Droppert, Graham --- "President's Page: ALA Back to Work - Graham Droppert Sc" [2021] PrecedentAULA 2; (2021) 162 Precedent 3

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ALA BACK TO WORK

By Graham Droppert SC

Welcome to 2021. I trust the summer has given you all a chance to spend time with family and friends or enjoy some quiet moments. Hopefully we can begin the new year revitalised in our collective commitment to achieve justice for our clients.

I write this page from Apollo Bay in Victoria, on the southern edge of the mainland. I have had the pleasure of exploring the local history, foods and language of the five First Nations communities of the region. I acknowledge the ongoing possession and use of these lands by the Gaduband peoples and pay respect to the Elders – past, present and emerging – in this area and throughout Australia.

This time last year, we were all shocked by the speed and ferocity of the bushfire catastrophe. Lives and properties were lost and the destruction of wildlife and land was enormous.

The response of the Australian people was amazing. And yet, a year later, many of those devastated by the fires have not been resettled or been able to rebuild. The recommendations of the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements have been only partially adopted.

Beginning this year, our biggest challenge is undoubtedly COVID-19 and its devasting consequences around the world.

TORT LAW

This edition of Precedent highlights a priority issue of the ALA. Tort law is the cornerstone of access to justice for many Australians. Legislated safety and compensation schemes play an important role but are often driven by breakthrough torts litigation. At times, tort law litigation is an imperfect vehicle. Nonetheless, the common law can provide remedies when parliaments are slow to act.

There is also often a significant imbalance of resources between individuals or small groups and the deep pockets of insurers, large companies and governments. This makes the role of lawyers so critical in the evolution of torts law.

POLICY ISSUES

The ALA seminars and conferences since the start of the COVID-19 era have highlighted the need to engage on many issues, including:

• the gross denial of even the basic rights of elderly people;

• the systemic and long-term abuse of those with disabilities;

• the NDIS’s failure to reliably meet its objectives;

• the continuing failure to accept and respond to the injustices suffered by First Nations peoples;

• the disproportionate effect of the COVID-19 pandemic;

• the fragility of many support systems which have struggled to respond consistently to needs not directly related to COVID-19;

• the need for more innovative ways in responding to criminal offending, employing therapeutic rather than punitive measures; and

• the incoherence of the federal system in clearly allocating responsibilities and resources to ensure safety.

Cruise law became a core focus, with the tragic consequences of the inability of state and federal authorities to take control early in 2020.

The plight of people seeking asylum continues to be a dark stain on the nation. The harsh cuts to the meagre income supports available to onshore asylum seekers appear to have no objective other than to starve them into submission.

BLM protests brought into focus the tension between the right to protest and the brutality of the policing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and the stark realities of potential COVID-19 transmission.

I attended two rallies in Perth in 2020 – one protesting the destruction of the Juukan Gorge by Rio Tinto, and the second for a BLM protest – two issues that I thought were of the utmost importance. WA had experienced extended periods of zero local COVID-19 cases and there was a lot of mask wearing at the rallies but the truth is that social distancing was not maintained.

2021 – HERE WE COME

Hopefully the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines will allow for a reasonable amount of activity and movement in and around Australia in the coming year.

Queensland and NSW have upcoming conferences, followed by Victoria.

Territory and state branches should continue to identify issues that cause injustice to our clients or those in the communities we serve. Campaigning together strengthens the ALA, and building partnerships with other representative groups increases the impact of the work we do.

Graham Droppert SC is a barrister practising from Albert Wolff Chambers, Perth, specialising in personal injury. PHONE [phone] EMAIL [e-mail].