Editing Michael Kirby (judge) (section)

===Dissent rate===
Kirby was often at odds with his colleagues in the [[Murray Gleeson|Gleeson]] [[High Court of Australia|High Court]], and sometimes as the sole dissenter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/kirby-swims-against-tide-as-other-judges-go-with-flow/2007/02/15/1171405374612.html|title=Kirby swims against tide as other judges go with flow|first=Tim|last=Dick|date=16 February 2007|work=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/kirbys-last-dissent-my-fellow-judges-racially-biased-20090202-7vr7.html|title=Kirby's last dissent: my fellow judges racially biased|first1=Leo|last1=Shanahan|first2=Andra|last2=Jackson|date=3 February 2009|work=The Age}}</ref> In 2004, he delivered a [[dissenting opinion]] on nearly 40% of the matters in which he participated, almost twice as many as any of his High Court colleagues; in constitutional cases, his rate of dissent was more than 50%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/its-unanimous-kirby-still-the-great-dissenter/story-e6frg6z6-1111113002018|title=It's unanimous: Kirby still the great dissenter|first=Chris|last=Merritt|date=16 February 2007|work=The Australian}}</ref> His notable dissent rate earned him the nickname the "Great Dissenter".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/kirby-set-to-retire/story-e6frf7jo-1111118723839|title=Kirby set to retire|work=Herald Sun|date=1 February 2009}}</ref> Future High Court Justices who have been considered in contention for the title include [[Dyson Heydon]] and [[Patrick Keane (justice)|Patrick Keane]], though neither had dissent rates as high as Kirby's.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-05/byrne-high-court-judges/4553626|title=Justice Keane completes the new-look High Court|first=Elizabeth|last=Byrne|date=5 March 2013|work=The Drum|publisher=ABC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timebase.com.au/news/2011/AT388-article.html|title=Justice Heydon triples his dissent rate for 2011|work=Legal Research|publisher=TimeBase|date=12 August 2011}}</ref>

Legal researchers Andrew Lynch and George Williams observe that "even allowing for 2004 as a year in which Kirby had a particularly high level of explicit disagreement with a majority of his colleagues, it is neither premature nor unfair to say that in the frequency of his dissent, his Honour has long since eclipsed any other Justice in the history of the Court... <nowiki>[Kirby]</nowiki> has broken away to claim a position of outsider on the Court which seems unlikely to pass with future years".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gtcentre.unsw.edu.au/news/docs/HighCourtStatistics_2004.doc|title=News {{!}} Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law|website=gtcentre.unsw.edu.au|access-date=2019-04-12}}</ref>

Kirby has responded, stating that "on their own, statistics tell little"; to understand Kirby's rate of dissent, it is necessary to examine what his disagreements have been ''about'' and consider whom he has dissented ''from''. Kirby explains "there have always been divisions, reflecting the different philosophies and perspectives of the office-holders", and that, throughout the High Court's history, many dissenting opinions have ultimately been adopted as good law.<ref>{{cite speech
 |title       = Judicial Dissent
 |author      = Michael Kirby
 |date        = 26 February 2005
 |location    = [[James Cook University]]
 |url         = http://www.hcourt.gov.au/speeches/kirbyj/kirbyj_feb05.html
 |access-date  = 14 October 2006
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20060918103829/http://www.hcourt.gov.au/speeches/kirbyj/kirbyj_feb05.html
 |archive-date = 18 September 2006
}}</ref> Further, Kirby argues that the rate of dissent, if seen within its context, is relatively small. Cases heard before the full bench of the High Court have proceeded through a series of lower courts and special leave hearings. They are thus likely to test the boundaries of the existing law, and raise opposing, though no less valid, views of the law.<ref>
{{cite episode
 | title = Bold Enough: Justice Michael Kirby
 | series = Sunday Profile
 | series-link = Sunday Profile
 | airdate = 2 December 2007
 | url = http://www.abc.net.au/sundayprofile/stories/s2106109.htm
}}
</ref>