He talked of the drift from public education. He said he was the only serving member of the High Court whose education was from first to last in the public system. He stressed that he was not opposed to private education. He pointed to a survey last year which found that 94 per cent of 300,000 respondents believed public schools were not receiving enough funding. I believe that most Australians think this way.
Surveys confirm it.
The judge's comments were considerably less confronting to the notion of judicial independence than the direct political attacks on the High Court, particularly following the Wik decision. A separate judiciary and its independence is a two-way street. It is not just a matter of judges minding their Ps and Qs. It is equally a matter of judges and courts not being bludgeoned by politicians. Maybe the Prime Minister has only just cottoned onto the fact that Kirby is the most prolific speech- maker and paper writer in the country.