Elliott Johnston AO, QC, LLB, LLD died on Thursday night, 25 August, aged 93.
On behalf of the Peace Trust the Board and Management Committee we pay tribute to Elliott Johnston for his pursuit of justice and equality, and for the work he did to improve the lives of working people and make the world a better place. Elliott Johnston founded the law firm Johnston Withers in 1946 which acted for legally and economically disadvantaged people.
Elliott Johnston and his wife Elizabeth became Communists in 1941. His elevation to Queen’s Counsel by the Dunstan Government, after his controversial rejection by the former Hall Government, was the highest public office achieved by a Communist in Australia. He resigned from the Communist Party when he was admitted as a Supreme Court Judge in 1983.
Elliott Johnston headed the National Commission of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody which produced a landmark Report in April 1991. This Report dealt with the relationship of indigenous people and the criminal system, and made 339 recommendations aimed at reducing indigenous over-representation in all stages of the criminal justice system. This was an exceptional achievement.
Elliott Johnston will be very much missed as he helped many people and was an inspiration to many – even those who did not agree with his progressive politics.
We have lost a member of the Peace Trust and a great defender of social justice and human rights.
Finally we warmly remember Elliott Johnston as a great friend of Graham Smith and family for more than 60 years!
A biography of the life of Elliott Johnston called Red Silk: A biography of Elliott Johnson QC by Penelope Debelle was launched this year (Wakefield Press).
Elliott Johnston donated his body for medical research and a Memorial Service was held at the University of Adelaide’s Elder Hall on Friday 9th September 2011.
Léonie M Ebert
