Vic’s bar in ructions over election ticket … NSW bar loses another fine old hand … Bookshelves Brandis – a threat to the rule of law … Alarm on appeal filing fees … KC ordered out of court … Theodora reports
The establishment has rolled out a slick campaign under the banner of Members First. It’s a rebranded version of Vote for Change (2020) and Putting Members First (2021).
The Firsters are putting forward 21 candidates in categories A, B and C. Their brochure says, “If you do not vote we will lose. If we lose you will not be represented.”
Maybe they mean, you will be represented by Teal-Tinged or Woke people.
Of the 21 standing for election, 10 are already on the council and want to be reelected.
Some members have observed ruefully that they might be forgiven for thinking that the principal goal of Members First is the “maintenance of power”.
The policy agenda emphasised in the brochure is all about barristers for barristers. “Vote to protect our bar.” The key policy is to keep fees low, and where possible “return your financial investment to you in challenging times”.
A bit like Liz Truss’ tax cuts.
In a dig at previous Owen Dixon regimes, the brochure says the mission is to “ensure that the interests of all members, and not an elite few, are considered and pursued”.
Rodney Garratt KC, in a round-robin email, said he was concerned about Members First election strategy:
“… I do not see it as democratically healthy for the bar for there to be a complete slate of candidates for a bar council election in the ordinary course.”
Garratt objects to a team that has caucused in advanced:
“Just what dealings have taken place between the Members First members is unknown, as likewise is any arrangement or understanding between them going forward. The absence of transparency is troubling.”
He has asked each of the Members First team declare “in writing as soon as possible” that they will not next year run as part of a slate of candidates.
Otherwise, what about a proposal to amend the bar’s constitution to “ensure all candidates for election to the bar council stand win an equal footing …”
After an exhausting 27 years underground at the NSW Bar Association, Chris Winslow has bailed out and joined the NSW Supremes as the media manager.
During his span at Phillip Street’s grill room he was variously public affairs officer and publications manager, standards and support manager and media manager.
Winslow is widely respected and invariably handles the reptiles with a straight hand. In 2017 he stood as the Greens candidate in a by-election for the state seat of Blacktown and in 2013 the federal seat of Greenway. Previously he worked on the state Liberal campaign in 2011, leaving the Nasty Party in 2013.
He is the latest to depart the bar following a spate of escapees last year – including the deputy executive director; the publications and promotions coordinator; the director of legal affairs; the director of projects and practice development; manager of the legal assistance referral scheme; the librarian and the finance manager.
A new executive director arrived in June 2021.
The bar administration currently is in one of its “closed shop” phases – with little media engagement or outreach into the world beyond.
For the first time in living memory, Winslow is the Supreme Court’s full time media manager – the job previously held by part-timers on a shared basis.
Nice to see that Dr Bernadette Brennan maintains the rage.
Bernadette is a Sydney University academic, wife of the former solicitor general Justin Gleeson, and daughter of High Court CJ Gerry Brennan.
On October 17, she sent out a tweet that hit Senator Linda Reynolds (Lib WA) right between the eyes.
This was the day that Reynolds had given her wobbly evidence in the Bruce Lehrmann rape trial.
The former defence minister in the shambolic Morrison government denied she knew in early April 2019 that Brittany Higgins had been raped (allegedly) in her office a week before.
This is after her chief of staff had been told by Higgins, more than once, that this is what happened.
In the parliamentary hot-house, it is extraordinary, even unbelievable, that the minister would not be told that one of her own staff had claimed to gave been raped in her office by another Liberal Party staffer.
Prosecutor Shane Drumgold SC asked Reynolds, who had been called by the Crown:
“Would you agree that in the run-up to election that having an allegation that one staff member sexually assaulted another staff member would be potentially embarrassing?”
Of course not. Adverse political fallout would never have entered Linda’s head. Instead, she preferred to think of what happened as a “security breach”.
It also emerged that the senator had been texting Lehrmann’s defence counsel Steven Whybrow, prompting him to look at material that could be damaging to Ms Higgins. And asking for transcripts of the trial.
And here was Bernadette freshly recalling that it was six years and three days since Reynolds and the Statler and Waldorfs of the senate, Ian Macdonald and Barry O’Sullivan, tried to take down Justin Gleeson at a senate committee hearing.
At the time, Gleeson was standing his ground against moves by Bookshelves Brandis to restrict the independence of the solicitor general, requiring all departments and agencies seeking the SG’s advice to seek prior approval from the AG.
Geez, a woman gets to a certain age and thinks, f##k it. @JonesHowdareyou @latingle @samanthamaiden [maybe you might remember @andrewprobyn #justsaying] pic.twitter.com/QzBz2L90Q2
— Bernadette Brennan (@dettebrennan) October 17, 2022
By-the-by, something really ought to be done about filing fees.
For instance, filing a notice of appeal in the Federal Court and the FCFC from a decision of the AAT costs an individual $5,145 and a corporation $11,115.
Since the AAT gets a lot of stuff wrong and the appeals are plentiful, the federal courts are in clover on this score alone.
For an individual to file a special leave application in the High Court, in a civil case, costs a comparatively modest $3,655, with a further $3,655 to file the appeal if special leave is granted.
It’s a real slap in the face for people on workers comp to pay over $5,000 to appeal a botched AAT decision.
Complaints to AG Dreyfus have fallen on deaf ears, but Greens senator David Shoebridge says he’ll take it up at the next available Estimates hearing.
In other distressing news, the Queensland Legal Services Commission on Friday (Oct, 21), secured an urgent injunction preventing Graeme Keith William Page KC from appearing in court.
Apparently, Graeme had been turning up without a ticket, including in the full Family Court.
Chief Justice Helen Bowskill put a stop to that.