The incredible life, speeches and papers of Michael Kirby

The Governor-General of Australia, The Honourable Sam Mostyn AC, Chief Justice Stephen Gageler AC, Chief Justice Andrew Bell, Justice Julie Ward, former Justices of the High Court and other prominent figures in the legal profession and academia were all in attendance.

The new book contains a carefully selected collection of Kirby’s speeches, articles and papers written and delivered throughout the course of his public life.

Editor of the book, Dr Paul Vout KC, one of Kirby’s associates when he was on the Court of Appeal, told LSJ Online he first met Kirby in 1990 when he, along with Chris Connolly and Kasey Pearce (now a Deputy State Coroner), interviewed Kirby for the student socio-legal journal Polemic.

A few months after the interview, he saw an advertisement on a Sydney Law School noticeboard calling for applications to be one of Kirby’s two Judge’s Associates. Vout says the experience provided a solid foundation for a career in the law and at the Bar. “When … the Federation Press approached me to edit this book, I saw it, first as a chance to express in a tangible way my gratitude for the extraordinary opportunity Michael Kirby gave me 35 years ago,” he says.

Kirby was a prolific writer and gave many speeches throughout his long and illustrious career. His website contains a vast collection of his speeches and papers. Vout says that while he had read many of Kirby’s papers and speeches over the years, there were many he had not. “[T]here were about 3,180 speeches and papers on Michael Kirby’s website,” he explains.

Vout describes perusing the papers as a “time-consuming but enjoyable” part of the process. “The real difficulty came with choosing just 50 – 60 of those speeches and papers to go into the book,” he says.

The chapters are set out in an almost chronological order. Vout explains that the book also an “autobiographical theme” and he wanted to demonstrate “how much Australia and the world has changed in Michael Kirby’s lifetime” as perceived through his eyes, and how some of the issues facing society have remained unchanged.

The book follows Kirby’s life from a young boy to his early career as a young clerk, solicitor and barrister, to his time at the Law Reform commission, his work as a Justice of the High Court and his work in international human rights.

Speaking to LSJ Online, Kirby admits the last chapter is deeply personal to him as it was specially written for the book. It delves into Kirby’s relationship with his husband Johan van Vloten going back to their first meeting in 1969.

Kirby says, “most readers will find something on a subject that they are interested in. There’s only one chapter in the book which was written specially for the book and that is the chapter at the very end on my life with Johan.

“Because of the prejudice against gay people, [which was] actually similar to earlier prejudice against women, against Aboriginals, against people of different racial backgrounds … the prejudice against LGBT people was a very real presence in my life, in Johan’s life.

“[I] wrote a section of the book of my journey with Johan because he really is a most extraordinary person … if you ask me is there a chapter that I’m proud of, it’s the last chapter.”

When asked about his favourite chapter, Vout says given the breadth of topics, it is “almost impossible” to select just one or two. He admits he found the chapters on science, technology and the law and the globalisation of the media and judicial independence particularly enjoyable and relevant even today.

Kirby has witnessed a lot of changes throughout his long career. He admits there is a lot in the book and reflecting on its contents, remarks jokingly, “how was I so brilliant?”

Michael Kirby book launch, Law Justice and other challenges held at the Banco Court, Supreme Court of NSW (Photo credit: Damian Shaw)