The Wire

Political and community leaders today paid tribute to High Court Judge Michael Kirby, who has retired from the bench just prior to his 70th birthday. Known as the dissenting voice of the Howard years, Kirby has been praised by The Attorney General, The Barr Association and Greens leader Bob Brown. He has been replaced by NSW Justice Virginia Bell, as the constitution requires all federal judges to step down before age 70. Kirby joined the High Court in 1996, and his socially progressive interpretation of law often cast him as an outsider on the bench. So what is to be Judge Kirby’s legacy?