Angelo Vasta

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Angelo Vasta
Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland
In office
1984–1989
Personal details
Born(1941-01-08)8 January 1941
Innisfail, Queensland, Australia
Died29 September 2021(2021-09-29) (aged 80)
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
EducationUniversity of Melbourne

Angelo Vasta QC (8 January 1941 – 29 September 2021) was a prominent Queen's Counsel and judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland (1984 to 1989).[1] He is the first superior court judge with an Italian background to be appointed in Queensland, and the second one to be appointed in Australia.[2]

Biography[]

Angelo Vasta was born in Innisfail on 8 January 1941. He completed his education from Melbourne University in 1964. In 1967, he moved to Brisbane where Vasta was called to the Queensland bar in 1968, appointed a QC in 1980, Chief Crown prosecutor in 1981 and appointed to the Supreme Court in 1984. He maintained a successful private practice at the Queensland Bar before retiring on 1 July 2020.[1][2][3]

On 24 October 1988, Vasta either stood down or was stood down as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland after evidence of his friendship with the suspended Queensland Police Commissioner Terence Lewis was given at the Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption.[4] He was formally removed from office on 8 June 1989 by an Act of the Queensland Parliament, the only occasion since Federation that any parliament in Australia has removed a Supreme Court judge.[5][6] His removal is now considered controversial and attempts have been made to reverse the decision.[7] The most recent effort, pioneered by Bob Katter and Robbie Katter, failed in 2017.[8]

Vasta's son, Ross Vasta MP, has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2010, and previously served from 2004 to 2007.[9]

Since 1 January 2015, another son, Salvatore "Sal" Vasta, has been a judge of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.[10] Vasta's daughter-in-law, Sal's wife, is Magistrate Deborah Vasta, a Magistrate of the Magistrates Court of Queensland.[11]

Vasta died in Brisbane, Queensland on 29 September 2021 aged 80.[12]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Supreme Court Library Queensland. "The Honourable Angelo Vasta". sclqld.org.au. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Vasta, Angelo, 1941- - Fryer Manuscripts". manuscripts.library.uq.edu.au. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  3. ^ P. D. Connolly Chambers. "Mr Angelo Vasta QC". pdconnollychambers.com.au. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  4. ^ Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee. "Honourable Angelo Vasta (Reversal of Removal) Bill 2017" (PDF). Parliament.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  5. ^ Campbell, Enid; Lee, H. P. (2013). The Australian Judiciary. Cambridge University Press. p. 120. ISBN 9780521769167.
  6. ^ Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee. "Honourable Angelo Vasta (Reversal of Removal) Bill 2017" (PDF). Parliament.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  7. ^ Queensland Parliament. "Honourable Angelo Vasta (Reversal of Removal) Bill 2017". legislation.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  8. ^ Queensland Parliament. "Honourable Angelo Vasta (Reversal of Removal) Bill 2017". legislation.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  9. ^ Green, Antony. "Bonner (Key Seat)". ABC Elections. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  10. ^ "Magistrate Deborah Vasta". sclqld.org.au. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  11. ^ Supreme Court Library Queensland. "The Honourable Angelo Vasta". www.sclqld.org.au/. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  12. ^ Publisher, Online News (29 September 2021). "former judge Angelo Vasta dies". Herbert River Online News. Retrieved 29 September 2021.


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