Your Excellencies, Chief Justice, Yours Honours, may it please the court.
I am very conscious of the privilege extended to me by the court today in inviting me to address it. It';s been rare in the history, the 100-year history of the High Court that the serving Prime Minister in that capacity has been invited to address it. I want to thank the court for that privilege and in doing so take the opportunity on behalf of a very grateful nation to record its gratitude to the 44 Justices of the High Court over 100 years who have collectively contributed so much to the vibrancy and the strength and the relevance of Australian democracy.
As a nation we probably too infrequently take pause to reflect upon our many democratic achievements. The fact that we formed a nation without strife or warfare, the fact that amongst other things we were the first to extend complete female suffrage, the fact that we join the company of fewer than 10 nations that have remained continuously democratic since the commencement of the 20th Century. And I believe that we can add to that democratic lustre the establishment 100 years ago today of a Federal Supreme Court named the High Court of Australia which over that 100-year period has played an integral role in the development and the strengthening of Australian democracy.
As part of the ongoing political debate about our institutions there is frequent debate as to whether or not this nation should endeavour in some way to entrench formally in its law a bill of rights. I belong to that group of Australians who is resolutely opposed to such a course of action. It is my view that this nation has three great pillars of its democratic life. A vigorous parliamentary system, robustly Australian, responsible for the making of laws; a strong independent and incorruptible judiciary; and a free and sceptical media, free and sceptical often to the discomfort of us but nonetheless an important and integral part of our society.
The High Court of Australia has made its great contribution to the strengthening of one of those three pillars. Any nation armed with these can preserve its democratic life against all adversity.
The international reputation of the High Court of Australia both now and in the past is undisputed. The great Lord Denning once remarked that its reputation over topped that of the House of Lords and the United States Justice Felix Frankfurter was equally lyrical.
Elected governments of which at a national level I lead at present and the court system of Australia are part of the democratic compact that makes up the nation of Australia. They are both part of the whole but they are, under our doctrine of the separation of powers, very separate. 100 years ago today when the court met for its first time in this very historic Banco court here in Melbourne our sense of nationhood was both hesitant and embryonic. There was even much discussion about the need or relevance of a high court, it was thought it would not have enough work to do, it was thought that the cost involved was prohibitive and unsustainable. As we look back over that 100 year period we see not only a lively dynamic evolution of our nation, but also the role of the court. Our sense of nationalism, our sense of identity as Australians above everything else is now not only profound but absolute. And in that process of evolution the court itself has made an enormous contribution. Its skilful interpretation of the separation of powers ordained by the Constitution, the inevitable evolution of a significantly greater role for the national government, particularly in financial matters, and one recalls many of the landmark cases such as the engineers'; case and the uniform tax case. But the court itself has undergone many changes, it';s not only been enlarged in size but of course its role vis-a-vis other courts, and particularly with the final abolition of appeals to the Privy Council in 1986 has been significant. The establishment just over 25 years ago of the Federal Court of Australia has also altered the workload of the court and allowed it to focus, as had the changing in 1984 regarding leave to appeal on particular aspects and one might say the pinnacle of the interpretation of our law.
The decisions of the court have not and are not in their nature of a partisan political character. It is integral to our system that that should not be the case. But I am very conscious that the many decisions of the court over the years have had profound influence on the political and national life of our country. The decision during World War II in the uniformed tax case has had lasting significance in relation to the distribution of financial power within our nation. And since World War II, I believe four decisions of the court have stood out as having very profound and far reaching significance. The bank nationalism case, of course had enormous political and other implications as well as constitutional ramifications. The Communist Party dissolution case raised very important considerations and in the subsequent debate about the role of free speech and the attitudes of different sections of Australian society to it and had a profound influence on the political disposition of the nation. The Tasmanian dams case in the early 1980s of course represented a very significant adoption and extension of the role of the external affairs power under our Constitution. And the Mabo decision of the early 1990s had enormous ramifications and had a very great and lasting influence on debates about the rights of indigenous people within our community and the role that they could play in the future development of our nation.
Each of these, Your Honours, have had a great effect on the public life and the political life of our nation. I think we all recognise that we live in an intensely sceptical period in our history. All institutions are subjected to scrutiny and criticism in a way in which was unthinkable 20 or 30 years ago and certainly quite unthinkable 100 years ago. There will be ongoing debate about the role of the court in our society. There will be superficial attempts to stereotype members of the court and I notice that you, Mr Chief Justice, have had some remarks to make about that. I think those debates will come and go, but what will not go will be the central role and the central respect held by the High Court of Australia in the life of our nation.
I greet this centenary with a sense of optimism, I think in the broad sweep of the last 100 years the court';s role has been profoundly beneficial and has made an enormous contribution to the strengthening of Australian democracy. I do not share the view of some that debate on certain issues has damaged or diminished the role of the court, I think quite the contrary, it';s strengthened it.
This is an opportunity which brings together rarely in our public life the executive, in the person personified by the sovereigns representative, the Governor General, the political life, as represented by myself and others, and of course the judiciary represented by Your Honours and the leaders of the benches and of the bar from all around our nation. It';s an opportunity for all of us to reaffirm the essential covenant which underpins the Commonwealth of Australia, and that is a nation united in a commitment to the rule of law, a nation respecting the role of the courts, a nation encouraging a respect for the role of parliament and of the people who elect that parliament in the making of our laws. We look back over the last 100 years, we thank the 44 Justices for what they have done, we congratulate the current occupants of the bench, we wish them well in the continuation of their very important and sacred trust on behalf of the people of Australia to preserve the rule of law, to continue to contribute to the remarkable success of the Australian Federal compact and in that they carry the good wishes on behalf of all of the Australian people and as Prime Minister I';m honoured to have the opportunity of conveying those good wishes on this very important occasion.
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