Tony Fitzgerald


Gerald Edward "Tony" Fitzgerald is a former Australian judge, who presided over the Fitzgerald Inquiry. The report from the inquiry led to the resignation of the Premier of Queensland Joh Bjelke-Petersen, and the jailing of several ministers and a police commissioner. He was the youngest person to be appointed as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia.

Early life

Tony Fitzgerald was born in a cottage at Sandgate, Queensland. He attended high school at St Patrick's College, Shorncliffe and later the University of Queensland, initially studying engineering and then switching to law. He graduated in 1964 with an LLB and was admitted to the bar that same year.

Career

In 1975, Fitzgerald became a QC. He was a judge in the Federal Court of Australia from 25 November 1981 to 30 June 1984.
Fitzgerald presided over the Fitzgerald Inquiry into corruption in the Queensland government. He was officially known as the chair of the Commission of Inquiry into Official Corruption in Queensland from 1987 to 1989. While undertaking the Fitzgerald Inquiry, he and his family received death threats which were taken seriously by police.
In 1990 and 1991, Fitzgerald also chaired the Commission of Inquiry into the Conservation, Management and Use of Fraser Island and the Great Sandy Region. He was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1991.
He was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland, which is the highest ranking court in the State of Queensland. He also served as the first President of the Court of Appeals Division, from 16 December 1991 until his retirement from that court on 30 June 1998. He was a judge on the Court of Appeals Division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 1998 to 16 March 2001.
Fitzgerald has been the chairperson of both the Australian Heritage Commission and the National Institute for Law, Ethics and Public Affairs, as well as being the inaugural chancellor of the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Retirement

After retiring in 2001, Fitzgerald worked primarily as a mediator and arbitrator.
In 2001 he investigated alcohol abuse in Indigenous communities, and was shocked by the extent of the statewide problem. His "Fitzgerald Report" recommended to the Queensland Government that unless things improved dramatically within a period of three years, that alcohol should be banned, in consultation with the communities. One of the findings related to communities relying on the income generated by sales of alcohol in canteens, recommending that this perceived conflict of interest end. The Indigenous Communities Liquor Licences Bill 2002 and the Community Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2002 were introduced as part of the government response to the report.(
In July 2009, following the Gordon Nuttall scandal and public criticisms of contemporary governance in Queensland, Fitzgerald revealed his relocation to New South Wales was due in large part to the 1998 election of the Beattie Labor government and the loss of momentum for reform.
He has made several scathing comments regarding the Queensland government led by Campbell Newman. This included criticism of new laws targeting bikies and sex offenders, as well as the appointment of Tim Carmody as Chief Justice of Queensland.

Legacy

The Tony Fitzgerald Memorial Community Award is awarded annually by the Australian Human Rights Commission "to a person with a track record in promoting and advancing human rights in the Australian community on a not-for-profit basis".