Higgins, Henry Bournes (1851–1929)

Irish-born Australian politician and judge. An expert in constitutional law, Higgins was critical of the terms of federation within the British Empire when Australia became a self-governing Commonwealth in 1901. He was a popular figure within the Australian labour movement, especially for establishing the principles of arbitration in industrial disputes and the minimum wage.

Higgins emigrated with his family from Ireland to Melbourne in 1870 and became a successful lawyer, entering the Victorian assembly in 1894. He was a state representative at the federal convention (1897–98), but lost his seat in the Victoria state elections of 1900 after declaring his support for Irish home rule and his opposition to Australian participation in the War of 1899–1902. In 1901 he entered Commonwealth politics as a Liberal, but was made attorney-general in the Labor administration of 1904. In 1906 he was appointed to the High Court, and in 1907 became president of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Court, in which capacity he handed down the ‘Harvester Judgement’ on the minimum wage. He fought for the Commonwealth's right to arbitrate in the High Court, and resigned in protest at the interference of Prime Minister William M Hughes in 1921.