New Acting ALRC President and Three New Magistrate Appointments in NSW

On 28 July 2017, there were two important announcements regarding appointments, firstly the appointment of the Acting President of the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) before the commencement of the new President's term in three months; and, additionally, three new magistrate appointments in NSW.

Acting ALRC President

Mr Robert Cornall AO has been appointed as the Acting President of the Australian Law Reform Commission.

He has been appointed for a period of three months, commencing 30 July 2017, while a recruitment process will be undertaken to fill the vacancy left by Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM.

According to the Attorney-General's Media Release of 28 July 2017, Mr Cornall brings a wealth of experience in legal practice, government administration and public policy to this position. He is a former Secretary of the Commonwealth Attorney General's Department, from 2000 to 2008. He was a Chair of the Defence Abuse Response Taskforce from 2014 to its conclusion in 2016. Mr Cornall was the Independent Reviewer of Adverse Security Assessments from 2015 to 2017. He is also an Officer of the Order of Australia for service to the community in developing public policy.

New Magistrates For NSW Local Courts

Christopher Halburd, Theresa Hamilton and Brett Shields have also been appointed as magistrates of the Local Court of NSW.

According to Attorney General Mark Speakman: 

Mr Halburd has been an Albury-based solicitor for the majority of his 22-year legal career, appearing in more than 1,000 defended criminal hearings in the Local Court.

Ms Hamilton served as Deputy Commissioner of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption from 2007 to 2016 and presided over many examinations and public inquiries.

Mr Shields has been practising in Sydney- for 31 years with the last 22 as a barrister. He has appeared in the High Court, the Federal Court and most NSW courts.

Mr Shields will be sworn in as a magistrate on 28 August 2017, while Ms Hamilton and Mr Halburd will join the Local Court bench on 11 September 2017.

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Attorney-General of Australia Media Release - 28 July 2017

Attorney-General (NSW) Media Release - 28 July 2017