Honourable John Priestley – What is a Refugee

The Honourable John Priestley attended Kings School & College and studied Law at the University of Auckland. John carried out postgraduate study at the University of Virginia and at Cambridge.   His doctoral thesis was on “Matrimonial Property Systems.”

John commenced practising Law in 1968 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1994 and to the High Court Bench in 2000. Among his many interests and involvement in tribunals was that of being Deputy Chairman of the Refugee Status Appeals Authority and Chairman of the Deportation Review Tribunal.

With the rising number of people fleeing their homes because of war, political upheavals, poverty famine & climate change. refugee numbers are rising. How we and many other countries cope with an influx of people seeking refuge is a problem for us all.

The title of his speech is “What is a refugee?”