Henderson, Genevieve --- "President's Page: Being Heard and Making a Difference" [2023] PrecedentAULA 25; (2023) 176 Precedent 3

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Being heard and making a difference

By Genevieve Henderson

I acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of the lands on which we work and live and pay my respects to Indigenous elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty has never been ceded. It always was and always will be the land of First Nations peoples.

As I reflect on my year as President, the highlight for me has been meeting our members. The depth of knowledge, experience and conviction in our membership is impressive and makes me proud to be part of our Alliance.

We have a respected voice on all matters of justice. In the last few months alone, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) has been consulted on a range of issues, including the formation and structure of the new administrative appeals body; workers compensation reforms in Victoria; the CTP scheme in Queensland; bail laws; drug laws; the Voice to Parliament constitutional reform; plus many more. I am constantly impressed by the quality and breadth of work our committee and staff are able to achieve – we are being heard and we are making a difference.

A focus of my time as President has been the Voice to Parliament proposal. It is clear from the Joint Select Committee on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice Referendum’s report released in May that the ALA’s position on Constitution Alteration was aligned with the overwhelming majority of contributors in supporting the wording and intent of the proposed Constitution Alteration. I am pleased and proud that we have been able to take an active and strong position of commitment to the Uluru Statement from the Heart and to the deliberate sequence contained therein of ‘Voice, Treaty and Truth’.

I now make what may be a bold prediction that when Australians front up to vote on this referendum, they will understand and accept the generous offer that is the Uluru statement, recognise what is at stake and overwhelmingly vote Yes!

I look back at all our organisation has achieved in the last 12 months and it is significant, but our work is not done, and probably never will be. There are so many barriers that prevent people from achieving justice, from minor obstacles to significant issues.

Common law rights have been increasingly eroded in different jurisdictions, and statutory schemes across Australia continue to make it hard for victims to be fairly compensated for mental and physical injuries incurred through no fault of their own on the road, at work, in hospital or elsewhere. Without the ALA’s advocacy, the outcome for individuals could be much worse.

I am very pleased to report that we are a growing organisation with membership steadily increasing. The benefits of active engagement with the ALA are enormous, and I strongly encourage all our members – particularly younger lawyers – to consider how they can become more involved. Join a committee or a special interest group, or attend a conference or seminar and get to know other members. These networks and contacts will be invaluable as you build your career. I also urge those members who, like me, have been engaged with the ALA for many years to encourage our more junior lawyers to join up and get involved. As some of the ALA’s original and long-term members move into retirement it is important that we have a strong and passionate cohort of lawyers to keep up the fight.

I would like to thank everyone who has supported and assisted me in the role of National President, including immediate past president Graham Droppert, ALA GM Karyn Lemon, the amazing policy and events teams and all the ALA staff. Thank you. I am pleased to hand over to Shaun Marcus from Victoria as our new President from 1 July. We are in good hands with Shaun as leader and an excellent team of state presidents and committee members in place.

Genevieve Henderson is Senior Practice Leader, Work and Road Claims NSW and ACT Central and North, at Slater and Gordon. PHONE [phone] EMAIL [e-mail].