Former Qld CJ running-up legal bills in defence of his reputation … Light workload at QCAT … Carmody does everyone a favour and bows out of contention for top tribunal job … Sir Terence O’Rort reports 

A spokesmodel for Yvette D’Ath, Qld AG & Minister for Justice, confirms that former CJ Timbo Carmody is entitled to recover the legal costs of pre-publication vetting of the recent book The Tim Carmody Affair, plus his bills for the Right to Information case over the “fat fuck” tape, plus any other associated lawyers’ bills. 

“In general terms the Judicial Officers Indemnity Guideline provides for the state to cover judicial officers’ legal costs incurred in civil proceedings, investigations or inquiries arising from the performance of their public duties.”

It would be nice to know now much Timbo has chalked-up for the state government in lawyers’ bills. It’s believed that the Brisbane office of Chinese law shop King & Wood Mallesons pored over the pre-publication manuscript of The Tim Carmody Affair by academics Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, Gabrielle Appleby and Andrew Lynch.  

There’s the ongoing costs of an appeal against a decision of the Information Commissioner to release the tape of Carmody’s rant about his fellow judges.  

He is also opposing the release of letters written while he was chief justice, which could give additional background to what happened at the court while he was CJ and his reasons for quitting the top judicial job. 

“I have been honoured and privileged to serve the Queensland people in public life for more than 40 years. I am thankful to the many Queenslanders who support me, especially when I was chief justice.  

I have learned to accept different people will interpret what happened then differently, therefore I don’t intend to comment on this book.  

I do however take this opportunity to wish Chief Justice Holmes well in her role.”  

Why such an anodyne piece of tosh needed to be released by Mallesons is a puzzle to Banana Benders, specially as they are footing the bill. 

In June last year Guardian Australia published a story saying that the public servant who blocked the release of a recording of the then CJ abusing fellow judges had worked for Carmody in two previous capacities.  

It was reported that Anne Edwards, the director of the right to information and privacy unit of the state justice department, had also worked as a research director at Carmody’s child protection inquiry in 2012 and 2013. She also worked under him a decade ago at the Queensland crime commission.  

Edwards ruled against the release of the taped recorded conversation with John Byrne SJA and David Bodice J. 

“Guardian Australia understands the only judge who has objected to the release of the recording – made secretly by senior judge administrator John Byrne in February – was Carmody.”  

This attracted a quick response from McInnes Wilson, on behalf of the chief justice, with the assertion that their client had not objected to the release of the recording.  

McInnes Wilson said it was all down to Anne Edwards, who did not consult with the CJ about the contents of the tape and therefore Carmody was not in a position to object to its release because he had not heard its content. 

Its release was declined because disclosure was said to be beyond the scope of the Right to Information Act and was incompatible with the public interest.  

The lawyers said that to impute that the CJ was in league with Anne Edwards to suppress to tape was a wicked defamation. They demanded a grovel and the relevant part of the article to be withdrawn.  

No apology seems to have been forthcoming, but it does appear that the relevant sentence was cut from the story. 

On one level the suggestion that Carmody was not objecting to the release of the “fat fuck” tape is odd, because he is objecting to and appealing against the latest finding of the Information Commissioner in overruling Edwards’ decision.  

Carmody submitted to the Office of the Information Commissioner that “the republication of the unsubstantiated and derogatory allegations contained within the (information at issue) by an official source will expose me to further unfair treatment on the basis of such unsubstantiated allegations”.  

He added that the release of the information should be refused to protect the “institutional integrity of the Supreme Court”.  

In August Carmody told attorney general D’Ath that he no longer wished to be considered for the job as president of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.    

The understanding between the government and Timbo was that he would resign as CJ in consideration for being considered favourably as the next president of QCAT. He is still a member of the Supreme Court and has been sitting at QCAT as a supplementary member.  

The government has now extended the appointment of Justice David Thomas as QCAT president for another two year.  

“The elevation of Carmody to the presidency of QCAT when Thomas’s term comes to a close could start as much of a furore as did his appointment to the role of chief justice. 

Once again the executive government will be open to claims that a judicial appointment seemed to have been compromised by considerations other than the individual’s merit and suitability.” 

There are now three judges on QCAT, two from the Supreme Court and one from the District Court. Their wages and those of their staff have to be met from the QCAT budget, which leaves fewer resources to handle the daily grind of disputes with neighbours and plumbers’ bills, etc. 

In the 12 months from his QCAT posting in July 2015, Timbo pumped out 75 written judgments. Thomas did 47 judgments in the same period, but was also doing Supreme Court cases. In 2011, when Alan Wilson was QCAT president, he produced 139 judgments.