Kenneth Asprey

Who was Kenneth Asprey?

Kenneth William Asprey was a judge of the New South Wales Court of Appeal, the highest court in the State of New South Wales, Australia, which forms part of the Australian court hierarchy.

He came to public prominence as a Royal Commissioner appointed to the second Voyager Royal Commission and on handing down of his review of the tax system in Australia in 1975. Although controversial at the time, the Asprey report on taxation has acted "as a guide and inspiration to governments and their advisers for the following 25 years." The main recommendations of the report have all been implemented and are today part of Commonwealth taxation in Australia.

Professor Gillian Triggs, Dean of the University of Sydney Law School, at the 2011 launch of the Asprey Law Library Collection, described him as being "widely regarded as a leader of the NSW Bar. He was a noted mentor of young barristers, greatly admired by them and by his peers. He was a justice of the inaugural NSW Court of Appeal, and a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George was awarded to him in recognition of his services to the law."