Catherine Holmes has been appointed the chief justice of Queensland, the first woman to serve in the role in its 152-year history.
The state Labor government announced on Monday that Holmes, who was appointed from the appeal court bench, would follow the hugely controversial Tim Carmody.
The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said Holmes was “a widely respected judge” whose appointment would give the state’s courts “a fresh start” after its recent upheavals.
“There is no doubt in making this appointment, we have to acknowledge that the supreme court of Queensland has faced some tough times recently,” Palaszczuk said.
“I have no doubt the appointment of Justice Holmes will give the court the fresh start it needs. Today that fresh start begins.”
Holmes has served since 2006 on the appeal court, where most recently she sat as lead judge in the appeal of convicted murderer Gerard Baden-Clay.
One of five children in a working-class family from Oxley in Brisbane’s west, Holmes was a founding member of the Women’s Legal Service and became a barrister in 1994, taking silk in 1999.
She met controversy in 1997 when she brought a defamation lawsuit against then National party premier Rob Borbidge, who had sacked her from the state’s Community Corrections Board amid criticisms of a lenient approach to offenders. Holmes sued Borbidge, saying he had made her “a scapegoat ... for political purposes”.
The case was reportedly settled a year later when crown lawyers for Borbidge offered a $5,000 settlement.
Appointed to the supreme court in 2000, Holmes worked in the mental health court and ran the commission of inquiry into the Queensland floods of 2010-11.
The appointment of Holmes, whose “exceptional intellect” was praised by the attorney general, Yvette D’Ath, was also welcomed by opposition justice spokesman, Ian Walker.
Walker said the government consulted the opposition beforehand and it had supported Holmes’ appointment.
“We respect the position of chief justice and wish her well in the important role she now fulfils,” Walker said.
Prominent Gold Coast solicitor Bill Potts said the appointment was “ a clear signal this government believes in gender equality.
“But in saying that, Justice Holmes has the respect of the entire legal profession,” he said.
Potts said it also signalled a “time of healing” in the courts, after Carmody’s conflict with his peers led to “some supreme court justices waking up to be surprised by headlines categorising them as ‘bullies’ and being part of a ‘toxic culture’ – where in fact they were getting on every day with the hard work of delivering justice to Queenslanders”.
It follows the ill-fated tenure of Carmody, who resigned from the role in July, just a year after his appointment by the former Newman government.
Carmody’s elevation from chief magistrate was one of the most contentious legal appointments in modern Australian legal history.
It was opposed by senior legal figures in part because of his perceived closeness to the former government and its law and order agenda. Carmody’s meetings with key Liberal National party figures at key points of his legal career included a private dinner with the former premier Campbell Newman before taking medical leave.
His subsequent falling-out with colleagues included a refusal by the appeal court president, Margaret McMurdo, to work with him after their joint hearing of the appeal of Daniel Morcombe’s killer descended into acrimony in May. Carmody accused McMurdo of “judicial interference” – which she curtly rejected as “ill conceived” – before he withdrew from the case amid accusations of apprehended bias.
Carmody was also condemned by colleagues for interfering in the role of another judge in preparing to hear a potential legal challenge by the LNP government to a crucial Queensland election result in February.
Senior judge administrator John Byrne secretly recorded a confrontation with him, Carmody and the other judge during this dispute, in which the chief justice purportedly called his colleagues collectively “scum” and one a “fat fuck”.
He sacked Byrne then overturned his decision in the face of united condemnation again from other judges.
Retiring judge Alan Wilson in a March valedictory speech said most judges had lost all respect for Carmody, with morale on the bench having declined to the point where even younger judges were considering resigning.
Wilson said Carmody’s appointment was a “failed experiment”, criticising his lack of demonstrated legal ability and his apparent preference for public relations over court work.
