Lawyers | Canberra
Contributions to various publications
12 July 2019 It’s good to hear, in this NAIDOC week, that the Federal Government has finally decided to take seriously the wishes and aspirations of 250 Australian indigenous delegates who gathered at Uluru in May 2017 and made their “Statement from the Heart” — a plea to be recognised and heard. Their plea was […]
28 June 2019 This quarter the Law Council of Australia (LCA) meetings were hosted by the Northern Territory Law Society in Darwin. At one of these meetings, a significant policy position was reached — that the minimum age for criminal responsibility should be 14 years, and the LCA would like that policy adopted by all […]
14 June 2019 Last week the Legislative Assembly passed amendments to the Freedom of Information Act 2016 which removed some of the existing rights a person had to obtain “sensitive information” about themselves held by officials under the Children and Young People Act 2008. This was done despite representations made by the Society that such […]
As lawyers, regardless of whether we hold a practising certificate, and regardless of whether we actually appear in Court, we are all officers of the Court. There are obligations flowing from that.
31 May 2019 Recent correspondence from the ACT Government and the Greens Party state they are united in their intention to immediately remove some of the existing rights a person has to obtain “sensitive information” about themselves held by officials under the Children and Young People Act 2008 (C&YP Act). Under the Freedom of Information […]
17 May 2019 This year Law Week was launched by the Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay MLA with some self-effacing humour and a very worthwhile reminder that we all work to protect the right to equal access to the legal system, and one of the “vital rights … we must uphold is the right to a coherent, […]
5 April 2019 The Barr Government is continuing on its ill-advised course with the introduction of the Motor Accident Injuries Bill 2019. The Law Society strongly opposes the proposed changes, which will leave Canberrans injured in road accidents much worse off. You can read our most recent media outline, setting out numerous areas of concern […]
22 March 2019 On behalf of the Canberra legal community, I extend sincere sympathy to our friends and neighbours in Christchurch NZ for their tragic and terrible loss. Having barely survived an earthquake, it is just too cruel for them to now have to suffer this recent horror. If you’ve been affected by this trauma, […]
8 March 2019 At last month’s Intensive CPD, among many very worthwhile seminars, was “Working with Monsters”. Dr Rebecca Michalak very capably illustrated the “dark side of the law industry”, where employees of legal firms have had to work under the shadow of bullying, discrimination, sexual harassment, and similar behaviour. Overall, Dr Michalak’s research (“Causes […]
