Alan Demack | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1934-09-23)23 September 1934 Caboolture,Queensland, Australia |
| Died | 28 January 2025(2025-01-28) (aged 90) Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia |
| Alma mater | University of Queensland (Bachelor of Laws, 1957) |
| Occupation | Judge |
| Known for | Being appointed Queensland's first Integrity Commissioner |
Alan George DemackAO (23 September 1934 – 28 January 2025) was an Australian judge.[1]
Aside from his lengthy legal career, 22 years of which were spent as a judge with theSupreme Court of Queensland, Demack is arguably best known for being Queensland's first Integrity Commissioner.[1][2]
Demack was born inCaboolture, Queensland where he attended Caboolture State School from 1940 until 1948 before obtaining his secondary education atBrisbane Boys' College in the Brisbane suburb ofToowong, graduating in 1952.[1][2]
He then studied law while living atKing's College at theSt Lucia campus of theUniversity of Queensland. He graduated with aBachelor of Laws in 1957.[1]
Demack was admitted to theSupreme Court of Queensland as a barrister on 19 December 1957, after which he practiced law in Brisbane for 14 years.[1]
During this time, Demack served as secretary of the Bar Association of Queensland, a reporter forQueensland State Reports and editor of theQueensland Justice of the Peace and Reports.[1] Demack also authored editions ofAllen's Police Offences of Queensland andThe Practice of the District Court of Queensland.[1]
Demack was appointed a judge of theDistrict Court of Queensland on 19 May 1972 which was a position he held until he became a senior judge of theFamily Court of Australia on 21 January 1976.[1] In 1975,Margaret McMurdo worked as a clerk for Demack.[3]
Throughout the 1970's, Demack held a number of executive positions including chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry into the Status of Women, chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry into Youth, chairperson of the Queensland Marriage Guidance Council and as chairperson of the Queensland Government committee inquiring into teacher education.[1]
Demack was appointed the Central Region judge of theSupreme Court of Queensland on 16 January 1976, based in the city ofRockhampton where he lived for the rest of his life.[1]
He was the last judge to preside over cases in Rockhampton's historicSupreme Court building which was closed when the new Virgil Power Complex was officially opened in April 1998.[1][2]
In 2010, Demack officially re-opened the historic Supreme Court building for judicial purposes after it had been utilised byCentral Queensland University.[4]
While living in Rockhampton, Demack became heavily involved in the community. He served as a chairperson of the board of management ofLifeline Rockhampton, he was the chairperson of the government committee examining the transition of Capricornia College of Advanced Education to university status. He also served as chairperson of the special committee to inquire into the Laws Relating to Artificial Insemination, In Vitro Fertilisation and Other Related Matters.[1] In 2007, the Queensland Governnment appointed Demack as chairperson of the Queensland Redistribution Commission.[5]
Upon his resignation from the Supreme Court of Queensland on 19 May 2000, Demack became the longest-serving judge in the Central Region's history with over 22 years of service.[1][2]
In August 2000, Demack was appointed the first Queensland Integrity Commissioner, a role he held until 2004.[6]
In 2019, he authoredPulpit, Pew and Public Life: The Christian and the Secular Nation.[7]
Demack married Dorothy Alexander atMurrumbeena, Victoria on 21 March 1959.[8] The couple had met inArmidale, New South Wales while she was attending aAustralian Student Christian Movement conference while she was serving as the president of theUniversity of Melbourne's SCM committee.[8]
They had three sons and two daughters.[2][8]
In 2008, Demack's daughter Anne was appointed a judge to the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia and in 2016 Attorney-GeneralGeorge Brandis announced that she would be the new permanent Federal Circuit Judge to be based in Rockhampton.[9][10][11]
After 65 years of marriage, Demack's wife Dorothy died on 9 May 2024.[12]
Demack died on 28 January 2025, at the age of 90.[2][13] His death prompted a number of tributes from the community including former state Labor MPRobert Schwarten who praised Demack as "a man of supreme dignity and strict adherance to the law and also very committed to his church and to the community".[2]
Demack was a devout member of theUniting Church of Australia where he served as alay preacher.[2] He also represented the church nationally in a dialogue between the Uniting Church and the Roman Catholic Church where he is credited with being an architect on the policy of intermarriage.[2]
After Demack's death, Uniting Church reverend Andrew Gillies praised his devotion to making his faith and his professional life consistent as he considered his vocation as one having been given by God.[2]
Demack's funeral is scheduled to be held at the South Rockhampton Uniting Church on 14 February 2025.[2]
Demack was made a fellow of King's College in 1972.[1]
In the2000 Queen's Birthday Honours, Demack was made anOfficer of the Order of Australia in recognition of both his service to the law and to the Uniting Church of Australia.[14] Also that year, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Central Queensland University.[1]
In 2001, Demack was made an honorary life member of the Queensland Bar Association.[1]
McMurdo began her legal career in 1975 as clerk to Judge Alan Demack before being admitted to the bar the following year
Attorney-General Kerry Shine said Governor in Council had approved the appointment of former Supreme Court Judge The Honourable Alan Demack AO as chairman...He is currently chair of the Local Government Electoral and Boundaries Review Commission for Brisbane City ward boundaries
The group first met in 2001, following a decade of public sector restructure and corruption-busting reforms sparked by the sunlight of the Fitzgerald inquiry, under the inaugural Integrity Commissioner Alan Demack.
For service to the community, to the Uniting Church in Australia, and to the law, particularly through the Supreme Court of Queensland.