Jeremy William St John was born in Sydney on 19 September 1952. He moved to Adelaide in his early years, where attended Northfield Primary School and then Enfield High School. He moved to Melbourne in 1967 and attended Kew High School, where he was dux of humanities in 1969.
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia has appointed Mr Andrew M Bell as one of the two full-time Deputy Presidents of the Fair Work Commission.
The appointment will commence from 18 January 2022.
On behalf of members, may I extend my congratulations and best wishes to Samantha Poulter and Tim Greenway on their appointments as Magistrates of the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria. The appointments are effective immediately. Details of the welcome ceremonies will be advised when they become known.
Last Friday, I met with the State Coroner Judge John Cain. Judge Cain gave me a personal tour of the Coroner’s Court and was particularly delighted to show me Court 1 in which he is currently conducting an inquest into St Basil’s Aged Care home. I have to say two full Bar tables was a great sight to behold. The Bar Council will host a Meet the Coroners night and CPD early in 2022, which will be an opportunity for members who are interested in appearing as counsel assisting or on behalf of an interested party to learn more about how the Coroner’s Court works.
This week commenced with the 2021 Senior Counsel participating in the Silks’ Bows ceremonies before the Supreme Court of Victoria, the Federal Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit and Family Law Court of Australia. The ceremonies are steeped in the tradition of counsel informing the Court of their appointment as Senior Counsel, and the Court recognising and welcoming their achievement and reminding them of their obligations to the Court, their clients and the profession. It was a happy occasion for the 2021 Silks to celebrate with their families and peers.
Tuesday night was a busy night for Annual General Meetings.
I attended the Victorian Bar Foundation [VBF] directors meeting followed by its Annual General meeting. The Chair, the Hon. John Digby QC was pleased and excited to announce that the Hon. Justice Michelle Gordon AC has recently accepted an invitation to become the Patron of the Foundation. The VBF, which was established as a not-for-profit organisation in 2011, works to promote several causes in the community, including encouraging and supporting young adults from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds to consider and pursue a career in the law and in particular a career at the Victorian Bar. The Foundation welcomes input from members as to how best to achieve its aims and to engage with any particular community to encourage the future diversity of our Bar. Members who are in a position to make a donation to the Foundation can do so via the donation form here.
Victoria’s Acting Chief Health Officer has given a further set of directions pursuant to s. 200(1)(d) of the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (Vic) concerning mandatory vaccination for certain workers: COVID-19 Mandatory Vaccination (Workers) Directions (No 8).
