David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Greens don't oppose the Federal Courts Legislation Amendment (Judicial Immunity) Bill 2023. Indeed, we understand why it's been brought forward. Judicial immunity is essential for judicial officers to act with courage and independence and not be second-guessing whether or not a brave or tough call might find them being challenged by a litigant or a witness who comes before their courts. For those reasons, we won't be opposing the bill. In fact, we see a rationale for the bill being brought to the Senate and passed.

However, certain conduct that has underpinned the challenges to certain judicial actions deeply troubles my party, and I know it deeply troubles many keen observers of the legal system. We've seen judicial officers act well outside the bounds of acceptable conduct. We've seen them belittle and mock witnesses and litigants. We've seen them exceed the bounds of any reasonable action of a judicial officer. In one notorious case, it was by putting an individual behind bars in a gross excess of any kind of reasonable powers by a court to vindicate their authority and to properly deal with potential contempt. We've seen appalling behaviour by judicial officers. That is why we're concerned about what is not brought with this bill—a judicial commission.

An independent judicial commission can be a place where those matters are sent. It can form an independent view—independent of politics and of the courts system—of poor judicial conduct or allegations of poor judicial conduct. I want to be clear: not every complaint about judicial officers is in any way valid. One of the reasons we support this bill is to allow judicial officers to make rugged, robust and tough decisions free from the risk of litigation, and, if a complaint is made about a judicial officer, that should be dealt with in a fundamental, fair and independent way. At the moment, there is no such place in the federal system. My home state of New South Wales has a longstanding judicial commission, which has been of enormous assistance in dealing with complaints against judicial officers. In nine times out of 10 it has dismissed the complaint of a disgruntled litigant. But on those occasions where it's exposed poor behaviour by judicial officers, it's been an important part of an independent court system, and it's ensured that those complaints are dealt with in an independent rather than political forum.

So we say to the Attorney-General and the Albanese government, yes, we will support this bill. But this is all carrot and no stick when it comes to the judiciary. There needs to be a clear timetable for the delivery of an independent federal judicial commission, matched and mirrored on the New South Wales independent judicial commission. We've heard a lot of talk from the Attorney-General and the Albanese government about bringing this forward. We're yet to see it. So we support this bill, and we look forward in the very near future to supporting or amending or improving a bill that also puts in place a judicial commission.