Labor’s thumping win in the election was bad news for judges (or at least their super balances), and High Court justice Michelle Gordon in particular.
Justice Gordon will be the most senior judge on the court when Chief Justice Stephen Gageler retires in July 2028, and will be on most shortlists for the top job.
However, Gordon would have had a better shot with the Libs. That’s because she was appointed to the court by the Abbott government in 2015 (and before that to the Federal Court by the Howard government in 2007).
It’s not a disqualifier, but you would be hard pressed to find a Labor or Coalition government that has ever promoted a judge appointed to the bench by the other side of politics, let alone to chief justice.
