Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury has announced Mr Geoffrey Kennett and Ms Belinda Baker as two new resident judges to be appointed to the ACT Supreme Court.
“I am pleased to welcome Mr Kennett and Ms Baker, which will bring the ACT Supreme Court to a full complement of six ongoing judicial officers,” Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said. “Mr Kennett has particular expertise in civil and administrative law and Ms Baker has particular expertise in criminal law. Their skills and experience will complement the existing judiciary and bring the court back to a full bench.”
Mr Kennett has over 30 years legal experience and worked in Canberra from 1985 to 1998, before moving to Sydney to practice at the bar. He is currently the Chair of the Administrative Law Committee of the Law Council of Australia and is a member of its Constitutional Law Committee.
Ms Baker, who has legal experience spanning over 20 years, was admitted as a legal practitioner in NSW in 2000. She is currently the Deputy Senior Crown Prosecutor with the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions and has appeared in more than 200 criminal appeals since 2016, including in the High Court.
Mr Kennett will fill the vacancy left by Justice Burns who retired from the Court in August last year having served over thirty years in the ACT Courts. Ms Baker will replace Justice Michael Elkaim when he retires in December this year. Justice Elkaim has served as a Judge of the ACT Supreme Court since July 2016 and before that served 8 years as a District Court judge of NSW.
Mr Kennett will begin his appointment on 21 March 2022, while Ms Baker starts in December 2022.
As stated by Chief Justice Lucy McCallum:
“The Court welcomes these outstanding appointments. Mr Kennett and Ms Baker are both known for their huge intellects, their astute legal analysis and their prodigious capacity for hard work. With our full complement of six judges the Court is well placed to take on the challenges ahead.”
