Statement From: Justice Michael Walton, President of the Australian Judicial Officers Association – 8 December 2023

The Australian Judicial Officers Association is a voluntary association of serving and retired judges and magistrates drawn from all jurisdictions across Australia. The AJOA is committed to furthering the public interest in maintaining a strong and independent judiciary within a democratic society that adheres to the rule of law.

The AJOA notes the public statement by the Attorney-General of Tasmania that the Tasmanian Parliament is to be recalled on 12 December 2023 to consider legislation to establish an enquiry into Justice Gregory Geason of the Supreme Court of Tasmania.  It has been reported in the media that Justice Geason (who is not a member of the AJOA), has been charged with one count of common assault and one count of emotional abuse to which he has pleaded not guilty.  It is not to be overlooked that the charges against Justice Geason have not been determined and are next listed for mention before the Magistrates’ Court on 6 February 2024.

The AJOA does not seek to comment on the charges brought against Justice Geason, other than to note that, like the rest of the community, judges are subject to the law, including the presumption of innocence.

The AJOA is, however, very concerned about the manner in which the Tasmanian government has proposed to respond to the situation which has arisen in relation to Justice Geason.

The AJOA supports the establishment of procedures and bodies to receive and determine complaints made about the conduct of judges. Most states, but not Tasmania, already have such bodies.  The urgent recall of the Tasmanian Parliament proposed by the Attorney-General is not, however, for the purpose of considering legislation to establish an equivalent body in Tasmania, but to pass legislation directed only at Justice Gleason.

Judges of the Supreme Court of Tasmania may only be suspended or removed from office upon the address of both Houses of Parliament.  It is therefore open to Parliament to make enquiries into the conduct or behaviour of a judge to the extent that it is thought that their conduct or behaviour might render them unsuitable to continue in office.  Any such enquiries must, however, be formulated so as not to infringe legal principles, including the separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.

The AJOA has serious concerns that the legislation proposed to facilitate an enquiry into Justice Geason’s conduct and behaviour, the Supreme Court (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) Bill 2023, does not meet these essential standards in certain key respects.

If enacted, s 17(1) of the Supreme Court (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) Bill 2023 would give the Minister for Justice the power to suspend Justice Geason in certain circumstances, including where he is charged with an offence that is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 12 months or more.  The charges brought against Justice Geason are of this type.  The Minister is also given power to specify the terms and conditions in relation to the suspension and to lift the suspension at any time (s 17(3)).  These provisions, if enacted, would constitute a flagrant interference by the executive with the independence of the judiciary.

Section 6(2) of the Supreme Court (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) Bill 2023 appears to abrogate all vital and long-established common law privileges, including legal professional privilege.  The Commission of Inquiry into Justice Geason would be empowered to conduct its inquiry and obtain information ‘in any manner it considers appropriate’, and would not be restricted by law or by any privilege from ‘reviewing records, documents or information’. Further, s 7(5)(b) makes s 26 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1995 applicable. That provision abrogates privilege against self-incrimination.

The proposed Commission of Inquiry into Justice Geason would be required to complete its inquiry as soon as practicable (s 5(2)) and would be empowered to prepare an interim report (s 8(1)) containing ‘interim findings of fact’ upon which it could express its opinion about whether the Judge’s conduct and behaviour warrants his suspension or removal from office.  The capacity of the Commission of Inquiry to express an opinion that a judicial officer should be removed from office based only upon ‘interim findings of fact’ contained in an interim report undermines the integrity of the proposed inquiry and off

Amid the rubble of large-sale earthquake, war or other disaster – and as ageing buildings and infrastructure are replaced – mountains of concrete are often taken to landfill or pounded into rubble for roads.  

For a more sustainable approach, Flinders University and The University of Melbourne experts are developing a ‘value add’ for old broken concrete to ‘upcycling’ coarse aggregate to produce a strong, durable and workable  concrete using a small amount of a secret ingredient – graphene.  

The novel method is gaining ground every day as new graphene deposits are discovered and mined – bringing the price of that raw material down as the cost of cement and aggregates continues to rise, the researchers say.  

They have tested results using a weak graphene solution on recycled aggregates to produce concrete potentially superior to untreated recycled aggregates in cement-based mixtures.

Such methods are urgently needed in waste management with demolition and construction waste products expected to rise to almost 2.6 billion tonnes by 2030 globally. At the same time, the production of concrete is adding to climate change with greenhouse gas emissions and extraction methods adding to the ecological impacts.  

Improving the quality of recycled concrete aggregates will also play a vital role in the quality, performance and workability of recycled concrete aggregates while reducing the environmental footprints.  

“This new form of treated recycled concrete aggregates may be more expensive to make right now, but when considering circularity and the life cycle of the materials, the costs are coming down rapidly,” says Flinders University’s Dr Aliakbar Gholampour, the first author in a new article in Resources, Conservation and Recycling.  

Dr Gholampour, Senior Lecturer in Civil and Structural Engineering at Flinders, says the new method’s success could also help to meet increasing demand for building materials around the world.  

Dr Gholampour has filed a patent for the approach, with University of Melbourne coauthor and Senior Research Fellow Dr Massoud Sofi, who is Deputy Director (Research) at the Centre for Recovered Resources (CoRR).  

The latest article, Performance of concrete containing pristine graphene-treated recycled concrete aggregates

(2023) by Aliakbar Gholampour, Massoud Sofi, Houman Alipooramirabad (Birmingham City University) and Youhong Tang has been published in the high-impact journal Resources, Conservation and Recycling, DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2023.107266.

Acknowledgements: This work was supported by Flinders University, The University of Melbourne and the ARC (IH200100010).

Fig. 6. (a) Axial compression, (b) splitting tension, (c) water absorption and (d) drying shrinkage tests.

The last of the Kiwi contingent has wrapped up its involvement in a mammoth four-month, eight-nation exercise aimed at preparing Indo-Pacific countries for a large-scale natural disaster.

Ten New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel were taking part in Exercise Pacific Partnership, which included medical, engineering, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), public health and community outreach projects.

They joined dock landing ship USS Pearl Harbor at various stages during the exercise, which started in August, providing expertise in planning, coordination, chaplaincy, physiotherapy, cultural advice, rehabilitation and physical training.

Ex Pacific Partnership was developed 18 years ago as a way to improve on the disjointed HADR response to the 2004 Indonesian earthquake and tsunami. It’s the largest annual multinational HADR preparedness mission conducted in the Pacific.

The New Zealanders were among more than 1500 personnel from the United States, Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom taking part.

Host nations included Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Palau, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Tonga.

Four ships from three different navies were involved and personnel were flown into some of the more remote mission stops like Palau and Papua New Guinea.

Royal New Zealand Navy Captain Jon Beadsmoore held the role of Multinational Operations Coordination Cell director for the duration of the exercise, coordinating the participation of international personnel joining the mission.

“It was a busy role, with a large number of personnel movements as people surged in and out of the exercise,” he said.

It was a complex exercise and Captain Beadsmoore said the behind-the-scenes co-ordination of all the participants was a great challenge.

“It’s worth it to see the positive effects the mission has on the communities in each country we’ve been able to visit. The teamwork that is generated amongst all the partner nation staff and the host nation personnel contribute to the success of the mission.”

It was hard to pick out a specific highlight from the exercise, Captain Beadsmoore said.

“But for me personally it has been the fri

Nationwide marches, rallies and vigils will take place across the country again this weekend despite the passing of yesterday’s parliamentary motion supporting a ceasefire in Gaza.

Israel has now slaughtered well over 6,600 Palestinian children, the equivalent of all the children in 24 average-sized New Zealand primary schools.

We were pleased to see the word genocide has finally reached the New Zealand parliament with a clear refreshing speech from Damien O’Connor who described the reality of life for Palestinians in Gaza.

But instead of sheeting home responsibility for the genocide the government motion contained not a single word of criticism of Israel – not even a peep. The parliamentary motion was a feeble, anti-Palestinian motion.

The focus of the protests is shifting to Palestinian calls for BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) against Israel because of its apartheid policies against Palestinians.

“We are working to isolate apartheid Israel just as New Zealand helped to isolate apartheid South Africa several decades ago,” says PSNA National Chair John Minto. “The big majority of New Zealanders are on side with Palestinians but our elected representatives still defer, in the most cowardly way, to apartheid Israel”

“It is the failure of western governments, New Zealand included, to hold Israel to account for its crimes against the Palestinian people that is behind Israel’s genocidal rampage in Gaza today.”

The details of the rallies and marches around the country are on our facebook page here. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064134091562&sk=events

John Minto
National Chair
Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa