The first Aboriginal court judge of the Northern Territory has paid tribute to his Stolen Generations parents and grandparents as he was sworn into the role in a ceremony this morning, surrounded by family.
Key points:
- Judge Woodroffe was sworn in at a ceremony at the NT Supreme Court by Acting Chief Justice Stephen Southwood
- Hailing from the Mudburra and Jingili people, he’s the NT’s first Aboriginal court judge
- The new judge joins the bench at a time when the NT’s prisons are over capacity
David Woodroffe, a long-term and decorated NT legal professional who has been acting as a local court judge since July 2022, signed the documents formalising his position on Tuesday.
“I am truly humbled and I will cherish this moment,” Judge Woodroffe said.
“I think back to my grandmother, at Kahlin [Compound], and I think back to my father who’s no longer here, for his love and encouragement to me throughout my life, and to all of my family.
“I also think of the future – to play a small part in the greater diversity of the justice system of the Northern Territory, and the inclusion of Aboriginal people within it.”
Judge Woodroffe’s parents grew up in Kahlin Compound and later, Retta Dixon – two now-notorious homes where Aboriginal people were forced to live in Darwin during the Stolen Generations last century.
He enters the jurisdiction’s justice system with the odds stacked against his people: First Nations incarceration statistics in the NT are among the worst in the world, per capita.
Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said Judge Woodroffe’s inclusion on the bench was a “first in the territory’s history”.
“I think it is particularly important when you look at the rates of Aboriginal incarceration – but we have an Aboriginal Attorney-General, and [now an] Aboriginal local court judge,” she said.
“You can’t be what you can’t see.
“So yes, we need a strong justice system, but we also need that diversity of representation.”
Family pays tribute to their ‘shy boy’
Judge Woodroffe’s mother Gillian Emmerson paid tribute to the son she remembered growing up as a “shy little boy”, who has now risen to the highest rungs of the NT’s legal system.
“I think it’s wonderful, I really do … I never thought anything like that would happen,” she said.
His nephew, Zach Cork, said he hoped his uncle’s appointment would be “empowering” for young Aboriginal people who hailed from difficult upbringings.
“Someone who can come from a situation that he’s come from – his father was part of the Stolen Generation and look where he’s at now – one of the local court judges in Darwin,” he said.
In the Northern Territory, where high crime rates continue to cause community anguish, judges have to balance community expectations of being tough on criminals with the exploding jail population rates.
Prisons in the NT are now beyond their rates of capacity.
But Mr Cork said his uncle was “more than capable of matching up to the challenge”.
“I think he’s ready, willing and able, and he’ll do what’s right – a strong pillar for the community, for people look up to,” Mr Cork said.
“He’s set the bar for everyone hasn’t he? We’ve all got something to aspire to.”
Judge Woodroffe hails from the Mudburra and Jingili people of the Newcastle Waters area, now known as a prosperous cattle industry region, in the centre of the Northern Territory.