Thank you very much Attorney General. The Honourable Michael Black, the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, the Chief Justice of the Family Court, the Chief Federal Magistrate, my many Ministerial and Parliamentary colleagues, other honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen. May I commence my remarks by paying a very special tribute to the memory of Roma Mitchell. She was an outstanding Australian, she was a very distinguished citizen of this state, rising to the office of Governor of South Australia, and she was, in so many ways, a great role model for women, particularly professional women. I often tell the story that when I started at the Sydney University Law School in 1957, there were what some 12 to 15 women out of a commencement year of 220. 35 years later when my daughter commenced law at that same law school, 52% of the first year were women. Roma Mitchell must share a great deal of the credit for the wonderful leadership that she displayed.
An occasion like this, in a formal sense, brings together a very rare thing, and that is a common gathering of representatives of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. In the nature of our system of Government they are meant to keep, certainly in the case of the judiciary, a respectable difference during their working days and hours at least, from representatives of the executive and the legislature. So it is appropriate to say something about our system of Government. To pay tribute to the inheritance of the common law of England, which has still been, and remains, and always will be the great shaping force of the legal system in Australia. To acknowledge of course the special fashioning and moulding and shaping of that common law within a particular Australian environment and most particularly of course as the Federal Court demonstrates, the importance of a federal structure of Government as distinct from the unitary system of Government which prevailed in the United Kingdom.
It's also, of course, an occasion for me on behalf of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia, and I know the Governments of all of the Australian states to pay a tribute to the legal profession. The legal profession on occasions, like all other great professions in our country takes a battering from the media, takes a battering from the community for its perceived shortcomings. And that is inevitable in an increasingly accountable community in which we all live. But it is important to record, on an occasion such as this, the extraordinary record of good conduct and incorruptibility of the Australian judiciary. If you look back over the years, not only of the Australian Federation but before that you can find of the many common consistent thread that have run to our democracy, you can find this remarkable example of judicial impeccability and incorruptibility.
In the context of a naturally ongoing debate in our community about whether or not we should have a bill of rights and I'm one of those who's profoundly and irrevocably opposed to such a thing, let me say that I often remark that the three great bulwarks of democracy in Australia are a robust parliamentary system and an independent and incorruptible judiciary and a free media which we politicians simply adore every day of our lives. But it is important to acknowledge that contribution to the stability of our country and for all the criticism on occasions which is levelled at the legal profession and particularly at the judiciary, let me on behalf of the Government and the people say that I admire and thank on behalf of the Government and the people the contribution that the judges of this country have made, do make and will continue to make in the years ahead to the stability of our very civil and orderly society.
And I want to say to you Chief Justice that the three courts that are embraced in this building are in the history of Australia, quite young courts. I think, from quick recollection, all of them received their legislative form within the 32 years that I have been a Member of the Federal Parliament. In fact one of the very first debates I took part in as a new Member of Parliament was the debate on the Family Law Act in 1975. And it was an exhilarating experience because it was a free vote. And I remember teaming up with a very conservative member of the Australian Labor Party on the issue and a very conservative member of the then National Country Party of Australia to express our views on the debate. And of course, the Federal Court itself, if I recall, was very much an initiative of Bob Ellicott when he was the Attorney General in the Fraser Government and most recently of course, the Federal Magistrates Court, an initiative of Darryl Williams. And the contribution that all of them have made has been a remarkable contribution.
But we'll only continue to have high quality courts in this country if we continue to attract men and women of high quality and sound legal background to fill the positions on those courts. And in remarking on that, let me say that we should never lose sight of the fact that most people who accept judicial appointment make very significant financial sacrifices in order to do so. And it's very important in the years ahead that Governments at both a Commonwealth and a State level bear that in mind when addressing attitudes and decisions related to their position in the community.
This is a very important day for Adelaide. It's a beautiful building. I think the judicious use of, appropriate use of wood in the various courtrooms creates a wonderful atmosphere. All of you have every reason to be proud of it and I know the people of Adelaide will see it as a wonderful addition to the architecture of this beautiful city. I thank you very much for the honour of inviting me to declare the Roma Mitchell Commonwealth Law Courts of Adelaide open, which I am very happy indeed to do.
Thank you.
[ends]