Remarks – Passing of the Honourable Mary Gaudron KC

I rise to honour the life and legacy of Mary Gaudron KC. A trailblazer of Australian law, a pioneer for women, and a jurist whose influence reaches far beyond the judgments she delivered.

Born to ‘Ted’ and ‘Bonnie’ Gaudron in 1943 in Moree, Mary did not start life on the usual path to becoming a High Court judge. Yet, it was her humble beginnings, including her exposure to the racial discrimination against First Nations people that perhaps helped spark her passion for justice.

Despite her academic excellence, Mary Gaudron was regularly told ‘no’. At university, she was informed that moot courts were not for women. When Gaudron applied for legal clerkships – she was told ‘no’. When she applied for chambers, Gaudron was met with hostility and initially denied membership. And, when Gaudron became the first woman on the High Court – an appointment widely welcomed by the legal profession – one journal still wrote she had, and I quote, “an emotional disposition inappropriate in a holder of judicial office”.

Mr Speaker, regardless of the number of times Gaudron was dismissed or told ‘no’, I sure we are all glad she never listened.

History will record that Gaudron was the first woman to take silk in New South Wales, the first woman to serve as state Solicitor-General and, in 1987, the first woman appointed to the High Court of Australia. But these facts alone do not capture the impact of her contribution.

Throughout her career, she showcased a deep understanding that justice required more than the mechanical application of rules. It required attentiveness to the human experience.

Her contribution to equality began long before her appointment to the High Court. In 1972, she became the first woman to represent the Commonwealth in a national wage proceeding, appearing for the Whitlam Government in the landmark Equal Pay Case.

At a time when so-called equal pay protections largely excluded work traditionally performed by women, she successfully argued for the principle of "equal pay for work of equal value".

This reshaped the economic position of Australian women for generations and is remembered as not merely a legal victory but a turning point in Australia's journey towards gender equality.

Through the High Court, she helped shape some of the most significant decisions in Australian legal history. In Mabo, she recognised the profound injustice of the dispossession of Aboriginal peoples, describing it as one of the darkest aspects of our national history.

Gaudron was proof that excellence need not come at the cost of authenticity or compassion. According to those who warmly called her a colleague and friend – she was a wonderful soul, with wit and comedic charisma.

I extend my deepest condolences to Justice Gaudron’s family and to the legal profession. May Mary Gaudron rest in peace.