The Oddfellows Guild of Bench Stackers, aka The Sammy Griffith Society, has launched its program of speakers for the forthcoming August knees-up in Sydney.
The corroboree comes on the heels of Justice Robert Beech-Jones’ recent scalping of the Griffithites, and doubtless there’ll be avid jaw-boning about it over tea and bikkies.
Delegates will be subjected to repeat performers as it looks as though the Stackers have completely run out of fresh talent to entertain the flat-earth constitutionalists who’ll rally at the Hilton Hotel from August 21 to 23.
Little Winston Howard is to deliver the Sir David Smith (né Szmitkowski) oration in honour of Jolly John Kerr’s message boy.
Celebrity judge Lions Den Lee will deliver the Sir Harry Gibbs Memorial Oration, with the Saturday afternoon session packed with Fr. Frank Brennan; Nurse Clegg, described as a “former barrister” (no longer even mentioned as “prominent barrister”); Prof James Allan, a regular drone at these festivities; and Morgan Begg, the “research” director from the Institute for Paid Advocacy.
By Saturday night the excitement will be uncontainable. The guest speaker at the Great Conference Feast is the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher – some of whose devoted money laundering and branch stacking holy-rollers are being put through the wringer at ICAC.
The Archbish will be introduced by the High Court’s resident trog, HH Simon Steward.
Steward and Fisher – a coupling made in heaven.
Georgina Downer, the spawn of Bunter Downer, will cap the evening’s proceedings with a small, but captivating, dose of pocket moistening.
At the Sunday session you’ll find speakers in furious agreement with each other: Justice Jackboots from the Federal Court; Planet Janet; and Robert Gregory, President of the Australian Jewish Association – regarded as a fringe outfit by mainstream Jewish organisations.
Gregory’s predecessor as president of the AJA was David Adler – famous for his involvement with extremist outfit Advance, and the incendiary NO campaign against the Voice.
On social media, Adler questioned the Aboriginality of journalist Stan Grant:
“STAN GRANT’S COMPLEXION SEEMS TO HAVE CHANGED … IS STAN GRANT DOING ‘BLACK FACE’? If so, why?”
He flung similar insults at Senator Lidia Thorpe.
Dicey Heydon is not on the speakers list, but pounds to peanuts he’ll be there as he’s writing a “definitive biography” of the great Queensland jurist and politician.
The conference is presided over by the Squire of Dunkeld, Allan Myers KC.
See SGS program
Regime change
There are rumblings among the Banana Bending legal tribe about the drift in judicial appointments made by the irksome Chrisafulli LNP regime.
Ryan Haddrick we’ve met before, politically aligned to the conservative cause and on chummy terms with Chrisafulli. He secured an acting District Court appointment on April 1, and recently has been globally showered with plaudits following his remarks in a child sexual offence case.
Ryan also had his fingerprints all over the disastrous Timbo Carmody “experiment”.
Now it seems others in Ryan’s orbit are also sliding up the greasy judicial pole, including family friend and police prosecutor Ben Fotheringham who, according to the Qld Government Gazette, landed a five-year posting as an acting magistrate.
A close eye is being kept on those spruiking the LNP agenda on their socials, as they are tipped to be next in line for elevation.
Meanwhile, experienced criminal lawyer Sarah Thompson, whose two-year acting appointment as a magistrate, made by the Labor government in November 2022, was not renewed by the LNP.
It was a similar story for Simone Bain, whose tenure was terminated by the LNP after two years.
It appears to be the case that short-term meritorious Labor appointments are unlikely to be renewed.
Just to hand is the appointment of appeal judge and faithful National Party servant HH Thomas Bradley, who is being sent off Fernberg Road to be Guv’nor of all Banana Benders.
Bradley is an unsuccessful Nats Senate candidate and later led a campaign to keep women out of the Tatts Club.
He couldn’t be more perfect – although some sources are saying this is not a promotion, rather a face-saving exit.
Bradley’s vacancy on the QCA, with Debbie Mullins’ retirement as Appeals Prez in December, provides ripe appointment opportunities for the former Kawana conveyancer.
Pete Dunning KC, Jumbo Clive Palmer’s brief of choice, would have the job for the asking.
Another Banana Bender moaned to us, “The whole appointments process makes me sick”.
Meanwhile, citizens north of the Tweed are keeping an eye on developments at the Cairns Magistrates Court and associated suppression orders that have been challenged in the Supreme Court.
Judge judging
Van Diemen’s Land has managed to get a judicial commission up and running, while the Commonwealth sits on its hands and is not within a bull’s roar of doing the same thing.
The Judicial Commission Act (Tas) commenced last month and can “examine complaints about the behaviour, or mental or physical capacity of judicial officers in Tasmania”.
It’s to be known as the Judicial Council of Tasmania.
Attorney General, The Rev Guy Barnett, announced the membership of the council: Chief Justice Chris Shanahan, Chief Magistrate Catherine Geason, former Solicitor General Michael O’Farrell SC, and a surprise inclusion, Major General Steven Smith AM SC RFD (Retd.)
Maybe he’s a recommendation of Major General Greg Melick KC, former commander of the RSL.
The Rev. Barnett says together the members of the council will oversee work “in supporting transparency, accountability and public confidence in Tasmania’s judicial system”.
Among his military postings Maj. Gen. Smith served with the Royal Tasmanian Regiment, where Maj. Gen. Melick was the commanding officer.
Smith was described in Rev. Barnett’s announcement as having a couple of gongs, “AM” and “SC”. It’s confusing because he does not appear to have a career as a barrister, so we can only assume that SC stands for “Conspicuous Service Cross”.
In Plein-Air
NSW ICAC has the whole town hooked on the day-by-day unfolding of Liberal Party mischief on a grand scale – money laundering, breach of donation laws, crook developers, crazed Catholics, and branch stacking on an industrial scale.
This is just one of six public inquiries held by ICAC since 2023:
Operations Tolosa, Galley & Hector (2023-2024) involving local councils and transport contracts.
Operation Wyvern (2025), contract kickbacks and misconduct at Transport for NSW.
Operation Landan (2024-2025/2026) investigation into former chief executive of School Infrastructure for NSW.
Operation Navarra (2026). This commenced on May 11, 2026 and is holding the blowtorch to the former CEO and staff at the City of Parramatta Council.
Operation Scandi (2026). A full-blown inquiry into governance and staff at the University of Wollongong. This commenced on June 22, 2026.
Operation Rosny (2026). Election funding, donations and scams involving the connections between extreme right-wing Catholic elements hell-bent on taking control of the state Liberal Party.
There is little doubt that public inquiries are an effective deterrence to corruption, because the investigatory process of the commission and the conduct of the people being investigated are both in play.
John Hatzistergos, ICAC’s chief commissioner, has said that public hearings keep the agency transparent and accountable. Open proceedings also flush out other people who come forward with new lines of inquiry.
Under the timid and conflicted leadership of Major General Paul Le Gay Brereton, the NACC, even with its significant resources, has not raised its head above the trenches and put transparency and accountability to the test.
Undisclosed disclosure
In April, our Canberra correspondent, Polly Peck, reported that the AG’s Department in Canberra had handed over a nifty $25,000 to Thomson Geer (now rebranded as Thomsons) for work related to “public disclosure matters”.
That work must have mushroomed, for now a further $95,000 has been stuffed into Thomson’s pocket.
$120,000 suggests that an interesting chunk of whistleblower disclosures are under examination.
We’ve asked Thomsons about this and back came the reply: “As a member of the panel, we’re unable to offer any comment on any roles we may or may not have.”