Search
This area does not yet contain any content.
Justinian News

Delay update ... "Extraordinary and excessive" delay - by the litigants ... Contest on costs ... Getting to grips with Qld industrial law takes time ... What is a "worker"? ... What is an "injury"? ... Justice Jenni frigging around ... Slow grind for earnest Circuiteer ... From judges' associate Ginger Snatch ... Read more >>

 

Politics Media Law Society


The End Of The Affair ... Lord Moloch’s bid for more Fox News fans … The Wall Street Journal rallies the MAGA base …Will the old rogue abandon his journalists? … Is “bawdy” the right word here? … The Deep State plumbs the depths … John and Stanley Roth’s generosity to loving causes ... Read on >> 

This area does not yet contain any content.
Free Newsletter
Justinian Columnists

From the cutting room floor...Handsy Heydon goes to Perth ... Celebrity tour ... Conferenceville ... Dicey's job application speech from 2002 ... Other High Court judges mocked as "vegetables" ... Mason CJ ridiculed ... Speech bowdlerised for public consumption ... Courage of conviction MIA ... From our National Affairs Correspondent ... Read more >> 

Blow the whistle

 

News snips ...


Barrister Gina Edwards sues Rebekah Giles for professional negligence ... Cavoodle case ... SMH has more >>

Justinian's Bloggers

London Calling ... Sizzling in the Old Dart ... Story of the complaining law graduate ... Tattle Life brought to book ... Beckham family feud over royal gong ... Floyd Alexander-Hunt's postcard ... Read more >> 

"What you are not being told by the media anywhere is that the death toll likely would not have been as high if it wasn't for DEI."

Charlie Kirk, American conservative and conspiracy theorist on the Texas floods ... The Charlie Kirk Show, July 9, 2025  Read more flatulence ... 


Justinian Featurettes

Tootsies with Planet Janet ... Water Softener and the Planet ... Further details of the width and depth of their relationship ... Chief Justice of the ACT grants Justinian's application for access to more documents ... A barrage of text messages and phone calls throughout the Drumgold investigation ... Collated reporting ... Read more >> 


Justinian's archive

Being chased by a dog called Rhetoric ... Justice Virginia Bell on rhetorical devices and barristering ... It seems to be a male thing ... Distractions from the truth ... Tulkinghorn asks, where would the bar be without bad rhetoric? ... September 14, 2012 ... Read more >> 


 

 

« Dr Matt Collins QC | Main | Concerning Champagne »
Tuesday
Mar202018

Michael Finnane QC

Michael Finnane joins us on the couch to talk about himself and his book The Pursuit of Justice ... In fact, he's concerned whether the courts actually deliver justice ... The sweep of history and experience from Menzies to Turnbull 

Finnane: formed in the furnace of the law, the church, the army and the ALP

 

FORMER NSW District Court judge Michael Finnane QC has just published The Pursuit of Justice, a mighty work that traverses a multitude of topics - his priestly flirtation, prisons in NSW, the Skaf gang rape trials, what it's like to be a judge, social justice, the army, the ALP, Indigenous Australians, and climate change. 

In 1978 Finnane also was appointed to inspect the corporate activities of Ian Sinclair, at the time a minister in the Fraser government. 

It was alleged that the minister and his father had siphoned money from companies in the funeral business. Ian Sinclair was charged with fraud and later, with the help of Murray Gleeson, acquitted. 

To celebrate the publication of The Pursuit of Justice we invited Michael Finnane onto Justinian's couch ... 

Describe yourself in three words

Determined, strong-minded, compassionate.

What are you currently reading?  

Holdsworth's "History of English Law" Volume 1 and "Rather His Own Man" by Geoffrey Robertson. 

What's your favourite film?  

"The Winslow Boy" (black and white version). 

 Who has been the most influential person in your life, and why? 

My mother. She taught me mental toughness. 

When were you happiest?  

When I was growing up at Rose Bay.

What is your favourite piece of music?   

The chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from Nabucco. 

Why did you think it was important to write The Pursuit of Justice?  

I wanted to tell a story about a life in the law that explained why I was a lawyer and how the court system worked.

 What has been your most memorable case? 

 The Skaf [rape] trials.

Do you think the High Court might have restored your sentences in the Skaf case?  

They did not do so. I could not see that any special leave point was involved. 

What is in your refrigerator?  

Food but no alcohol.

What is your favourite website? 

Austlii

What lessons did you draw from your inquiry into Ian Sinclair MP?  

 • To investigate something touching a powerful political figure, will bring you into conflict with the political establishment;

• The media will pursue you, at times unfairly;

• You will be subject to intemperate and unjust criticism if you ever investigate the activities of anyone who was powerful. 

What words or phrases do you overuse?  

I can't think of any.

What is your greatest weakness?  

I am no good at games involving eye/hand co-ordination. 

Why did you want to be a lawyer?  

Because I wanted to be a barrister. 

What other occupation would you like to have liked to pursue?  

Playwright or novelist. 

If you were on death row, what would you request for your last meal?  

Prawn Laksa with noodles followed by Tiramusu with cream.

If you were a foodstuff, what would you be?  

Mango.

 What human quality do you most distrust?  

Emotional over reaction leading to kneejerk actions. 

What would you change about Australia?  

I would abolish State governments, have one Australian parliament and no States.

Who or what do you consider overrated? 

The notion that the court system delivers justice to all who seek it. 

What would your epitath say? 

He was an eccentric, who tried his best.

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

I think of all the barristers, solicitors and judges I have met over nearly 60 years and some of the cases in which I have been involved. 

Reader Comments

There are no comments for this journal entry. To create a new comment, use the form below.
Editor Permission Required
You must have editing permission for this entry in order to post comments.