Freo Barrister Appointed Chief Justice of Tasmania

In a rare honour, an out-of-Tassie lawyer from Fremantle has been appointed to head Tasmania’s highest court, the Supreme Court of Tasmania.

Yesterday, the Attorney General of Tasmania announced that Christopher Shanahan SC, the founder of Murray Chambers in Perth, has been appointed that State’s new Chief Justice. Mr Shanahan is due to take up his appointment on 20 January 2025, replacing the recently retired Chief Justice of Tasmania, Alan Blow.

Mr Shanahan was admitted to the Bar in WA in 1984, and appointed silk on 1 December 2004. He is a member of the WA Bar Association, of which he was Vice-President 2005-2007, and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law. His practice has included administrative, civil and commercial matters, with an emphasis on appeals; as well as a substantial body of work in native title, mining, compulsory acquisition and associated administrative law issues. Mr Shanahan also has extensive criminal law experience as both a trial lawyer and as an appellate lawyer.

In addition to maintaining a busy barrister’s practice, Mr Shanahan has also served as: Acting Commissioner of the Corruption and Crime Commission of Western Australia; Acting WA Information Commissioner; and as a Senior Sessional Member of the State Administrative Tribunal of WA.

Mr Shanahan is also a highly valued and sought after advocacy exponent both here in Australia and the UK.

We note that the very first Chief Justice of Tasmania, back in the days when the British Colony was still called Van Diemen’s Land, Sir John Lewes Pedder, 1824-1854, was honoured with a Tasmanian lake named after him. Freo folk will look forward to visiting Lake Shanahan in years to come.

* By Michael Barker, Editor, Fremantle Shipping News

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