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WEDNESDAY 17 –
FRIDAY 19 JUNE
SHERATON ON THE PARK, SYDNEY
www.a2j15.com.au
PROGRAM
OUR PARTNERS
OUR SPONSORS
PROGRAM
TIME & VENUE
SESSION TITLE AND SYNOPSIS
DAY 1 – WEDNESDAY 17 JUNE 2015
6.30pm - 8.30pm
WELCOME DRINKS
DLA Piper Sydney
with mediaeval music by Springtide
DAY 2 – THURSDAY 18 JUNE 2015
9.00am - 9.15am
INTRODUCTION
Grand Ballroom
WELCOME TO COUNTRY
Featuring Narara Dance in a collaboration with Kevin Duncan, Yantra de Vilder and Shae Duncan
9.15am - 9.50am
Grand Ballroom
WELCOME
LAUNCH OF MAGNA CARTA PUBLICATION
OPENING ADDRESS
Speakers
John Eades, President, The Law Society of New South Wales
The Hon Gabrielle Upton, Attorney-General of NSW
Nick Cowdery AM QC, Director of Public Prosecutions for the State of NSW 1994 to 2011
Duncan McConnel, President, Law Council of Australia
Chairperson
Mark Woods, Chairman, Access to Justice Committee, Law Council of Australia
9.50am - 10.50am
SHOWCASE 1:
Grand Ballroom
The role of the Magna Carta in a modern constitutional democracy
Discussion on the English and Aboriginal perspectives on the relevance of the Magna Carta in
modern constitutional democracies
Anno Domini MCCXV
To all free men of our kingdom we have also granted, for us and our heirs for ever, all the liberties
written out below, to have and to keep for them and their heirs, of us and our heirs...
Speakers
The Hon. Mr Justice Mostyn, Judge of the High Court of Justice in England and Wales,
Family Division
The Hon. Justice Debbie Mortimer SC, Federal Court of Australia
Nick Cowdery AM QC, Director of Public Prosecutions for the State of NSW 1994 to 2011
Eddie Cubillo, Executive Officer, National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Legal Service (NATSILS)
Chairperson
Mark Woods, Chairman, Access to Justice Committee, Law Council of Australia
10.50am - 11.15am
MORNING TEA
PROGRAM
TIME & VENUE
SESSION TITLE AND SYNOPSIS
11.15am - 12.30pm
SHOWCASE 2:
Grand Ballroom
Putting the brakes on incarceration
Over the last 15 years, the rate of Indigenous imprisonment has increased by over 57 per cent,
while the rate of non-Indigenous imprisonment has remained largely static. This amounts to one
of the most significant social problems anywhere in the developed world.
Our panel will engage in a critical examination of the costs, benefits and alternatives to
incarceration in the context of increasing imprisonment rates amongst Indigenous Australians,
including:
•
the cost of increasing incarceration in both human and dollar terms;
• whether there have been any successful policy outcomes since the 1991 report into
Aboriginal Deaths in Custody;
• the influence of the media in the law and order debate and its impact on incarceration
rates;
• the impact of punitive law and order measures, such as mandatory sentencing, on vulnerable
sectors of society including indigenous people, the disabled, mentally ill and homeless; and
•
alternatives to imprisonment and why general deterrence does not work.
Anno Domini MCCXV
No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or
exiled, or deprived of his standing in any way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send
others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land.
Speakers
Dr Don Weatherburn PSM, Director, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics & Research
Rob Hulls, Director, Centre for Innovative Justice (RMIT)
Shane Duffy, Chair, National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS)
Andrew Meehan, National Director, ANTaR
Natasha Robinson, Senior Writer, The Australian
Chairperson
Duncan McConnel, President, Law Council of Australia
12.30pm - 12.40pm
IGNITE SESSION – Justice in North Korea
Grand Ballroom
Fuel for thought – a 5 minute presentation on today’s hot topics with Barnaby Caddy, International
Humanitarian Aid Specialist
12.40pm - 1.50pm
LUNCH
Feast Restaurant
PROGRAM
TIME & VENUE
SESSION TITLE AND SYNOPSIS
1.50pm - 3.05pm
SHOWCASE 3:
Grand Ballroom
Valuing justice: how much justice can we afford?
In times of declining budgets, governments have been reducing expenditure on legal aid and other
justice services. In this context and in light of the PC report into access to justice arrangements,
how should justice be valued and funded? What is the cost of failing to adequately fund legal
assistance and other justice services?
The session focuses on:
•
Why the Justice System should not be seen as just another agency of the Government.
• Whether funding of the justice system, as the third arm of government, should be assessed
against the same criteria as Executive agencies.
•
The justice ‘gap’ between richest and poorest.
•
The role of technology and other practical measures in improving access to justice.
Anno Domini MCCXV
To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.
Speakers
The Hon. Chief Justice Tom Bathurst AC, Supreme Court of NSW
Dr Warren Mundy, Commissioner, Productivity Commission
Chris Leong, Immediate Past President, Malaysian Bar
Bill Grant OAM, CEO, NSW Legal Aid
Gabrielle Bashir SC, Barrister, Forbes Chambers
Chairperson
The Hon. Justice Ruth McColl AO
3.05pm - 3.20pm
AFTERNOON TEA
3.20pm - 4.20pm
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Phillip Room I
Phillip Room II
Access to Justice and disability: what’s working
now?
Funding Legal Assistance: some solutions
Reforms and initiatives to improve access
to justice are introduced, maintained or
discontinued, often without rigorous monitoring
or evaluation.
What is working to improve access to justice for
the most disadvantaged? What more needs to
be done?
Speakers
Chairperson
Persistent underfunding of legal assistance
services has led to substantial unmet legal need,
strain on service providers and major policy and
ethical challenges in the sector. What is the
future of legal service funding? What is the role
of the private profession in finding solutions?
Marissa Sandler, Solicitor, Intellectual Disability
Rights Service
Elizabeth Shearer , Solicitor, Affording Justice,
Brisbane
Sarah Penman, National Pro Bono Manager,
Cancer Council
Richard Denniss, Executive Director,
The Australia Institute
Peter Noble, Executive Officer, ARC Justice,
Bendigo
Gabrielle Canny, Chair, National Legal Aid
Deej Eszenji, Barrister, Wright Chambers
Dr David Neal SC, Barrister, Joan Rosanove
Chambers
PROGRAM
TIME & VENUE
SESSION TITLE AND SYNOPSIS
3.20pm - 4.20pm
BREAKOUT SESSIONS CONTINUED...
Ballroom I
Ballroom II
Justice Reinvestment and Diversionary
Programs
The rule of law: a foundation for foreign aid
Justice Reinvestment is held out as a means of
lowering incarceration rates and reducing rates
of return to prison. But what is it exactly, and
how successful has it been? Why has it not
yet been tried in Australia and what might an
Australian model look like?
Speakers
Sarah Hopkins, Chair, Justice Reinvest
Alistair Ferguson, Chair, Aboriginal Community
Working Party
The Hon Judge James Montgomery,
Koorie County Court, Victoria
Helen Fatouros, Director Criminal Law, Victoria
Legal Aid
How effective is foreign aid in countries still
grappling with the rule of law? How important
is the rule of law to economic development and
what is the role of lawyers in upholding the rule
of law in conflict-ridden or authoritarian states?
The Hon. Justice John Alexander Logan RFD,
Federal Court of Australia
Catherine Hawkins, First Assistant Secretary,
International Crime Cooperation Division,
Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department
Dr Bill Hurditch, Chairman, Hagar Australia
Annette Bain, International Pro Bono Advisor
Chairperson
David Woodroffe, Managing Solicitor Criminal
Section, North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency
4.20pm - 4.30pm
10 MINUTE BREAK
4.30pm - 4.40pm
Grand Ballroom
IGNITE SESSION – The Refugee and Casework Advice Service - a profile
4.40pm - 5.40pm
SHOWCASE 4:
Grand Ballroom
Human rights in the home: a conversation
Fuel for thought – a 5 minute presentation on today’s hot topics with Jemma Hollonds,
Refugee Advice & Casework Service (Aust) Inc.
A conversation discussing the social / cultural causes of domestic violence in 21st Century
Australia, responses to it and alternative solutions.
How far have we come since the Magna Carta, where women and children were considered
property? While the role and status of women in society has advanced, domestic violence
remains a serious and endemic problem in Australia. Our panellists explore the human rights of
women and children and the need for a systematic and concerted approach to protecting all
members of society in both the public and private domain.
Anno Domini MCCXV
The emergence of women’s rights - codification of the rights of noble-women, rights upon
marriage and influence on contemporary human rights in the home
Speakers
The Hon. Justice Hilary Hannam, Family Court of Australia
Rosie Batty, Australian of the Year 2015
Andrew O’Keefe, Ambassador, White Ribbon Foundation Australia
Antoinette Braybrook, CEO, Family Violence Prevention and Legal Services
Chairperson
Jane Needham SC, President, Bar Association of NSW
7.00pm for 7.30pm
CONFERENCE DINNER ‘The Barons’ Feast’
Doltone House
Hyde Park
Keynote address
The Hon. Mr Justice Mostyn, Judge of the High Court of Justice in England and Wales, Family Division.
MC
Mark Woods, Chairman, Access to Justice Committee, Law Council of Australia
Entertainment
Mikelangelo + The Harlem Swing
PROGRAM
TIME & VENUE
SESSION TITLE AND SYNOPSIS
DAY 3 – FRIDAY 19 JUNE 2015
7.30am - 8.45am
KING JOHN’S BREAKFAST
Grand Ballroom
Keynote address
Robert Myers, Barrister
Topic
Why justice matters
MC
Pauline Wright, Junior Vice President, Law Society of NSW
Facilitated by Richard Glover, 702 ABC Radio Sydney Drive host
9.00am - 10.15am
SHOWCASE 5:
Grand Ballroom
Justice and freedom in times of terror
An enlightened discussion about the appropriate balance between freedom and security.
As the international response to extremism dominates the global political discourse, our speakers
examine what we are prepared to give up in our efforts to prevent terrorist attacks at home.
How have security measures affected our fundamental rights and perceptions of minorities within
our community? In the wake of Charlie Hebdo and other tragedies, why will we defend freedom
of expression while ceding other rights such as liberty, privacy, association, due process and
movement?
Anno Domini MCCXV
No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or
exiled, or deprived of his standing in any way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send
others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land.
Speakers
David Irvine AO, Director-General (Retired), Australian Secret Intelligence Organisation
Professor Rosalind Croucher AM, President, Australian Law Reform Commission
Professor George Williams AO, University of New South Wales
Graham Turnbull SC, Barrister, Forbes Chambers
Chairperson
Nick Cowdery AM QC, Director of Public Prosecutions for the State of NSW 1994 to 2011
10.15am - 10.25am
10 MINUTE BREAK
10.25am - 11.25am
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Phillip Room I
Phillip Room II
The future of women’s refuges and family
violence prevention strategies
Recognise: Is it enough for now?
A critical examination of the issues facing women’s
refuges and Family Violence Prevention strategies.
Where to from here?
Speakers
Annabelle Daniel, CEO, Women’s Community
Shelters
Professor Ann Twomey, Professor of Law,
University of Sydney
Zora Kekeff, Accredited Specialist Family Law
and Mediator, Kekeff & Associates Solicitors
Professor Megan Davis, UNSW Law School and
Expert Member of the United Nations Permanent
Forum on Indigenous Issues
Mary Cowley, National Deputy Convenor,
Family Violence Prevention Legal Services
Chairperson
It is now acknowledged by our political leaders
that the Australian Constitution was framed
to exclude Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
peoples from the story of our nation, despite
60,000 years of pre-colonial history. Is it enough
just to recognise that prior ownership and
possession? After two centuries of exclusion, is it
time for something more powerful and tangible to
advance reconciliation?
Kate Mooney, Barrister, Burbury Chambers
Sarah Pritchard SC, Barrister, Eleven Wentworth
Glenn Ferguson, Managing Partner, Ferguson
Cannon Lawyers
PROGRAM
TIME & VENUE
SESSION TITLE AND SYNOPSIS
10.25am - 11.25am
BREAKOUT SESSIONS CONTINUED...
Speakers
Ballroom I
Ballroom II
Whatever happened to due process?
The Pro Bono Pipeline
In recent times western democracies have
significantly expanded Executive agencies’
powers and sought to limit some of the
fundamental legal rights of citizens and persons,
in particular rights to challenge administrative
decisions, and to curtail previously existing
rights of those suspected of involvement in
serious criminal conduct, including terrorism,
and organised crime. Are the cited rationales for
this trend, which include public safety, border
protection and the increasing cost of justice,
convincing reasons for limiting natural justice and
due process?
There are many ways in which people manage
to obtain pro bono legal help but who should
get pro bono assistance and who should
decide?
Hugh de Kretser, Executive Director, Human Rights
Law Centre
Nicolas Patrick, Global Pro Bono Partner,
DLA Piper
Graham Turnbull SC, Barrister, Forbes Chambers
Fiona McLeay, CEO, Justice Connect
Kate Eastman SC, Barrister, St. James Chambers
Elizabeth O’ Shea, Head of Social Justice Practice
Maurice Blackburn
Are the right people getting the right help?
Sarah Morton-Ramwell, Global Head of Pro Bono,
Ashurst
Jillian Mitford-Burgess, Pro-Bono & Sustainability
Manager, Henry Davis York
Chairperson
Philip Cornwell, Chair, Australian Pro Bono Centre
11.25am - 11.40am
MORNING TEA
11.40am - 12.40pm
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Phillip Room I
Phillip Room II
Children and Family Law
Forgotten freedoms
The vulnerability of children creates a special
obligation to ensure they are protected under the
law. However, this obligation is often challenged by
the complex reality of separating parents, abusive
relationships and identifying the “best interests” of
children in an emotional minefield.
Freedom of expression is regarded as an essential
democratic right.
How is legal need in the child support area being
met? How can lawyers’ best support clients and
achieve the safest outcomes for children? What are
the specific challenges affecting Aboriginal children?
Speakers
John Corker, Director, Australian Pro Bono Centre
Glenn Thompson, Partner, Newnhams Solicitors
Cherryl Orr, Law Society of NSW Indigenous Legal
Issues Committee and Indigenous Lawyer of the
Year 2014
Ruth Pilkinton, Early Intervention Unit, Legal Aid
NSW
Yet all freedoms and rights are limited by the
constraints imposed by social norms and the
need to preserve harmony. Rights over property,
including protection of liberty and person,
reputation and opinion, as well as freedom from
discrimination on grounds of race, colour, religion
or national origin, all impose reasonable limits on
the enjoyment of the right to offend or insult.
How can these, sometimes competing, rights be
appropriately balanced?
Professor Rosalind Croucher, President, Australian
Law Reform Commission
Mariam Veiszadeh, Lawyer and Community
Advocate
Professor Spencer Zifcak, Allan Myers Professor of
Law, Australian Catholic University
The Hon Justice Hillary Hannam, Family Court of
Australia
Chairperson
Greg Howe, Director, Howe Jenkin
Pauline Wright, Junior Vice President,
Law Society of NSW
PROGRAM
TIME & VENUE
SESSION TITLE AND SYNOPSIS
11.40am - 12.40pm
BREAKOUT SESSIONS CONTINUED...
Ballroom I
Ballroom II
Privacy and freedom in the age of data retention
Trafficking people
Since the Telecommunications Interception
Act in 1979, there have been leaps forward
in communications technology that were
unfathomable at the time of its inception.
Enormous and unknowable amounts of personal
information is now stored online, by public and
private entities, accessible to anyone with an
internet connection and some technological savvy.
People trafficking continues to be one of
the most significant human rights and law
enforcement challenges facing the international
community. It is estimated that global trade
in humans is now worth over US$35 billion
annually, forcing vulnerable people into slavery,
prostitution and servitude.
But what rights do we have over our personal
information? Is our telecommunications data our
“property” and how is it protected in this brave
new world of social media, instant communication
and widespread surveillance?
Speakers
Katie Miller, President, Law Institute of Victoria
Thomas Spohr, President, NSW Young Lawyers
Stephen Blanks President, NSW Council for Civil
Liberties
What protection is available to victims of people
trafficking in Australia? Are legal frameworks in
Australia sufficient to minimise the harm caused
by this global scourge?
Douglas McClean, Founder and Executive Director,
Justice Without Borders
Fiona McLeod SC, President, Australian Bar
Association and Treasurer, Law Council of
Australia
Wendy Abraham QC, Barrister, NSW Bar
Chairperson
Dr Gordon Hughes, Senior Consultant, Ashurst
12.40pm - 1.40pm
LUNCH
The Hon. Judge Michael McInerney, County Court
of Victoria
Feast Restaurant
1.40pm - 2.55pm
SHOWCASE 6:
Grand Ballroom
Disruptive and dynamic lawyers: the gatekeepers of justice
A moderated conversation.
Lawyers have a critical role to play in seeking justice for their clients. This can be a very difficult task.
Central to whether justice is achievable is the ability of the ‘legal system’ to provide access, and to
adhere to fundamental principles that have existed since the Magna Carta.
Our panellists provide different critical perspectives on the ability of the ‘legal system’ in 2015 to
achieve this task, and the role that disruptive and dynamic lawyers play in seeking to deliver justice
for their clients.
Anno Domini MCCXV
We shall not make justices, constables sheriffs or bailiffs who do not know the law of the land and
wish to observe it well...
Speakers
George Newhouse, Special Counsel, Shine Lawyers
Ben Slade, Managing Principal, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers
Fiona McLeod SC, President, Australian Bar Association and Treasurer, Law Council of Australia
Julian McMahon, Barrister, Clerk Howells
Chairperson
Danny Gilbert, Co-Founder/Managing Partner, Gilbert Tobin
2.55pm - 3.05pm
IGNITE SESSION – Legal Health Check
Grand Ballroom
Fuel for thought – a 5 minute presentation on today’s hot topics with Sue Garlick from QPILCH
3.05pm - 3.15pm
AFTERNOON TEA
PROGRAM
TIME & VENUE
SESSION TITLE AND SYNOPSIS
3.15pm - 3.25pm
IGNITE SESSION – Women at Work
Grand Ballroom
Fuel for thought – a 5 minute presentation on today’s hot topics with Maria Nawaz,
Kingsford Legal Centre.
3.25pm - 4.55pm
CLOSING SHOWCASE 7:
What justice means to me and you – reflections and visions.
Shadow Attorney-General, Greens Legal Affairs Spokesperson and Journalist Peter Greste will
discuss justice and how to achieve access to it from a personal and professional point of view.
It promises to be a lively session with strong delegate participation.
Speakers
The Hon, Mark Dreyfus QC MP, Shadow Attorney-General, Parliament of Australia
Senator Penny Wright, Australian Greens Legal Affairs spokesperson
Peter Greste, Latvian-Australian journalist and correspondent
Chairperson
Mark Woods, Chairman, Access to Justice Committee, Law Council of Australia
4.55pm - 5.10pm
WRAP UP AND CLOSE