President's message

08/07/2022

As the sun finally comes out after another week of rain and floods, with several Local Courts closed, there has been unavoidable disruption again to access to justice for litigants whose hearings have been delayed and displaced. The Magistracy moved rapidly to close affected courts and the Bar swiftly notified its members. The Bar will continue to assist the courts to meet the challenges of the growing backlog. Barcare and the Barristers Benevolent Fund are available for any affected members.

The pandemic has also quickened pace in the community again. I strongly encourage members to avail themselves of the increased opportunity for a winter booster shot from Monday.

This week is NAIDOC week which celebrates and recognises the history, culture and achievements of our First Nations. This year the theme of NAIDOC is “Get up! Stand Up! Show up!”. The legal profession certainly has a role to play in following these imperatives to bring about systemic positive change. One way that the Bar supports rising talent in the profession is through the Indigenous Barristers’ Trust, affectionately known as the Mum Shirl Fund, which this year celebrates its 21st Anniversary. As the most recently appointed trustee, along with Tony McAvoy SC, Justice Slattery and Chris Ronalds SC, I invite the profession to join our 21st Anniversary Function Launch, to be held this year at the Australian Museum.

The First Nations Graduate Fellowship placement at the Bar Association, for a graduate to work with the Legal Assistance Referral Service, is supported by the Trust. The Trust assists aspiring First Nations law students who wish to be advocates, including to overcome significant financial disadvantage in order that they can study for and sit their Bar exams. An early beneficiary of the trust, who has publicly recognised its aid, has recently been appointed to the Supreme Court of Queensland. I wish you all a wonderful NAIDOC week and encourage you to think about how you are going to Get Up! Stand up! And Show Up!

I wish to recognise the work of our First Nations Committee, which has an invaluable role to play as expert advisors to Bar Council and collaborators with other Committees on submissions and draft legislation. These include: collaboration on our submissions to the Select Committee on the Coronial Jurisdiction in NSW which has recently released its report; our updated Best Practice Guidelines; The Family is Culture legislative review consultation about First Nations Children in Care, and contributing to our specialist Working Party into the Over-representation of First Nations Persons Children in Custody. It remains an enormous shame to the nation and our profession that the rates of over-representation in the jail system are shockingly high for First Nations men, worse for First Nations women and at their highest for First Nations children. The Bar will continue to advocate for reforms and bring our first-hand experience to bear in endeavours to bring about systemic change to close the gap.

First Nations is only one of our outstanding expert Committees. Last night, we held our first Heads of Committee meeting in several years, in person, in the Bar Common Room, with one Chair who was cut off by the floods dialling in to join us. The breadth of work that our Committees engage in, on a voluntary basis for the benefit of the profession, the administration of justice and the community, is breathtaking. I know I speak for the entire Bar Council in expressing our gratitude.

Finally, the relationship of the Bar with the Heads of Jurisdiction and the State and Commonwealth Attorneys General remains strong and constant. I again join with the Chief Justice of NSW in strongly encouraging all members to attend the swearing in ceremony on Monday in the Banco Court, to be seated at 9am, and all future swearings-in, as a mark of respect, to show our readers one of our important and enduring traditions and as a wonderful collegiate opportunity for the profession.