.

He was a big man with a huge appetite for the law, community service and for life. He had many adventures, including working in Manila and Beirut for the World Bank during some very troubled times. For 18 years he led the Supreme Court with gravitas and vigour. I acknowledge his wife, Kaaren, and daughter, Manisha, who truly provided great fulfilment to his life.