Victorian magistrate in his 60s engaged to 23-year-old court clerk, stirs up a storm in Victoria’s magistrates’ courts
heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/love-match-wit...
heraldsun.com.auPosted Oct 8, 2019, 10:25 PM UTC
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heraldsun.com.auSee, this is what I have been saying for ages. Women get unfair career advancement opportunities compared to men.
(Before you shoot me, it's a joke. This is more likely a freudian daddy complex in action, which a magistrate really should know better than to take advantage of).
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How do we know it’s a daddy complex and not a reverse-Oedipal complex?
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An Elektra complex is a daddy complex, by another name. Freud was never too specific about that. Probably all the coke he was doing.
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'Elektra Complex' was Jung. Freud's use of the term 'Oedipus Complex' was generic.
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I'm gonna dream about this tonight.
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nice.
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The law is blind. Love is blind.
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the law is not blind...look at her !!
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an in town 6, but a magistrates court 8.5.. still better than him though. At best a 2 in either.
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reminds me of Ricky gervais Oscar bit about Hugh hefner
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"I can't enter his private chambers? But he enters mine all the time! No fair!"
- Anonymous Clerk. Probably.
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#NICE
👉👌🔛
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I like the sexism involved in her being the bad one, when presumably most if not all of the conflicts are his to manage but office politics says telling a Magistrate to pull his head in is in the too hard basket.
Replace "Court" with "ASK listed company", and "Magistrate" with " Senior Executive", and I'm sure a few HR types would be bracing themselves for the fallout.
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Huh, four names popped into my head when I saw that headline, and it wasn’t any of them.
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Concerns have also aired recently about another relationship between a magistrate and a clerk.
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That's the one I was thinking of lol
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In fairness, it still COULD be Snowy.
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Yoikes. He ain’t rich enough to be sucking on old man balls for 10-20 years for a pay day in your 40’s.
Like Meryl Streep is 70 and I wouldn’t hesitate if she threw herself at me. Buuuuuutttt, dunno if I’d be up for that for another 10 plus years.
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What's wrong with her posting stuff about her personal life to her social media, like virtually every other female we year old with a social media account does?
If the relationship is all above board, why shouldn't she be posting about it. If it's not above board, why is he not being kicked over it?
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Article Text:
A Victorian magistrate in his 60s has proposed to a court clerk 40 years his junior, stirring up a storm in Victoria’s magistrates’ courts. Now his 23-year-old fiancee has taken to social media to boast of their romantic trip to Fiji.
A magistrate and a young court clerk have professed their love after a whirlwind workplace romance.
But the unconventional love match has stirred up a storm in Victoria’s magistrates’ courts, with an email being sent out on Monday warning staff over inappropriate relationships with judicial officers.
Magistrate Rodney Higgins, in his late 60s, and 23-year-old court clerk Ashleigh Petrie announced their engagement recently during a romantic Fijian getaway.
“What an amazing 10 days it has been here in Fiji! Firstly, I arrived as Rods (sic) girlfriend and I leave as rod (sic) fiancé (sic)! I cannot wait to become Mrs Higgins!” Ms Petrie posted on social media.
“It started with a crush and now I have a ring on my finger. The love of my life asked me to marry him and I said YESSSS,” she added.
“We are actually the funniest couple in the world! We spend all day everyday laughing and being silly, having fun! I don’t know how I got so lucky to find such a sweet and caring man with the same sense of humour, this amazing man is the love of my life!”
Other posts have shown the couple at the football, zip-lining in Fiji, bamboo rafting and singing karaoke.
“Dating a senior citizen … my community work is done,” Ms Petrie even joked in a post of a picture of the magistrate holding up his senior citizen’s card.
But some — including top officials — on the court circuits do not believe it is a laughing matter.
Mr Higgins is due to be relocated from the Sale and Bairnsdale court circuit to Bendigo in the new year amid complaints about Ms Petrie regularly entering his chambers and trying to use his reserved car space.
The state’s chief magistrate, Peter Lauritsen, is said to have been alerted by registry staff to concerns about Ms Petrie regularly entering Mr Higgins’ private chambers.
One court source said the chief magistrate twice had raised the issue with a co-ordinating magistrate, making it clear Ms Petrie was not to have access to Mr Higgins’ chambers.
Ms Petrie is understood to have been spoken to by a senior court official about trying to use Mr Higgins’ reserved car space.
Sources say the four-decade age gap between the pair has also raised eyebrows among colleagues, with concerns about a power imbalance between the pair.
And on Monday, a memo was sent to court staff warning them about inappropriate relationships with judicial officers.
Mr Lauritsen this week declined to answer questions about the issue.
“The Chief Magistrate has no comment on the personal lives of magistrates or staff,” he said through a spokesperson.
Mr Higgins, who has three daughters and is a grandfather, was appointed to the bench in 2017.
He began his career as a clerk and waterside worker before going back to university in 1989, completing a double degree in arts and law.
He ran as a failed Labor candidate for Shepparton in the 2014 state election and for the seat of Murray in the 2013 federal election.
Concerns have also aired recently about another relationship between a magistrate and a clerk.
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“What an amazing 10 days it has been here in Fiji! Firstly, I arrived as Rods (sic) girlfriend and I leave as rod (sic) fiancé (sic)! I cannot wait to become Mrs Higgins!” Ms Petrie posted on social media. “It started with a crush and now I have a ring on my finger. The love of my life asked me to marry him and I said YESSSS,” she added. “We are actually the funniest couple in the world! We spend all day everyday laughing and being silly, having fun! I don’t know how I got so lucky to find such a sweet and caring man with the same sense of humour, this amazing man is the love of my life!”
Yep she's 23 alright
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wtf I want to be a magistrate now
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Sources say the four-decade age gap between the pair has also raised eyebrows among colleagues, with concerns about a power imbalance between the pair.
I love phrases like these for pretending that the profession is too dignified to be stuffed full of incurable gossips. The bar is more cliquey than high school.
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We’re copping the goss up here in Sydney and it’s pretty spicy
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It’s at least legal
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Is the marriage proposal appealable to the district court?
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I ain't saying she a gold digger. But she is
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You can see the pan and pickaxe in the photo ffs.
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is this an ad for seeking arrangements dot com
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Gross.
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I think it's beautiful, myself; but I'm very progressive.
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Its like dating your grandfather..which is weird. I wonder how long this will last.
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Your family procreates at a tender age...
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better to procreate young then old as the older you are the more issues are had with offspring.
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Love is love.
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Gross
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Oh well, good for them. They seem obnoxiously in love.
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where do i apply?
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Men want to be him and women want to be sentenced by him.