First Māori judge, Joseph Williams, appointed to the Supreme Court
Thursday, 2 May 2019
New Zealand has its first Māori Supreme Court judge.
Justice Joseph Victor Williams replaces Sir William Young, who is chairing the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the attack in March on the Christchurch Mosques.
In an interview published by the Law Society last year, Justice Williams said he was the first member of his extended whānau to pass School Certificate and gain a law degree.
He graduated with an LLB from Victoria University in 1986 and joined the faculty as a junior lecturer in law.
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In 1988 he graduated with an LLM (Hons) from the University of British Columbia.
That year he joined Kensington Swan, establishing the first unit specialising in Māori issues in a major New Zealand law firm and developing a large environmental practice.
He became a partner at Kensington Swan in 1992, leaving in 1994 to co‑found Walters Williams & Co in Auckland and Wellington.
In 1999 he was appointed Chief Judge of the Māori Land Court and the following year he was appointed acting chairman of the Waitangi Tribunal. He was permanently appointed to the role in 2004.
He was appointed as a Judge of the High Court in 2008 and a Judge of the Court of Appeal in 2018.
Justice Williams, whose tribal affiliations are Ngāti Pūkenga and Te Arawa (Waitaha, Tapuika), also has another claim to fame - a hit song from the 1980s from when he was a Kiwi music legend.
His reggae band Aotearoa made headlines and NZ Music Charts in 1985 with the single Maranga Ake Ai - a song calling for Māori youth to take pride in their identity.
He was singer and lead guitarist for the band while he was a law student.
He continued to perform occasionally when chairman of the Waitangi Tribunal, and later a High Court judge.
Attorney-General David Parker announced the appointment on Thursday.