Federation Chamber (part 3 of 3)
15 September 2026
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Federation Chamber Australian Parliament
00:00 - 01:48
Speaker 1
title in Australia under common law, operating to firmly and rightly acknowledge the connection First Nations people have with this country. Justice Gaudron's judgment was significant, finding that native title rights were sourced from Indigenous laws and customs and not from a grant from the Crown, and that the doctrine of terra nullius was not applicable to Australia at the time of British settlement in New South Wales. This has shaped modern Australia, and the significance of this judgment and Justice Gaudron's contribution in this respect continues today. It is an incredible legacy.
Mary Genevieve Gaudron was a trailblazer, Deputy Speaker. She understood and she accepted this, but it was her fervent wish that in her lifetime, women's achievements in the legal profession would be characterized not as trailblazing, but as business as usual. In her swearing-in speech in 1987, she said, "Because I believe that too often we emphasize difference at the expense of common cause, I would wish that the day had arrived when the appointment of a woman to this court was unremarkable." Well, the current High Court benefits from three out of seven justices being women.
Thanks to Justice Gaudron, women on the High Court is no longer something that is nice to have, it is something we expect. I extend my deepest condolences to Justice Gaudron's family and to the legal profession. May Mary Gaudron rest in peace.
01:48 - 01:52
Speaker 2
And I thank the member for Sturt. And I give the call to the member for Riverina.
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