Bob Ellicott


Robert James Ellicott is an Australian lawyer, politician and judge. Ellicott is one of only six politicians to have served in both the Parliament of Australia and the Federal Court of Australia, along with Nigel Bowen, Merv Everett, Tony Whitlam, John Reeves and Duncan Kerr. From 1975 to 1977, Ellicott was the 24th Attorney-General for Australia during the Malcolm Fraser ministry.

Career

Ellicott was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1950 and was Solicitor-General of Australia from 1969 to 1973.
He was elected as the Liberal member for the Division of Wentworth in the 1974 election. He was Attorney-General in the Fraser Ministry from 1975 to 1977. Ellicott resigned as Attorney-General as a result of a dispute with Malcolm Fraser over the payment of costs in the Sankey v Whitlam case, where he believed that the Commonwealth should have paid the costs of the private individual, Danny Sankey, as well as those of the politicians, Gough Whitlam, Rex Connor, Jim Cairns and Lionel Murphy, but Fraser disagreed. Ellicott was reappointed in the third Fraser Ministry as Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Capital Territory. He was Minister for Home Affairs and the Environment from November 1980 until his resignation on 17 February 1981 to become a judge on the Federal Court of Australia.
Ellicott resigned from the court in February 1983. He is currently an arbitrator on the Court of Arbitration for Sport. On 20 November 2007, he was named as chair of the tribunal to investigate allegations of misbehaviour against the suspended Chief Justice of Fiji, Daniel Fatiaki.

Honours

In May 2006, the Australian Olympic Committee awarded him the Olympic Order of Merit, particularly in his role of establishing the Australian Institute of Sport when Minister for Home Affairs. In October 2016, he was inducted as a General Member of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. In 2017 Ellicott was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia for eminent service to the Parliament of Australia, particularly as Attorney-General, to legal practice and innovative policy development, to advancements in global trade law, and to the international arbitration of sporting disputes.

Personal life

He is the double cousin of Sir Garfield Barwick, also an Attorney-General, and later Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia.