Frenemy CJ

The guy who ran as the Liberals’ candidate against Kim Beazley Sr. in 1969 is, someone would have us believe, a friend of the Left. The evidence? Well, Richard Ackland likes him (Bolt’s brain: “friend of my enemy is my …?”). He disagrees with Janet Albrechtsen (Bolt’s brain: “enemy of my friend is my …?”). And:

What’s more:

He’s a product of a Jesuit school, he’s been involved in Aboriginal legal aid and as a convenor of an Amnesty lawyers’ group. As if that’s not enough of a pointer, don’t forget his involvement this month in striking down the World Youth Day regulations designed to prevent pilgrims being “annoyed”.

Wow – a judge not only raised with Christian values (particularly the meaningful ones, like charity and tolerance) but who applies similar principles in respecting human rights and free speech.

Elsewhere, Tim Norton didn’t get Bolt’s Leftist memo – he notes that French wrote the majority opinion in the appeal to the full Federal Court about the Tampa and is unimpressed with the appointment. Legal Eagle notes that it makes a change to have a Western Australian heading the High Court; Jeremy Gans weighs French up against the others on the shortlist and appears optimistic about his reasoning with respect to human rights charters.

I had not read any of French’s writing or speeches before his appointment, so I have just made a start by reading his speech from February 2008 on judicial activism. First impression – I seem to like both the way he writes and the way he reasons. I’m going to read some of his judgments (the Tampa and World Youth Day cases would seem a good place to start), but as has often been noted, it can be hard to pin down what a High Court Justice will be like until he or she starts performing the role.