The royal commission was formed by the Turnbull government last week, following an explosive investigation into the mistreatment of juveniles in NT’s detention centers.
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“My resignation does not imply that I doubt my capacity to be both independent and competent in the role of the commissioner, nor does it imply that I accept that there is or would be a reasonable apprehension of bias”, he said.
He said it was his decision only, the Attorney-General and the Prime Minister were disappointed by his decision.
“We were both satisfied that it would not compromise the independence or appearance of independence of the royal commission”, he said.
The selection of the replacement joint commissioners has met widespread support from both sides of politics, Aboriginal leaders and lawyers, especially as both commissioners are considered outsiders to the Northern Territory, and because of Mr Gooda’s status as a leading human rights advocate and prominent Indigenous community voice.
Indigenous advocate Mick Gooda and former justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland Margaret White AO have been appointed to head up the royal commission into the Northern Territory’s juvenile justice system.
Mr Shorten criticised the government for “bungling” the establishment of the royal commission as he welcomed the appointment of an Indigenous co-commissioner, which Labor had called for.
Martin said he was not prepared to proceed with the commission in face of the risk to its effectiveness.
“Secondly, my decision to resign is exclusively my initiative only”.
“I think I may have set myself up a bit because I will be now part of that process and it’s with great humility that I accepted the offer to be royal commissioner and to take on that role”.
He said some of the people engaged in the debate had got the facts wrong in significant ways which could have been avoided with a little homework.
“I am not prepared to allow the unwarranted intrusion into the life of my daughter to continue.”
Justice Martin dismissed suggestions that he would have ignored or not given sufficient weight to indigenous issues.
Addressing the point that he’d been chief justice in charge of a justice system that also included corrections, he pointed out that “judges don’t have any responsibility for what happens in correction systems around the country”.
In 2005, as a judge, Mr Martin sentenced an Indigenous man from the western NT community of Yarralin to one month in prison for the rape of a 15-year-old girl.
In a jurisdiction where roughly 95 per cent of youth in detention are Indigenous, he said there is obviously “some advantage” in involving Indigenous people.
‘I feel for Mr Martin.
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A spokesman for NT Chief Minister Adam Giles, who did not speak with media directly as he was at the races, said he was confident the co-commissioners would conduct the inquiry fairly and rigorously.
