New South Wales has been to the forefront of legal reform since 1994 and has led the way internationally in rolling-out new legal business models
The Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Mr Alan Shatter, TD, met with the Legal Services Commissioner of New South Wales, Mr Steve Mark, and visited a model multi-disciplinary law practice in Sydney today, and visited the High Court of Australia (which is the equivalent to our Supreme Court) yesterday.
This series of meetings represents the fact-finding component of Minister Shatter’s itinerary and is particularly relevant to the reform and modernisation of the Irish legal professions which is currently taking place under the new Legal Services Regulation Bill. The State of New South Wales has been to the forefront of such reform since 1994 and has led the way internationally in rolling-out new legal business models. The Minister took the opportunity to discuss these developments with the Legal Services Commissioner and to make a working visit to one of the bigger multi-disciplinary practices in Australia that provides legal and other services (e.g. commercial and financial) to consumers, side by side, under the modernised legal system.
Minister Shatter visited the High Court of Australia (which is the equivalent to our Supreme Court) yesterday and met with Mr Andrew Phelan, Chief Executive and Principal Registrar, for an exchange of views of common interest. Tomorrow (Thursday), Minister Shatter will visit New South Wales Family Court where he will discuss the working of the Australian family court structure and its relevance to the commitment contained in the Programme for Government to establish an integrated Family Court in our jurisdiction.Other key engagements this week:
On Monday Minister Shatter visited the Irish Welfare Bureau in Northcote where he met staff, volunteers and clients, including older Irish migrants, as well as members of "Home from Home" and "Melbourne Irish Families".
Minister Shatter also attended an event organised by Enterprise Ireland where he met with senior representatives from key economic sectors including ICT, Healthcare, Financial Services and Tourism. During this event, Minister Shatter focused on promoting trade, investment and tourism links between Australia and Ireland and reiterated the Government’s message that there has never been a better time to invest - and benefit from - Ireland’s recovery.
On Tuesday, Minister Shatter, in his capacity as Minister for Defence, visited the National War Memorial in Canberra as a mark of respect in light of increased awareness of the shared military history of Australia and Ireland. Many Irish born men fought with the ANZACs in WWI and, in addition, many Irish serving in the British forces fought alongside the ANZACs at Gallipoli, which was a seminal event in Australia’s history. During this visit Minister Shatter was briefed on Irish-ANZAC historical linkages and the forthcoming 2014 ANZAC commemoration.
On Tuesday afternoon Minister Shatter visited the Australian Parliament as a distinguished guest and met with the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Hon Chris Bowen MP, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bob Carr, while at Parliament House.
In addition to the appointments listed above, Minister Shatter met with New South Wales Police Commissioner, Andrew Scipione and the Acting Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson today to discuss the New South Wales approach to gangland and drug crime.