Michael Kirby is a Justice of the High Court of Australia; that is, he is one of the judges on the highest court of Australia's legal system.
He was admitted to the New South Wales Bar (earned the right to practice as a barrister) in 1967. His first quasi-judicial appointment was the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, a body that adjudicates labor disputes, in 1975.
From 1983 to 1984, he was a judge in the Federal Court of Australia, before an appointment as President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal, the highest court in that state's legal system. He was appointed to the High Court in February 1996.
Kirby publicly supported the "no" case in a prominent role with Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy in the 1999 Republican referendum - see republicanism in Australia for more information - a position perhaps superficially at odds with his "progressive" views on many other issues.
He has served on many other boards and committees, notably the Australian Law Reform Commission and the CSIRO. He received Australia's highest civil honor when he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1991.
Kirby is open about his homosexuality, having outed himself by mentioning his long-time male partner Johan van Vloten in Australia's Who's Who. He has on occasion spoken publicly about his views on the recognition of homosexual partnerships.
In 2002, he was publicly accused of trawling for "rent boys" (in a speech that was widely interpreted as an implied accusation of paedophilia) by Bill Heffernan, a government senator, who made the claims under parliamentary privilege. The Senator provided as evidence a purported record of a government limousine driver who claimed to have chauffeured Kirby on trips to pick up young (that is, in their late teenage years and over the age of consent) male prostitutes. The primary evidence to back up Heffernan's claim was a record of trips made by the chauffeur on the day, which also detailed other unrelated trips made by several senior Australian politicians. When this evidence was made public, the media quickly contacted those people (among them Tim Fischer), many of whom had records of their own that showed that they could not have taken a limousine ride with the driver on that day, as they were not in the same city. Heffernan's allegations were thus discredited and he was forced to apologise and resign his post as Parliamentary Secretary, and was censured by the Senate, the censure motion passed 31-30 with the Liberals and Nationals voting against. Heffernan retained his Senate seat, however. Kirby's response was remarkable for its moderation and his willingness to let the facts speak for themselves.
Recently (November 2003), Kirby sparked a debate in the media as to whether judges have the right to interpret the law, or simply follow it to the letter and possibly away from its original intention. The arguments fall into 2 camps: those who believe that interpretation of the law is a matter for parliament (who request judges like Kirby go get themselves elected), and those who believe that interpretation of the law is the hallmark of living society. Whichever side people choose to take, it is plain that Justice Kirby is adept at stimulating popular debate, and that this contributes toward a living democracy.
