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= Michael Finnane =

'Michael Finnane QC (20 February 1942 - ) is an Australian barrister, author, army officer and former justice of the New South Wales District Court. Michael Finnane started his legal career at the NSW bar in 1969. He had previously studied law at Sydney University and subsequently worked for the NSW Department of Justice. Judge Finnane has worked on several notable cases throughout both his career as a barrister and as a judge. He is both known for his role as the judge who presided over the trial of Sydney gang rapist, Bilal Skaf, who he sentenced to 55 years in gaol with a non-parole period of 40 years; the longest sentence ever given for sexual assault crimes in NSW. He is also known for his inquiry into the financial dealing of Ian Sinclair (at the time, the deputy federal leader of the Nationals Party). The subsequent report (Often referred to as the 'Finnane Report') lead to the resignation and subsequent prosecution of Mr Sinclair in the District Court of New South Wales on the charges of forgery, fraud, uttering and making false statements on company returns (although ultimately, Sinclair was acquitted following a 28 day trial ). Michael Finnane has also appeared in various commissions and inquiries, including the Royal Commission into The New South Wales Police Service (1995-1997) and the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1987-1991). As well as having a lengthy career as a jurist and lawyer, Michael Finnane also holds the rank of Colonel in the Australian Army. He served as an officer in the Army Legal Service Corps from 1973 to 1998. Judge Finnane was awarded the RFD (reserve force decoration) for his long service in the Australian Army. Judge Finnane also maintains a long-standing interest in social justice. Throughout his career, he was worked extensively with social justice groups in the Pacific Islands and Sri Lanka. Since his retirement in 2015, Judge Finnane has returned to the bar where he has worked on several notable cases, including several terrorism trials. He gained media attention after it was revealed he was to represent controversial former Sydney mayor and property developer, Salim Mehajer, before an enquiry into his business dealings while a local city councillor. Judge Finnane has also appeared on several television programs, including The Project (where he was interviewed by Waleed Aly) and the SBS current affairs show, Insight, where he discussed the sentencing of rape and other sexually aggravated crimes in NSW courts. In 2018, Judge Finnane published The Pursuit of Justice', an autobiographical account of both his personal life and his legal career.

Early life
Michael Finnane was born in 1942 in the Sydney suburb of Rose Bay. His father was a logistics officer in the Australian Army.

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