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Blumer, Noor --- "President's Page: Wrapping up" [2019] PrecedentAULA 28; (2019) 152 Precedent 3

WRAPPING UP

By Noor Blumer

The erosion of common law rights throughout Australia has left us with a plethora of statutory schemes.

Statutory schemes are the antithesis of ‘restitutio in integrum’, ruthlessly cutting common law entitlements.

The legislation and rules that execute this unsavoury task are invariably complex and designed to either strip injured people of entitlements or make it even harder to claim what is left. These are nasty schemes.

And yet, we must deal with them and do the best we can.

Typically, statutory schemes contain impossibly high thresholds that must be met before an injured person becomes entitled to damages. And in most jurisdictions you can't add psychological injuries to physical injuries to reach those thresholds. Why? To make it even harder, of course.

Thanks to all the valiant contributors to this edition of Precedent who have braved those muddy waters to provide some clarity for our members.

MEDICAL LAW SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP

The energy of our SIGs is amazing, and I want to highlight some of the work coming out of the Medical Law SIG. As usual, the difficult and controversial does not deter our intrepid ALA members who have provided an excellent submission on voluntary assisted dying in Queensland. The ALA is also supporting the push to decriminalise abortion in NSW.

DON DALE

Who can forget the 4 Corners programme that showed chilling footage from the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in 2016? Driven by public outrage, new laws were put in place in the NT. Those laws are now being wound back with retrospective effect, including the ability of officers to use force so long as they believe it to be necessary. The ALA has raised serious concerns in its submission to the Youth Justice and Related Legislation Amendment Bill 2019.

CONFERENCES

The Victorian conference was a great success at the magnificent new convention centre at Cape Schanck on the glorious Mornington Peninsula. For the first time ever, the dinner was oversubscribed and everyone turned up!

The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) and the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) received the Victorian Civil Justice Award for their work on the Nauru medical evacuation campaign and litigation.

The Nauru medical evacuation cases represent one of the most effective pieces of social interest litigation in recent memory. The issue mobilised the profession, saved people from harm and changed the law. The ASRC and HRLC co-ordinated this effort and their groundwork led to the implementation of the medevac legislation last year.

I am looking forward to the ALA’s National Conference in Port Douglas in October when we will celebrate our 25th anniversary as an organisation.

IN CONCLUSION

30 June 2019 sees the end of my year as National President of the ALA. This is a privileged position with a unique organisation. Many thanks to all and in particular the dedicated ALA staff, ably piloted by Richard Trim.

As I reflect on my year as President, it is clear to me that the value of our organisation lies in our commitment to protecting the rights of individuals to access justice. More and more, statutory schemes make it hard for victims to be fairly compensated for mental and physical injuries incurred through no fault of their own. Without the ALA’s input, the outcome for individuals could be much worse.

For 25 years the ALA’s commitment to justice, fairness and protecting the rights of the individual has not wavered. As we celebrate this milestone, let’s reflect on what we have achieved but, more importantly, let’s think about what more we can do. Our values and principles are relevant whether we are fighting for justice for people injured on the road or in a workplace accident, a survivor of abuse, someone in immigration detention or a person with a disability.

I am handing over the role of National President to Andrew Christopoulos, a Sydney-based personal injury lawyer, and I am confident he will be a strong leader for the ALA for the next 12 months.

Noor Blumer is a Director at Blumers Personal Injury Lawyers, ACT. PHONE (02) 6208 2600 EMAIL noor@blumers.com.au.