By Paul Sakkal
A former High Court justice previously tapped by Labor to probe Scott Morrison’s multiple ministries is in the frame to lead the widely expected federal royal commission into the Bondi killings.
The potential appointment of Virginia Bell has been flagged by senior Labor figures in recent days and has already prompted pushback from some Jewish leaders in NSW, Bell’s home state, over their belief she might be too left-leaning, a claim the government and Bell’s backers in the legal fraternity will challenge.
Former High Court justice Virginia Bell.Credit: Gillianne Tedder
The private worry expressed by Jewish leaders has complicated the choice for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as he and his ministers work out details of a national probe he has resisted for weeks.
Bell declined to comment when contacted by this masthead about the prospect of her appointment on Wednesday evening.
Several sources familiar with tightly held considerations inside the government, none of whom were willing to speak publicly, said the government was putting Bell forward in confidential talks as a leading option.
The disagreement over Bell is already proving difficult for Albanese: even as he prepares to yield to a well-organised and wide-ranging campaign to call a royal commission, he will face ongoing tests from the Jewish community and other critics to ensure the scope and operation of the probe satisfies the Bondi victims’ families and their community leaders.
Jewish leaders have privately acknowledged they risk blowback from the wider community if they appear to be making political attacks against the royal commission after the prime minister yields.
Other names being discussed as potential royal commissioners include former ASIO boss Dennis Richardson, already selected to run the rapid review of intelligence failures, and Federal Court judge Michael Lee, well known for presiding over the defamation case brought against Channel 10 by Bruce Lehrmann.
Bell, appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2012, has had a long and respected career in the law. The 74-year-old started her career at the Redfern Legal Centre in the 1970s, became a public defender and was appointed as a judge on the NSW Supreme Court and Court of Appeal in March,1999.
In 2009, she became the fourth woman to serve on the bench of the High Court when she was appointed by the Rudd government. She retired after 12 years.
She has also had experience working in a royal commission, acting as one of the counsels assisting the Wood Royal Commission into NSW police corruption between 1994 and 1997.
In August 2022, Labor appointed Bell to lead an inquiry into former prime minister Scott Morrison’s scandalous self-appointment to several ministries.
Critics of Bell in the Jewish community view her as too close to Labor, and although they agree she is a distinguished figure, they question her stance on the complex topics the commission must explore. Bell declined to comment when asked about this argument against her appointment.
In the early 1990s, Bell had a brief stint as host of ABC program Late Night Live.
In a profile published by this masthead at the time of her High Court appointment, Professor George Williams argued she was “one of the most experienced and well-regarded criminal lawyers” and said her interested in social justice was appropriate given she was replacing Justice Michael Kirby, who was known for his interest in human rights.
A University of Wollongong profile of Bell said she represented the dozens of people arrested at the first Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras in 1978 and prepared a video for the following year’s march advising people how to avoid arrest.
The then-president of the Australian Law Reform Commission, David Weisbrot, said at the time of her High Court appointment that he believed Bell would be a “very progressive” justice.
This masthead reported on Thursday that Labor might fold the proposed Richardson review into intelligence failings into the royal commission, and that it might merge with the NSW royal commission.
The prime minister’s office was contacted for comment.
