Julian Burnside

A barrister, much of whose career has been in the public eye ... Counsel to the rich and the deprived ... Flirting with politics ... Career change ... Retirement ... Relaxation and writing await ... On The Couch 

Burnside: missed out on engineering

Julian Burnside KC has retired after 47 years as a barrister. For a large part of his career he acted for corporations and the big end of town. 

In 1998 he was counsel for the Maritime Union of Australia in the Patrick Stevedores case and increasingly from the late 90s he did pro bono work for asylum seekers and refugees. 

He has received many awards and garlands for his human rights work. 

And here he is, on Justinian's Couch ...

Describe yourself in three words. 

Driven, insecure, empathetic. 

What are you currently reading? 

"Heat: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet" by Jeff Goodell. 

What is your favourite film? 

Recently: "One Life" (Anthony Hopkins) for sentimental reasons. 

What was your expected career path before you studied law? 

Artist (photography). 

Why did you want to be a barrister?  

I like changing people's minds, although I studied law for accidental reasons. But for the accident that my sister's ex-boyfriend was doing Law at Monash, I might have accepted the Melbourne University offer of a place in their Engineering faculty.

Why are you now leaving the Bar? 

I will be 74 next June.

Who have been the most influential people in your life? 

My wife, Kate Durham and law lecturer Louis Waller (whose son, Ian Waller, was my last reader and was recently appointed a Supreme Court Judge). 

What was your most memorable and/or enjoyable case? 

Trevorrow v South Australia. It is the first case in which a member of the Stolen Generation succeeded and got damages.  

Alan Bond was a lot more entertaining than people gave him credit for. Acting for Rose Porteus was a lot of fun, and so was the Cash for Comment enquiry - cross-examining Alan Jones was clearly more fun for me than for him.  

What was your most miserable/difficult case? 

There isn't one. I enjoyed every case I did. 

What took you into doing significant work for asylum seekers and refugees?  

I learned what we are doing to them when I did the Tampa case. 

What has been your greatest controversy?  

The way we treat human beings looking for a safe place to live.

Are you still a member of the Greens? What attracted you to a political career? 

Yes. The Greens have a policy about Climate Change. I thought that, as a politician, I might be able to inject some decency into the debate in this blessed country.

Who is your greatest friend in the law? 

Matthew Albert. 

What words or phrases do you overuse? 

No ... Not to my taste ... Not mad about.

What is your greatest weakness? 

Impatience, obsessiveness, empathy.

If you were a foodstuff, what would you be? 

A pineapple.

What human quality do you most distrust? 

A stated belief in human rights. 

What would you change about Australia? 

Our attitude to human rights. 

Who or what do you consider overrated? 

Politicians. 

What now for Julian Burnside? 

Relax; write.

What comes into your mind when you shut your eyes and think of the word "law"? 

Rules ... the faint possibility of justice. 

And here is Burnside in a previous appearance - On The Couch, 2017