Justice William Charles Crockett AO - Victorian Bar

many as the stars and will become a greatnation. The Exodus from slavery in Egyptand the 40 years in the desert is the journeytowards the Promised Land and thenation that will be built. Jesus himselfcame to inaugurate the Kingdom of God.When he was asked in Matthew’s Gospelwhat was the greatest commandment ofthe law Jesus replied, “You must love theLord your God with all your heart, with allyour soul and with all your mind.” Thenhe emphasised the communal dimension.The second greatest law he said, whichresembles the first, is this: “You must loveyour neighbour as yourself.”communities. Today we celebrate this aswe mark the opening of a new year for thelegal profession. The law to a large degreerepresents the governing arrangementsthat we put in place in civil society to helpus towards the outcome that Jesus promisedwhen he said that “he came so thatwe might have life and have it to the full”.(John 10:10)The rule of law underpins a great dealof our social and material well being andsecurity. Nothing brings this home morestarkly than to contrast our situationwith the lawlessness characterised inCormac McCarthy’s novel The Road andaccess to redress; protection for the weak— these are all areas where there havebeen great advances in this society overthe centuries, and over recent decades.But all of us are conscious of the scope forfurther improvement. I am acutely awarethrough the work of Centacare CatholicFamily Services and my experience as aprison chaplain that there are too manywho come to the attention of the court andare subject to the sanctions of the criminallaw because such other social systems ashousing, health (especially mental health)or education have failed them.Custodial sentencing is a central partof our current criminal legal system. It isan area where, in particular, there havebeen steady advances over time in termsof clarity and rationality in sentencing, inrespect for the rights and well being ofprisoners, and in working to develop moreeffective alternatives.Stuart Rowland.When he was askedin Matthew’s Gospelwhat was the greatestcommandment of the lawJesus replied, “You mustlove the Lord your Godwith all your heart, with allyour soul and with all yourmind.” Then he emphasisedthe communal dimension.In Catholic social teaching the foundationalprinciple of human dignity recognisesthat each human person is made inthe image and likeness of God. Again thisin turn gives rise to a social dimension, thesecond basic principle of Catholic socialteaching, the notion of common good. Theprinciple of common good acknowledgesthat my human dignity meets your humandignity and that a series of rights and obligationsemerge that are to apply to all inthe community setting.So our behaviour towards one anotherand our ways of relating are vital to thefull human flourishing of individuals andJustice Tracey, Kevin Andrews andPatrick Sweeney.again by Mel Gibson in his recent film“Apocalypto”. Lawyers and those associatedwith the legal profession are centralto the effective operation of this civilisingsystem.But orderliness and due process arenot of themselves sufficient to deliver asociety that enables all to thrive. Justice— fairness — is of central importance.And lawyers are also often better placedthan others to identify the opportunitiesfor improvement in the operation of theinstitutions and rules that maintain therule of law.Understanding of rights and obligation;But it remains an area of great humansuffering, where many of the commonlyaccepted and shared objectives for thoseimprisoned are not met.It is not a matter of being hard or softon crime — there is plenty of evidencethat more, or longer or harsher prisonsentences do not reduce crime. The issueis whether we are effectively addressingthe collection of needs of the society andof the individuals involved.Koori courts, drug courts, communitylegal centres, non-custodial sentencinggenerally, effective education within prisons,and so on all do make a difference.There may be a short-term dollar cost butin the longer term proper formation andthe creation of opportunities for disadvantagedindividuals and groups will beless expensive in both public dollars andhuman misery.The faith and salvation of each of us isnot just played out as individuals, but asindividuals who have a role in the com-53