The Permanent Legacy
| Date | 01 June 2000 |
| Published date | 01 June 2000 |
| DOI | 10.22145/flr.28.2.2 |
| Author | WMC Gummow |
| Subject Matter | Article |
THE
PERMANENT
LEGACY
The Honourable Justice W
Me
Gummow
COMMOWEALTH SOLICITOR-GENERAL
I
begin
by
reminding
you
that
in
1964 Sir
Anthony
was
appointed
Commonwealth
Solicitor-General
and
that
he
continued
in
that
office until 1969. This is a
matter
of
some
importance
in charting his legacy
in
administrative law.
The Solicitor-General Act 1916 (Cth) (the 1916 Act)
provided
in
s 2 for
the
appointment
by
the Governor-General of a
person
to be
the
Solicitor-General of
the
Commonwealth
and
to
have
such duties
and
functions as prescribed
by
or
under
any
statute
or
as
were
delegated to
him
by
the Attorney-General. The 1916
Act
was
repealed
by
the
Law
Officers Act 1964 (Cth) (the 1964 Act). This
provided
for
the
reconstitution
of
the office of Solicitor-General as the second
Law
Officer of
the
Commonwealth
and
made
detailed provisions
with
respect to
that
office.
In
July 1964 the
then
Solicitor-General, Sir Kenneth Bailey, retired
and
it
was
decided
that
the office
of
the Solicitor-General
and
Permanent
Head
of the Attorney-
General's
Department
were
to be separated. The office created
by
the 1916 Act
had
been
held
by
adistinguished succession of public servants
who
were
also
Permanent
Heads.
In
addition
to Sir Kenneth Bailey, the position
had
been
held
by
Sir Robert
Garran
and
Sir George Knowles.
The Bill for
the
1964 Act
had
bipartisan support.
On
the Second Reading Speech,
the
then
Attorney-General
said
that
the
new
Solicitor-General
was
to
be
kept
free of
responsibility for,
and
administration
of, the Attorney-Generalis
Department
so as to
permit
concentration
on
the duties as
permanent
counsel for the
Crown
in
right
of
the
Commonwealth.
1.
In
supporting
the measure, the
then
Deputy
Leader
of the
Opposition,
Mr
Whitlam,
said
that
the
new
position
would
be the
most
significant
and
challenging legal
post
in
Australia
and
continued:2
The
Solicitor-General
to
be
appointed
under
this
Act
will
have
the
opportunity
of
appearing
in
nearly
all
the
constitutional
cases
and
most
of
the
administrative
cases
which
will
determine
the
rights
of
citizens
and
governments
in
this
country.
He
will
contribute
more
than
any
lawyer
of
his
time
to
the
making
of
the
laws
of
the
country
...
The
Opposition
supports
the
Bill
and
trusts
that
the
Attorney-General
will
be
able
to
make
an
appointment
worthy
of
the
post.
The 1964 Act commenced
on
the
date
of Assent, 5
November
1964,
and
Sir
Anthony
thereupon
was
appointed
as the first
person
to
hold
the office of Solicitor-General.
At
1
2
House
of
Representatives,
Parliamentary
Debates
(Hansard),
22
October
1964
at
2220.
House
of
Representatives,
Parliamentary
Debates
(Hansard),
22
October
1964
at
2445.
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