Wollongong District Court judge Andrew Haesler is about to step down from the bench for the final time. Main photo: Zoe Cartwright. Inset: Supplied.
Wollongong’s District Court judge is about to retire but not before he shares the story of his noble introduction to law that attracted the attention of a famous cartoonist.
In 1972, as a Balmain boy attending Fort Street High School, Andrew Haesler became one of the ringleaders in a student strike by a group of boys who refused to cut their trendy long hair.
“The school tried to kick out the boys and when I stepped in to help, the school threatened to expel me,” Judge Haesler recalled.
“Back then I was the senior cadet officer, so I didn’t have long hair, but for me it was a matter of principle,” he added.
The school didn’t succeed because his father was a member of the Labor Party who called in Neville Wran QC.
“Wran’s representation worked, and that got me interested in law,” Judge Haesler said.
“Dad, who was a jazz musician and architect, was a bit upset the school tried to expel me, but he was very impressed when I ended up in the Bruce Petty Saturday cartoon in The Australian newspaper, which was probably the best-read cartoon in the country back then.”
That innate sense of social justice never wavered throughout the judge’s long legal career.
As a UNSW law student volunteer, he helped set up the Redfern Legal Centre in 1977, which offered free advice to low-income members of the community.
After graduating, he had a brief stint on Channel 10’s Eyewitness News, as a consumer advice scriptwriter.
“It was a time when I was tossing up whether to become a journalist or a lawyer,” he said.
After that he became a solicitor with Redfern Legal Centre before spending a year in Central Australia with the Aboriginal Legal Service, based in Alice Springs.
“That was a whole new world going out into the desert and acting for people in remote communities in places like Tenant Creek,” said the judge.
“I’d take the Toyota and shoot a kangaroo along the way to feed the old people at the camp.
“At night you would lay your swag under a gum tree to sleep and then turn up in court the next morning – it was fantastic.”
In 1999, he was appointed Director of the Criminal Law Review Division of the NSW Department of Justice and Attorney General, where he provided advice to government on a broad range of areas including sentencing and court diversionary programs.
Judge Haesler’s first stint in Wollongong in 1989 was as legal aid solicitor in the same court over which he now presides.
He became the region’s public defender in 1986 and in 2004 he was made a senior counsel.
In 2010, he was appointed District Court Judge.
“I enjoyed the transition from arguing a case to actually deciding it,” he said.
“Sure, there have been times when I’d make a decision based on the evidence and then wake up at 3 am and ask myself did I get it right.
“It’s a very stressful job because you are making decisions that no matter which way you go, they will have an impact on somebody’s life.”
After many years and many roles, Judge Haesler’s confidence in the judicial system remains strong.
“However, the saddest thing in Wollongong over time is seeing grandchildren of former clients come before me,” he said.
“There seems to be a pattern where if someone goes to jail, they’ll go back to jail and if somebody’s parents have been in jail, then there’s a chance the kids will follow.
“But seeing the third generation of families I once defended go to jail is very sad.”
It has been a long and varied career with stories the once would-be journalist will mine for years.
One memory which still manages to make the judge chuckle was the response he got when he let a young Aboriginal girl out of jail early for Christmas.
“It seemed her whole family were in the gallery and they let out an almighty cheer,” the judge recalled.
“Her grandfather, who turned out to be a former client from the 80s, then stood up and yelled out, ‘Thanks Andy’ and the courtroom erupted into laughter.”
Judge Haesler will be sworn out on 18 December and after six months he may return in part-time roles.
