The Turnbull government moved quickly to replace Brian Martin on Monday, naming Indigenous advocate Mick Gooda and retired Queensland judge Margaret White to head the royal commission into the Northern Territory's juvenile justice system.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Martin stepped down just days after being named to head the commission amid concerns about conflicts of interest and criticism of the selection process from Indigenous leaders and justice advocates.
Who are the new royal commissioners?
Mick Gooda
Mick Gooda has been the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner since 2010.
A Gangulu man from Central Queensland, he has spent more than 25 years involved in Indigenous affairs in Australia, including as chief executive of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commissioner and during five years at the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health.
New royal commissioner Mick Gooda. Photo: Marco Del Grande
During his career, Mr Gooda has been regarded "as a diplomat first, and an activist second". In 2013, he said it is impossible to work on Aboriginal issues without being a human rights activist.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called Mr Gooda one of Australia's most highly regarded Indigenous leaders, noting his tenure as co-chair of the Close the Gap Campaign to improve the health and life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
"Mr Gooda's name had been recommended by indigenous advocacy groups including the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services," Mr Turnbull said.
After seeing the Four Corners episode that sparked the controversy, Mr Gooda called for the federal government to sack the Northern Territory administration.
The Federal Government has to intervene and sack the NT Government— Mick Gooda (@MickGooda) July 25, 2016
He back-tracked in the comments on Monday.
"We'll wait and see. I think – I said on the Tuesday, you know, was a day of emotions and people had all sorts of emotional responses.
"In the clear light of day, I probably wouldn't think that. But at the moment, I've got a job to do," he said.
Justice Margaret White
Margaret White served for more than 20 years on the Queensland Supreme Court, including as a member of the Court of Appeal and in both the civil and criminal jurisdictions.
Mr Turnbull described Justice White as highly regarded among the judiciary and the legal profession throughout Australia.
Born in Victoria, she is a graduate of the University of Adelaide and was first admitted as a barrister in 1978.
She became the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1992 and moved to the Court of Appeal in 2010.
A mother of four, she has worked as a research assistant, advised overseas governments, served on the Defence Force Discipline Appeals Tribunal and as deputy chancellor of the University of Queensland and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2013.
Justice White acted as a junior counsel for the Queensland state government in the landmark Mabo native title High Court case and headed the Queensland commission of inquiry into the state's racing industry.
Attorney-General George Brandis praised Justice White as eminently qualified to head the commission.
"I'm very honoured to have been approached by the government for what I think everyone would see as a rather difficult, if not rather challenging task," Justice White said.
"I would like to say that it is a great privilege for me to have an opportunity to have as a co-commissioner Mr Gooda and I know that we are going to be able to deal with the various and difficult aspects of this inquiry harmoniously and we hope to a good outcome and some recommendations, which will see good juvenile justice in the Northern Territory."
