CONDOLENCES

Mr TAYLOR (Hume—Leader of the Opposition) (14:04): on indulgence—I thank the Prime Minister for his fine words, and I join with him in honouring the life of Justice Mary Gaudron. From humble beginnings to becoming Australia's first female High Court judge, Mary is a remarkable and revered figure in the history of our nation. In a touching obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald that the Prime Minister referred to, Malcolm Brown recounted Mary's early curiosity about the law.

In 1951, then opposition leader Doc Evatt was campaigning in Moree, where Mary was from, on the upcoming Communist Party referendum. Standing in the back of a ute—a characteristic place to be in Moree—Doc Evatt was approached by an inquisitive eight-year-old girl who asked with enthusiasm: 'Please, sir. What's a constitution?' In the weeks to come, Doc Evatt, as we heard, mailed a copy of the Constitution to the little girl in whom he saw such promise and potential.

And so began Mary's journey from a working-class background in Moree to the bench of the High Court. Throughout that odyssey she broke barriers in what was then a male-dominated profession. She was a pioneer who cleared a path for Australian women to follow.

She earned a Commonwealth scholarship to study arts-law at the University of Sydney. Law lecturers, who at first didn't take her seriously because she was a woman, quickly came to recognise a first-rate mind and a fierce debater. She won the university medal.

She became the first woman appointed Queen's Counsel in New South Wales and the youngest Federal Court judge on the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. Quick-witted, sharp, analytical, audacious: it was no wonder that, at age 44, she was appointed to the High Court. Throughout her career and in her judgements, she was driven by a deep sense of social justice and a desire to right the wrongs of the past.

She was one of seven judges who heard the landmark Mabo case, recognising the existence of native title in Australian law—although it's worth noting she wrote a separate judgement with Justice Deane. After stepping down from the High Court, she moved to Geneva to serve on the International Labour Organization's Administrative Tribunal. Later she would become the ILO's vice-president and then president.

Justice Gaudron shaped her profession, shaped the law and shaped our nation. What is often forgotten about Justice Gaudron is that she never made it about herself. She wasn't tribal.

She knew her own mind. And that, more than anything else, speaks volumes. On behalf of the coalition and federal opposition, I honour Mary's service, acknowledge her many achievements and celebrate her extraordinary life.

May Justice Mary Gaudron rest in peace.