Neil, Laura --- "President's page: A voice for good" [2017] PrecedentAULA 52; (2017) 142 Precedent 3

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A VOICE FOR GOOD

By Laura Neil

In the work that we undertake in our everyday practises, be it in the civil or criminal spheres, it is crucial that the outcomes our clients receive are delivered without fear or favour. Our judiciary is not elected as in other nations. Our society functions on the rule of law, with a clear distinction between the judiciary, and the legislative and executive arms of government – the doctrine of separation of powers. Our courts deliver judgments based on the evidence before them, without regard to political pressures, social activism or trends of the day.

It is therefore of grave concern that members of our profession, indeed representatives of our nation, Health Minister Greg Hunt, Human Services Minister Alan Tudge and Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar saw fit recently to publicly comment that Victorian judges were out of touch with reality, ‘hard-left activists’ and conducting an ‘ideological experiment’.^[1] Such comments are usually made by those who are not educated as to the process of our legal system, and are indicative of emotive responses to fear, bred of ignorance.

While freedom of speech is an important tenet of our society, politicians and lawyers – particularly those who are both – ought to zealously defend and uphold the independence of the judiciary, without in any way suggesting that a judge’s decision is based on anything other than the application of the law with due regard to the evidence before the court. In our privileged position as lawyers, it is our responsibility to speak out against unjust laws and to advocate for the rights of our clients. It is another thing altogether to feed public resentment about our judicial system.

A good example of the way in which our voice is used for the public good is the ALA’s recent submission to the best practice review of Workplace Health and Safety laws in Queensland. The ALA recommended the introduction of an offence of negligence causing death. Such an offence will hold accountable executive officers of employer organisations where, for example, their instruction or lack thereof negligently leads to the death of a worker. The introduction of such an offence would send an important message to the corporate world that executive officers of organisations cannot hide behind the corporate veil to escape personal liability for their actions. The ALA is hopeful that such an offence will lead to a more robust approach to safety on worksites. We welcome the Queensland Government’s announcement that it plans to legislate such an offence, and look forward to working with it in drafting the legislation.

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) continues to dominate the media due in large part to concerns about the ongoing economic viability of the scheme. The Productivity Commission is currently undertaking a study of the costs of the NDIS. The ALA has made various recommendations in its submission to the Productivity Commission, so as to ensure the success of the Scheme in the long term, including:

• restricting the National Injury Insurance Scheme (NIIS) to existing motor vehicle and workplace injuries;

• ensuring appropriate face-to-face planning is undertaken, with telephone plans only when appropriate;

• ensuring National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) workers responsible for making plans have an adequate level of understanding of the participants’ conditions;

• managing the changes to the workforce so as to ensure that workers’ rights are protected by ensuring stringent health and safety requirements, thus minimising staff turnover and associated costs;

• ensuring participants’ access to advocates as needed and legal costs when disputing NDIA decisions, ensuring that the NDIS is able to fulfil its promise and have long-term cost benefits to the Scheme as questions are clarified;

• ensuring services for people living with disability who will not qualify for the NDIS or otherwise are not engaged in the Scheme remain available.

The ALA will continue to work with governments on this important issue.

On a final note, our National Conference in Darwin is coming up, from 19-21 October. This is the highlight of our conference calendar, and always delivers not only an excellent educational program, but a wonderful opportunity to socialise with old friends and create new ones. Our keynote speaker this year is the Hon Chief Justice Michael Grant of the Supreme Court of the Nothern Territory. I look forward to seeing you there.

Laura Neil is a Barrister at Endeavour Chambers, Cairns. PHONE [phone] EMAIL [e-mail].

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^[1] Calla Wahlquist, ‘Federal ministers fail to apologise for attack on “hard-left” judges’, The Guardian (online), 16 June 2017, <https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jun/16/federal-ministers-fail-to-apology-for-attack-on-hard-left-judges>.