CYCLING to school from his family home in Taylor Street, Armidale, Peter Johnstone could not have imagined the road that led to a successful legal career spanning more than 50 years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
On Friday, July 5, the former Armidale schoolboy and Chief Magistrate of NSW will be officially sworn out of office at the Downing Centre in Sydney at a ceremony before the NSW Governor, Margaret Beazley.
Before that, Judge Johnstone returned to his old stomping ground of Armidale for a retirement dinner with colleagues and former school friends. His good friend and Armidale Magistrate, Mark Richardson, organised the dinner at Tattersalls.
"It's always great coming back to Armidale, the place hasn't changed that much, except for the new court house," Judge Johnstone said.
On the eve of his retirement, Judge Johnstone reflected on his legal career and its many highlights.
During his nine years as President of the Children's Court, he helped establish the Koori Youth Court. Another highlight was a 50 per cent reduction of young offenders in detention centres and a reduction in the rate of Aboriginal youth incarceration from 60 per cent to 45 per cent, and the closure of three detention centres.
Judge Johnstone's style of jurisprudence has tended towards therapeutic justice, where the courts offer young offenders diversionary programs to keep them out of jail.
"BackTrack is a great example of a youth program that offers positive pathways to youths who are having a tough time," Judge Johnstone said.
His strong sense of social justice has its roots in his Armidale ancestors.
Judge Johnstone's great grandfather, the Rev Dr Thomas Johnstone, was Presbyterian minister of the church in Faulkner Street.
"All my uncles were lawyers and it was the Johnstones who founded A.W Simpson and Co, which still practices today," Judge Johnstone said.
But his father was an exception; he studied and practised as a veterinarian, establishing Chiswick Research Station on the New England Highway, before resettling his family of two daughters and three sons in a home in Taylor Street.
"I rode my bike to the Armidale Demonstration School, the roads weren't tarred and guttered then," Judge Johnstone said.
An academic child, the young Peter won a scholarship to The Armidale School and in 1967 he obtained the Higher School Certificate, winning a Commonwealth scholarship to Sydney University.
A career in law unfolded, taking him to London (where Judge Johnstone worked in litigation, working for Bowring Professional Indemnity Limited, insurance brokers to Lloyds), before returning to Australia, where he was admitted in the High Court of Australia, and the Supreme Courts of Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland and the ACT.
From 1990, Judge Johnstone combined his legal career with management roles, moving to Melbourne for three years from 1998 to be the Melbourne managing partner of Blake Dawson Waldron.
At this time, Judge Johnstone was also responsible for due diligence on the privatisation of the GIO and advised the then Federal Airports Corporation on its insurance program.
Judge Johnstone briefly moved out of legal practice but returned in 2003. Countless roles followed, including as a trustee of CEDA and treasurer of the Australian Insurance Law Association.
But Judge Johnstone is perhaps most proud of his time served as President of the Children's Court, from 2012 to 2021.
At the time, the NSW Attorney-General personally tapped Judge Johnstone to take on the role as President, an offer which he apparently responded to with, "Why me, I can't even discipline my own children particularly well".
But Judge Johnstone proved to be a wise choice, for during his tenure promoted and expanded community services and resources to help disadvantaged families and children at risk, across all of NSW.
He tackled the over-representation of Aboriginal children and young people in the youth justice and care and protection systems by advocating for prevention, early intervention, diversion and rehabilitation of children and young persons involved in the justice system, including the use of detention only as a last resort.
In September 2021, Judge Johnstone was appointed the Chief Magistrate of NSW.
He focused on introducing new technology to streamline court processes and to establish practices and procedures to enhance current efficiencies within the court.
Other memberships and positions held by Judge Johnstone include the Law Society of NSW, Australian Institute of Judicial Administration, Associate Member of the NSW Bar Association, Member of the Advisory Committee of the Sydney Institute of Criminology, Member of the NSW Police Aboriginal Strategic Advisory Committee, Member of the NSW Aboriginal Justice Partnership Committee.
What does retirement hold? "Hopefully more time with my grandchildren," Judge Johnstone said.
He also wants to improve his golf swing and progress through a pile of books he's been meaning to read these past few years."
Watch Judge Johnstone's farewell ceremony at the Downing Centre in Sydney from 9am Friday, July 5.