The councils of the Law Society and the NSW Bar are caught up in a backlash from a vocal fringe that wants them to abandon their support for same-sex marriage … The usual suspects … Where do these self-appointed guardians of virtue get off?
Wright seems to be the focus of the anger even though Arthur Moses, prez of the NSW bar n’ grill, and Prof. Brad Frankum from the NSW AMA signed on as well.
Pauline Wright and the council of the Law Society have no intention of surrendering.
It’s difficult to understand the fuss. Legalising same sex marriage has been the Law Society’s policy since 2012 and the bar’s since 2015. Like other social policies adopted by the professional association it is known and accepted that not everyone agrees. Nonetheless, it remains the view of the council and successive councils have endorsed it.
It’s always open to members who disagree with an official policy held by the society or the bar to resign. Membership is not compulsory. It is Speed who should be resigning as a member, not the duly elected Ms Wright.
The dissidents could then form a ticket and try and capture the council at the next election – in the normal “democratic” way.
Why shouldn’t professional bodies of lawyers support human rights, after all this is what lies at the heart of lawyering – the rights of humans, unless you are a tax lawyer.
Speed set up the “Rule of Law Institute“, an outfit that has a very selective idea about the rule of law. It campaigns against regulators, including the ACCC, the ATO and APRA, with Speed saying there needs to be more checks and balances if they are to be conferred with extra coercive powers.
ROLI is also opposed to ICAC sniffing around the activities of the big end of town and it waved the flag in the campaign against the mining tax.
The outfit seems to be more interested in lobbying than protecting the rule of law. For instance, it has been silent about Minister Dutton’s recent attacks on the AAT, on judges and on lawyers acting for refugees.
It’s in good company there, because the top brass at the ABA, Willie Alstergren, Noel Hutley and Christopher Hughes, have not said a peep about Dutton’s egregious criticism of lawyers defending refugees.
The Sydney Morning Herald said that ROLI “patrols the corridors of power for legislation that may threaten the interests of business”.
Another outfit set up in the back office of Speed & Stracey was the Family Office Institute, which went to Canberra to lobby (successfully) against proposals to reveal the amount of tax paid by wealthy privately owned companies. They are now exempt under the Better Targeting the Income Tax Transparency legislation.
In attacks on regulators and progressive policy positions the campaigners usually wrap themselves in the soothing virtue of the “rule of law”, when in truth they are backed by a well-funded corporate front organisation.
On the sidelines is the swivel eyed reporter from The Australian, Chris (The Tamil) Merritt, who has had yards of copy out of Speed in their mutual campaign against ICAC.
The Tamil dug up Michael Quinlan, from Notre Dame University law school who, with 10 other academics and lawyers, demands the bar and the law society “apologise” and immediately withdraw their endorsement of same sex marriage.
Also at Notre Dame law school we find Sophie York, a vociferous anti-SSM campaigner and spokeswoman for the Marriage Alliance.
Here’s a recent tweet about her:
This is Sophie. She authorises demonising homophobic TV ads where mothers lie to camera. Meet her online at hello@sophieyork.com.au pic.twitter.com/ViUiAjnr9x
— Lᴏʀᴅ Wᴇɴᴛᴡᴏʀᴛʜ (@LordofWentworth) August 30, 2017
Where do these zealots get off? Why are they so keen to poke their noses into the lives of others? Why is anyone paying the slightest attending to their over-larded demands?
It’s a woeful state of affairs if human rights are being dictated by corporate lobbyists, tax lawyers and Murdoch hacks.