UTS FACULTY OF LAW Brennan Justice & Leadership Program · Professor Paul Redman 16 2017 Brennan Program Awardees THE BRENNAN PROGRAM AND THE REFUGEE ADVICE AND CASEWORK SERVICE (RACS)

UTS FACULTY OF LAW Brennan Justice

& Leadership Program2017 YEARBOOK

CONTENTSREPORTS

4 Introductory Address Sir Gerard Brennan AC KBE GBS

5 Dean’s Address Professor Lesley Hitchens

6 Director’s Report Professor Paul Redmond

8 Director’s Report Anna Fletcher

9 Faculty Administration Report Monica Reade

10 A History of the Brennan Program Professor Paul Redman

16 2017 Brennan Program Awardees

THE BRENNAN PROGRAM AND THE REFUGEE ADVICE AND CASEWORK SERVICE (RACS)

20 When does detention turn into punishment requiring judicial orders: The need for Constitutional lawyering RACS week guest lecture by The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG

22 The Phoenix RACS week film screening review

24 RACS Weekly Clinics at UTS Law

25 Sir Gerard’s Book Sale for RACS

THE BRENNAN PROGRAM’S EVENTS & INITIATIVES

26 The Destruction of Memory Documentary Film Screening and Panel Discussion

27 Oxfam Trailwalker

28 UTS Law Students Create Winning AI Apps for social justice

29 Legal Technology and Social Justice

30 Dylan Voller Speaks Out

32 Brennan Justice Short Film Competition

34 Brennan Discussion Groups

UTS LAW STUDENTS’ SOCIETY EVENTS AND INITIATIVES

35 Women’s Mentoring Program Launch

36 Speaker Series I — ‘Gilbert + Tobin Speaker Series Launch Dinner Technology, Telecommunications and the Strain on Privacy’

37 Speaker Series II — Corrs Chambers Westgarth Speaker Series Protecting Our Rights

38 Villawood Detention Centre visits

39 Westmead Children’s Hospital Visit

40 Annual Social Justice Conference

41 Justice Action Committee

3Brennan Justice & Leadership Program Yearbook 2017

Learn from, but don’t be daunted by the inevitable mistakes that will be made as you venture forth into post graduate activity. I enjoy telling the story of

my own first day in my father’s court when his associate was temporarily absent and I stepped into the role and demonstrated my lack of experience — a story that I have previously told. I had in one hand, a proforma sheet for charging a prisoner on trial, and in the other the indictment signed and presented by the Crown Prosecutor. Mistaking the name of the Prosecutor for the name of the accused, I charged a kindly, meek and highly reputable man with the crime of rape. Counsel for the accused, in accordance with the camaraderie of the Bar, immediately announced his appearance for his learned friend and pleaded not guilty. And so, I was given a lesson about life in the law. It was not about the need to follow the form — that was only too obvious — it was a lesson about the relationship that is built among members of the legal profession who share a deep respect for their vocation — a respect which fosters warm personal relationships even when they are engaged as adversaries.

Now I want to say something about the relationship between law and community culture. Community service, which is part of the requirements for the completion of the Justice and Law Program, enhances the students’ sensitivity to the culture in which the law operates. So I want to mention the effect which law, its enforcement or the liability to enforcement can have on culture, and the effect which community culture can have on the content of the law. Do not be surprised if your experience shows that the law changes from time to time, not only because of legislative changes but also by reason of changes in community standards. As Sir Ninian Stephen observed in Onus v Alcoa, “Courts necessarily reflect community values and beliefs”.

The relationship between law and the community finds practical expression in the ordinary jury. The community is given ownership of the process and public confidence in the integrity of the criminal trial is assured. I suppose a jury sometimes gets it wrong, but for the most part I believe they get it right. I remember a trial in which my client was charged with assault. He produced ostensibly independent witnesses who gave unshaken evidence of an alibi. A judge would surely have acquitted in the light

of that evidence, but the jury convicted. Juries have an uncanny ability to spot the truth, as I discovered later. One of my colleagues reported that the client had told him that, despite conviction, a hefty fine and the payment of my fee, he had been pleased by my advocacy. I found the tribute difficult to understand. “Oh”, the colleague explained, “your client thought it was all worthwhile to have had the satisfaction of hitting the rotter!”

The rigorous Justice and Leadership Program is designed not only to improve the professional knowledge and skills of the law student, but to enhance her or his appreciation of law as an important element in the culture of our society. In earlier times, a graduate in law was destined to practise almost exclusively as either a barrister or solicitor. The Law School imparted the knowledge and some of the skills needed by a graduate to secure the protection or advancement of a client’s legal interests. The same knowledge has to be acquired and the same skills developed today, but many graduates now enter fields quite different from the practising legal profession. The many fields of human activity in which law graduates employ their talents lead to a clearer understanding of the law as a social phenomenon, which affects the conduct of practically every field of human endeavor. Law helps to mould the culture of a society and, reciprocally, society’s culture helps to mould the content of its law. Society has become more complex and the scope of law has expanded, and it affects more and more elements of our social life. An adequate understanding of the vast body of the law calls for an appreciation of the culture of the society in which the law operates. And as the effect of the law on any transaction is determined by the operation of all the interlocking provisions of the relevant law, the modern lawyer needs to see particular provisions in the context of the whole legal framework. The modern lawyer does not see the law as a series of independent propositions from which a single selection is made in dealing with a particular problem. The modern lawyer necessarily sees the law as a complex and constantly changing social institution which is best understood by perceiving the purpose of the relevant law and the values which it is designed to protect and advance.

Not only does this approach enhance the professional skills of the modern lawyer, it leads to a

INTRODUCTORY ADDRESSSir Gerard Brennan AC KBE GBS

at the launch of the Program 2011

better understanding of the social importance of the lawyer’s work. I sometimes wonder whether lawyers in their daily labours realise that they are implementing the rule of the law and are thereby underpinning the peace and order, the freedom and security of society. Our personal security is protected by laws of crime and torts; our property is governed by laws of contract, trusts, real and personal property; our relationship with government is ordered by administrative law, taxation law and so forth. We are proud that we work and live under the rule of law. We acknowledge the truth of John Locke’s proclamation: “Wherever law ends, tyranny begins”.

Our laws govern many aspects of our lives and the regular observation of the law ensures that we live in a society that is truly governed by the rule of law. The rule of law requires administration of the law by practitioners who know its provisions and are conscious of the values which it reflects and which guide its application. Whether the graduate lawyer is engaged in professional practice or is using legal skills and knowledge in other ways and whether the lawyer is concerned with problems of family law or public law, personal injury or conveyancing or corporations, she or he is applying the rule of the relevant law.

The Justice and Leadership program of the UTS Law School is designed to provide students with an appreciation of the wide practical scope of the law and requires practical experience that encourages awareness of social need. Thus the program equips the student with a more sophisticated understanding of the law by stimulating the student’s experience of the culture, of the community, and assures the graduate that the profession of law offers the lawyer an opportunity to contribute to a peaceful and ordered society.

The program is identified by its two descriptors – justice and leadership. The aims of the program go beyond what may be achieved by the bare pursuit of legal knowledge or the development of forensic skills. That is not to diminish the necessity of acquiring adequate legal knowledge and skills, for these are essential to achieving justice according to law. Ideally, of course, the law operates justly. And, generally speaking, the law will operate justly when accurately applied to a situation. But not always.

When justice is compared with law, we can see that law affects a community; justice and injustice are experienced by individuals.

Law is a social regulator, justice is a moral value. Notions of justice are acquired and developed by the experience of social forces on the lives of individuals. So the program’s requirement that students participate in providing community service heightens their awareness of the needs of others. In the 2nd century A.D., Ulpian defined justice as “the constant and perpetual will to allot to every man his due”.

Lawyers who know how the law operates on all but who are concerned to accord justice to each are essential to a free society, especially in a diverse and pluralist democracy. It is a satisfying life to belong to a profession which is devoted to assisting in the allotment “to every man his due”. Whether in the representation of a client, or in the adjudication of a case, or in analysing and expounding a legal proposition or in proposing an amendment to the law, committed lawyers see themselves as administering justice.

Administering justice does not involve taking steps suggested only by some idiosyncratic concept of justice, when the steps are unauthorized by law. The rule of law assumes that the law will be administered by those possessed of special knowledge and skills.

That is why lawyers are essential to the rule of law. They need to be competent lawyers if they are to administer justice according to law. For the most part, application of the law does lead to justice. The law – or at least the common law, including equity – has been developed over time. It is the product of centuries of experience. As Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote:

“The life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience...The law embodies the story of a nation’s development through many centuries. . .”

It is not surprising that vast experience has fashioned a legal system the justice and the practicality of which is attested by generations of litigants and their lawyers. The wisdom born of that experience has enshrined in the common law values of enduring significance to a free society.

Sir Gerard at the 2016 Brennan Celebration Evening. Photo: Anna Zhu Photography


The Brennan Justice and Leadership Program, now, in its seventh year, continues to remain a key program for UTS Law. It is encouraging to see that

each year it attracts a significant new membership. The Program with its focus on justice and service continues to meet a need and an interest amongst the student body.

As Dean, I believe that there are three core elements to the legal education we provide at UTS. First, we must ensure that our students graduate with a rigorous knowledge of the law. Secondly, our students, when they graduate, must be equipped with the skills and attributes which will enable them to thrive in a changing working and professional environment. Finally, we must be mindful of the culture and values that undergird our undertaking. The culture in which legal education occurs is vital. The culture should be one that encourages students to reflect on their future role as professionals; to consider the role of law and its relationship to justice; and to live out the values of the profession. For me, this legal education takes place within the formal classroom but also outside. The informal curriculum can be as powerful as the formal. The Brennan Program is a sublime example of that informal curriculum.

The events and activities offered through the Brennan Program traverse a wide range of challenging topics, always with integrity and an awareness of the complexity of those issues. The learning that happens through the Brennan Program is not one-sided. Staff and students are both enriched through Brennan Program activities. One of the most powerful events for me this year, that illustrates well the integrity and value of The Brennan Program, was Dylan Voller Speaks Out, co-hosted with UTS: Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research. Dylan spoke so powerfully and thoughtfully about Indigenous youth detention and protection and his own experience that we were all humbled.

One of the strengths of the Brennan Program is that the academic and student body in the Law Faculty run the Program jointly. This has also been one of the great delights of the Program and for me personally as Dean — to work closely with UTS Law Students’ Society. Each year new student leaders emerge with fresh ideas and

commitment. The Program is also kept strong by the continuing support and encouragement of its Patron, Sir Gerard Brennan.

I’m confident that the Brennan Justice and Leadership Program will continue to flourish and my hope is that graduates of the Law Faculty and of the Brennan Program will retain its values – a commitment to justice and leadership through service – throughout their professional lives.

DEAN’S ADDRESS Professor Lesley Hitchens,

Dean, UTS Faculty of Law

Photo: Anna Zhu Photography

FACULTY OF LAW DIRECTOR’S REPORT Professor Paul Redmond AM Sir Gerard Brennan Professorship

2017 has been another strong year for the Brennan Justice and Leadership Program. This Yearbook sets out many of the highlights and I shall not outline

them here. There have been some great innovations such as the inaugural Summer Circle when activities were promoted over the summer session, the Allens Neota UTS Law Tech Challenge for Social Justice, and the Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS) Week events. And some events are ahead of us as this Yearbook goes to press; regrettably, their report needs wait until the 2018 Yearbook. I’m thinking here especially of the talk in the Inspirational Careers series by the Hon Justice Ann Ainslie-Wallace, a judge of the Appeals Division of the Family Court of Australia on The Moral Squint — Lawyers’ Duties, the Brennan Justice Photography Festival and, of course, the 2017 Brennan Awards Ceremony itself.

The Brennan Program has distinct elements of reflection and action. The reflections on justice component sensitises students to the relationship between law and legal system, on the one hand, and concepts of justice and the rule of law on the other. These pages describe some of the lectures and other activities offered under this component; we also promote many talks available elsewhere. The leadership through service component encourages students to develop leadership skills through service to others. Like the reflections component, this element seeks to expand students’ imagination and sense of possibility; it does so through voluntary activity in a range of legal and non-legal settings marked by service to others and alertness to opportunities for taking on responsibility and initiative. The volunteering

experience of those receiving out the Brennan Award (see pp16-19) are indicative of what students in the program generally are doing. The requirements for the Award are onerous and so special congratulations are due to these recipients. Their academic transcript acknowledges this achievement alongside that in their academic work.

There is much to give thanks for this year. Anna Fletcher, elected to represent the UTS Law Students’ Society (UTS LSS), has been an outstanding joint program director. It has been a delight to work with Anna—for her intelligence, organisational skill, grace, generosity and reliability. She is a leader whom others are drawn to, and follow. Thanks also to Sarah Avery, Vice President (Social Justice), and the President, Christina Knezevich, for their support and engagement. Both are previous recipients of the Brennan Award and share its DNA.

The faculty administrative team supporting the program is quite special. Reegan Myers replaced Alexa Dodd as Student Programs Coordinator while Alexa was on maternity leave until May 2017. Reegan was outstanding and we all miss her as she explores British society at an interesting stage its history. Still, it is wonderful to have Alexa back with the skill, energy and ideas that she always contributes. Monica Reade, the Faculty’s Academic Programs Manager, has oversight of the program and is closely involved in its operations, always contributing creatively to strategy and operations. At different times Polly Wiltshire, Bec Keen, Rachel Coventry and Jennifer Goth supported the team. It’s a cohesive group and a constant delight to work with.


I also thank faculty and student colleagues on the Brennan Program Management Committee for their close engagement with the program that extends beyond their invaluable advice and counsel.

The Dean, Professor Lesley Hitchens, has always been generous in her support for the program and constructively guides its development. Her thought leadership in legal education and in the changes occurring in the practice of law feed into initiatives that have become available to students in the program. A notable example is the opportunity to develop artificial intelligence systems for community organisations using Neota Logic’s platform, working closely with specialists at Allens under the leadership of our own Dr Pip Ryan. We are grateful to Neota Logic and Allens for this opportunity and look forward to its further flourishing in 2018. Students responded to this extraordinary opportunity with the alacrity and success that we anticipated.

There are many others to thank including the many speakers at program events, the judging panels for the photography and film festivals, and the many Brennan students who contributed ‘above and beyond’ to the program, as MCs, student journalists and photographers and in other roles that made ‘things’ happen.

Finally, I wish to thank the Patron of the program, Sir Gerard Brennan AC KBE GBS, whose career and character are its inspiration and the model we offer students for emulation. We are grateful for his continuing

support and for his friendship so freely given to all those in the program. We are so pleased that he will once again present the awards that bear his name. This personal connection adds so greatly to the Brennan Award’s significance for recipients.

The Brennan Program always faces challenges as it tries to stimulate and engage, to learn from its student members, and be responsive to the demands of their studies and busy lives. The introduction of balanced teaching periods creates challenges but also opportunities with the extended summer session. But new challenges have been its history. In Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) Tomasi di Lampedusa attributes to a nineteenth century Sicilian prince the insight that might well be the program’s leitmotif: if we want things to stay as they are, they will have to change. No initiative flourishes that stands still. That is the Brennan Program’s challenge as it approaches its eight year.

There are 1,700 students in the Brennan Program. The program’s continuing success is attributable to the commitment of its parents, the UTS LSS and the Faculty. For as long as that commitment continues, the Brennan Program will flourish. When it withers, on one or both sides, the program’s days are numbered. May that commitment long endure and, with it, one of the icons of modern Australian legal education, the Brennan Justice and Leadership Program.

Professor Paul Redmond chats to Brennan graduate, Tapiwa Bengura, at the 2016 Brennan Celebration evening. Photo: Anna Zhu Photography

The Brennan Justice and Leadership Program is a joint initiative of the UTS Law Students’ Society (UTS LSS) and the Faculty of Law, and recognises the

innate connection between the study of law and issues of justice and equality. The program consists of two key components: reflections on justice and leadership through service. The first component requires students to engage with events or initiatives that have some social justice aspect, and critically reflect upon their learning. The second requires students to undertake active service within their community, encouraging them to expand their learning outside of the classroom and discover where their legal skills and knowledge intersect with real world issues. Students must accumulate 100 Reflection on Justice (ROJ) points and up to 200 Leadership through Service (LTS) hours in order to graduate and take out the Brennan award. Through this holistic approach the program strives to create compassionate, conscientious and globally minded graduates who will carry their passion for social justice with them as they enter into the legal profession.

In today’s tumultuous social and political landscape, where fundamental issues of human rights and equality are so often under attack, it is more important than ever to remain engaged, and to use the skills and privileges we have to speak out against injustice. I believe the beauty of the Brennan Program lies in its flexibility, and the scope it leaves for students to pursue their own areas of interest and find what justice means for them. Without a doubt one of my favourite parts of my role as co-director has been the number of other students I’ve had the chance to meet and speak with. It is truly heartening to see the intelligence, empathy and passion of so many

of my peers, and the diverse ways in which they learn and fight for justice in their own lives.

This year, the LSS has run a number of initiatives in collaboration with the Brennan Program to enable students to engage with justice issues and assist those in our community who are in need in a meaningful way. These included regular visits to the Villawood Detention Centre, and trips to Westmead Children’s hospital where students spent time speaking to families and playing with children as they waited for their appointments. The LSS Social Justice team also organised our annual Social Justice Conference and Homelessness Clothes Drive, and hosted a fundraising BBQ for the Refugee Advice and Casework Service as part of the broader ‘RACS week’ fundraising effort.

During my tenure I have had the privilege of working alongside the program’s co-director Professor Paul Redmond, as well as Monica Reade, Reegan Myers, and Alexa Dodd, the program coordinators. Throughout this time I have been continuously inspired and moved by the dedication and passion of the Brennan team. Their willingness to listen and respond to the interests of students, and their genuine desire to shape a program that empowers young people to seek out and pursue their passions is what makes the Brennan program special. I have learned so much from this wonderful team, and am so grateful for all their kindness, hard work and commitment.

It has been a joy and an honour to be a part of this incredible program over the last year. I look forward to watching it continue to develop and flourish, and empower new waves of students in the years to come.

UTS LAW STUDENTS’ SOCIETY DIRECTOR’S REPORT Anna Fletcher

Anna at the UTS Law Students’ Society Smile week . Photo: TANDI Media


FACULTY ADMINISTRATION REPORT Monica Reade

Rebecca Keen, Alexa Dodd, Monica Reade from the Law Faculty. Photo: Novi Sugiarto

2017 has been a rewarding yet challenging year for the Brennan Program’s administration team. In June, we farewelled Reegan Myers who acted as

our Student Programs Coordinator while Alexa Dodd took a 12 month hiatus to welcome her first born to the world. Reegan had big shoes to fill following Alexa’s departure, yet with her shining competence and expertise, she effortlessly eased into the role. Our thanks go to Reegan for her amazing contribution to the Brennan Program throughout her time with us. Reegan’s leaving was bittersweet for us as her departure heralded the return of the amazing Alexa. With her boundless energy, drive, commitment and enthusiasm, the Brennan Program is flourishing under Alexa’s direction. It has been truly wonderful to have Alexa and all of her talents back on board.

2017 has once again provided us with many opportunities to see our amazing students shine. There have been several highlights for us this year including the inaugural Allens Neota UTS Law Tech Challenge for Social Justice, which saw 20 Brennan students and five Allens staff members develop a social justice app for each of five NGOs. We watched like proud parents at the Challenge grand final in August as our students, who clocked up 2000 LTS hours in total working on the apps, presented their tech solution to a social justice problem, with no prior programming experience.

In August, the Brennan Program also welcomed Dylan Voller, Dylan’s lawyer, and panellists from the UTS: Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research to the UTS Great Hall for our Dylan Voller Speaks Out event. With more than 450 guests in attendance, this was our largest ever Brennan Program

event! This was a heartfelt evening which brought together a myriad of Brennan Program students, UTS staff, and members of the Indigenous community to discuss the important issue of Indigenous youth detention and child protection.

Over Summer 2016/2017 we introduced our Brennan Summer Circle with the aim of keeping students engaged in the Brennan Program over the traditionally quieter summer period. As part of this initiative students were incentivised to build their Reflections On Justice (ROJ) portfolio by accumulating bonus ROJ points for participating in the many external, social justice related activities that take place in Sydney over the long hot summer, including attending public lectures, visiting exhibitions, seeing movies, participating in Sydney Festival events, getting a head start on reading Stan Grant’s Talking to My Country (selected for the 2017 Brennan Book Program), and submitting an early entry into the Brennan Photography Competition. More than 70 students registered to participate in the inaugural Summer Circle with students accumulating approximately 200 ROJ points as part of this initiative.

It has been another busy and successful year for the Brennan Program. As the years pass by it gives us great joy to see the Program mature with innovative ways for students to engage with its core value: to strengthen the justice consciousness, idealism and sense of service that UTS:Law students bring to their studies and later professional work. We never cease to be amazed by the achievements of our amazing students – they keep us inspired and committed to delivering a meaningful and rewarding Program. We look forward to all that 2018 has to offer.

A HISTORY OF THE BRENNAN PROGRAMProfessor Paul Redmond AM Sir Gerard Brennan Professorship

The Brennan Justice and Leadership Program is six years old, a vigorous youngster with two proud parents, the UTS Law Students’ Society (LSS) and the Faculty of Law. This is a brief account of its life to date and some ideas behind its creation. Family stories are always subjective, partial and incomplete.

This account, written primarily from the Faculty perspective, inevitably suffers these vices. If it has any claim to authority, that rests on the writer’s continuous experience with the program and especially his presence at the birth.

Audience members at Dylan Voller Speaks Out. Photo: Lisa Hogben


Faculty pre-historyIt was the then Dean, Professor Jill McKeough, who in 2010 conceived the idea that became the Brennan Program. She was keen to expand the ways in which the Faculty might implement its graduate attribute of promoting social justice; she also wanted to provide opportunities for students to develop leadership skills. Three objectives emerged from discussions:

• to promote students’ understanding of and engagement with the idea of justice and commitment to its promotion through professional work as a lawyer;

• to promote commitment to the idea of service as a model for professional work, a sustaining professional ideal that would ground a sense of wellbeing, fulfilment and satisfaction in law studies and professional work; and

• to develop students’ capacity for leadership, enterprise, independence and resilience.

A Faculty working party formed to develop these ideas. We realised early on that this proposal would only engage students if it had the active support of the LSS. In December 2010, on the first day of the term of the incoming LSS team, Dean McKeough, Bronwyn

Olliffe, then Associate Dean (Education) and some other staff met with the new LSS President, Codie Asimus, and the Vice-President (Education and Equity), Jerome Doraisamy, to discuss their agenda for the coming year. It became apparent immediately that they had in mind something very similar to the ideas that the Faculty had been considering. There was a clear commonality of outlook, a shared determination to make it work, and an ease of dealing between the individuals involved. These were to be the foundation for an enduring partnership. We agreed that the program’s title ought to express its spirit and ambition as well as its content. We settled quickly upon the Brennan Justice and Leadership Program. We knew that the name of Sir Gerard Brennan AC KBE GBS, former Chief Justice of the High Court and Chancellor of UTS, would signal clearly the ideals and values of the program and the example of his life inspire both students and staff. With his enthusiastic support, we knew we were on the way.

We worked hard together over the summer to settle the elements of the program to present to incoming students in February 2011. A handbook was prepared and a structure agreed that involved shared direction through joint LSS and Faculty directors. Jerome Doraisamy and Paul Redmond assumed these roles and worked closely together throughout 2011. A steering committee (now the Brennan Program Management Committee) was formed in which the Faculty and LSS had equal representation under the ultimate authority

“... the program’s title ought to express its spirit and ambition as well as its content.”

2016 Graduates of the Brennan Program. Photo: Anna Zhu Photography

of the Dean. We recognised from the outset that the program’s success would depend upon the continuing ‘ownership’ by both parents and their joint responsibility and engagement with it.

The core elements of the program

As it developed, the program has distinct elements of reflection and action. The reflections on justice component sensitises students to the complex relationship between law and legal system, on the one hand, and concepts of justice and the rule of law on the other. What do we mean by justice: is it the expression of freedom, the promotion of equality or virtue, the greatest happiness of the many, or simply fairness? And what do these notions mean in concrete situations? How is it the function of law—and lawyers—to express the idea of justice? The study of law is not just the study of rules but much more. This intellectual project complements that of the lecture room. It rests on the belief that the best lawyers are concerned with systemic outcomes as well as those of individual cases. The goal is to expand intellects and imaginations. The means chosen are through guest lectures, discussion groups and students’ own initiatives such as videos and blogs. The reflections on justice component also builds community among law students, their sense of belonging and engagement with each other and the law school.

The leadership through service component promotes idealism by encouraging students to develop leadership skills through service to others. The practice of law is tough but is sustained by a sense of public purpose and service. Imaginatively understood, this sense dignifies legal work and gives it meaning and purpose that sustains lawyers across the long haul. Like the first component, this element seeks to expand students’ imagination and sense of possibility; it does so through

voluntary activity in a range of legal and non-legal settings marked by service to others and alertness to opportunities for taking on responsibility and initiative. The program promotes the idea of justice and service in a professional career, not a career in social justice as such.

If criteria for each component are met, students qualify for the Brennan Justice and Leadership Award. The Award criteria are 100 ‘points’, the equivalent of 20 lectures, for reflections on justice and, for leadership for service, 40 hours of volunteering for each year of enrolment. Setting the bar high for the Brennan Award is intended to mark significant achievement in the program and not mere membership or participation in its activities.

On 17 March 2011 Sir Gerard Brennan officially launched the program in a memorable event in which he, Ms Christine Adamson SC of the NSW Bar (now Justice Adamson of the Supreme Court of NSW) and Mr Julian Burnside AO QC of the Victorian Bar reflected on the role that conceptions of justice had played in their own professional work. The largest lecture theatre was filled to capacity with students and staff, and a convivial reception followed. Jerome Doraisamy’s presentation to the 2011 Australian Law Students’ Association (ALSA) conference about the program inspired many other student law societies to seek to introduce such a program although we believe that ours remains unique—attempts elsewhere to replicate have faltered, perhaps for want of the close bond between LSS and Faculty at UTS. The Brennan Program received the ALSA award for best law society equity initiative for 2011.

Developing the programThe core of the reflections component was settled

in 2011 and has persisted although added to each

A Portrait of the Brennan Program at Age Six cont.

Karla Hart and Sara Liu deliberating at the Law Tech Challenge. Photo: Anna Zhu Photography


“The practice of law is tough but is sustained by a sense of public purpose and service.”

year. From the outset there has been a full program of lectures or seminars in which legal luminaries have spoken to Brennan students. These include two Chief Justices of the High Court—Sir Gerard and the Hon Robert French AC—and other distinguished speakers such as Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG, Hon Ronald Sackville AO QC, Hon Greg James AM QC, Hon Kevin Lindgren AM QC, Hon Nicholas Cowdery AM QC, Hon John O’Meally AM QC, Justice Ann Ainslie-Wallace, and Professors Larissa Behrendt, Tom Campbell, Julian Disney AO, Michael Fraser AM, Martin Krygier and Gillian Triggs, former President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, among many others. Several of these lectures, such as that given in 2016 by Ms Jane Needham SC, former President of the NSW Bar Association, have been given in the Inspirational Careers series in which speakers shared reflections upon their professional experience with students.

The student discussion groups are another enduring element of the reflections component of the program. We were overwhelmed when 220 students chose to join a discussion group in Autumn 2011 to explore concepts of justice and law’s response in contested contexts. These groups proved to be powerful community builders as well as intellectual experiences.

The program has developed each year with enduring additions to the foundations laid in 2011. In 2012 with Lachlan (Loki) Ball as LSS Brennan Program Director, we introduced Justice and Popcorn film screenings. The film initiative was successful and continued in 2013 and beyond with the welcome addition of pizza to the menu. In October 2012 we also added the Brennan Justice Debates to the program. Weekly debates were held in the Law Courtyard with an informal structure of one invited speaker on each side of a polemical topic and the floor then thrown open to other speakers. Loki also initiated the Community Ambassadors group within the program, later restructured and flourishing as the Justice Action

Committee, to pursue a wide range of fundraising, advocacy and awareness-raising initiatives.

In 2013 we introduced the Social Justice Soapbox in which students are invited take the microphone in the law courtyard and speak their mind on any issue of law and justice. Jamesina-Le McLeod, LSS Brennan Program Director, reached for her iPhone and caught the first event memorably: see her film on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHLAIZSpGL8. We also introduced the Inspirational Careers lecture series and finished the year with the first stand-alone Brennan Awards ceremony with Sir Gerard inspiring us all.

2014 initiatives included the Parklea Mediation Program, a research mentoring program happily continuing under Dr Nicky McWilliam with a current project examining the efficacy of court-referred mediation. Brennan teams took part in the punishing Oxfam Trailwalker fundraiser, and the Westmead Children’s Hospital visits commenced. Cecilia Ngu, LSS Brennan Program Director, produced the first yearbook for the program that captured the growing range of activities in the program.

In 2015, with Paul Bonjour as LSS Brennan Program Director, we had inspiring film screenings of three films: Innocence Betrayed, a powerful documentary on the Bowraville murders and the operation of the double jeopardy rule, True Cost on the human and environmental impact of the supply chain for high-end fashion garment production, and I am a Girl on the experiences of girls and womanhood in Cambodia, PNG, Cameroon, Afghanistan, the USA and Australia. Each screening was followed by panel discussions with the film makers and others with expertise in the topic. Paul introduced Villawood Detention Centre visits. The Brennan Justice Film Festival commenced with Alice Zhang’s film What Makes a Home the inaugural winner.

Alice was elected LSS Brennan Program Director for 2016 and the program continued to expand the reflections on justice repertoire of activities including the inaugural Brennan Justice Photography Competition which attracted an exceptionally strong field of 23 entries. Farah Al Majed was the inaugural winner with her composition, The Beauty of Innocence.

In 2017, Anna Fletcher was the seventh LSS Brennan Program Director. Many of the 2017 initiatives are outlined in this volume such as the introduction of the Summer Circle promotion of Brennan activities over the now ‘balanced’ summer session, the Allens Neota UTS Law Tech Challenge for Social Justice, and the Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS) Week events.

The other component of the Brennan Program is leadership through service. Students are encouraged to choose volunteering activities close to their hearts, minds and future; the range of activities reported by Brennan Award recipients in this Yearbook is indicative of the depth and breadth of their idealism and commitment. The Brennan Program also organises volunteering opportunities such as the support work by Brennan students over the past two years for the volunteer lawyers conducting evening interviews with asylum seekers for RACS at our Haymarket campus.

Administering the program Initially administration of the program fell to the two

program directors alone. In 2012 Martin Borg, a business

and international studies student at UTS, was appointed as program administrator. When Martin graduated in 2013, Sonya Redmond (unrelated to the writer) replaced him until late 2014 when Alexa Dodd was appointed as Student Programs Coordinator. When Alexa took maternity leave in May 2016, Reegan Myers filled her shoes admirably. Monica Reade, the Faculty’s Academic Programs Manager, has assumed oversight of the program and is closely involved in its operations, always contributing creatively to strategy. Program operations are in great hands.

The moral dimension of legal education

In the United States the Carnegie Foundation’s Educating Lawyers report emphasised that:

[f]or better or worse, the law school years constitute a powerful moral apprenticeship, whether or not this is intentional. Law schools play an important part in shaping their students’ values, habits of mind, perceptions, and interpretations of their legal world; their understanding of their roles and responsibilities as lawyers; and the criteria by which they define and evaluate professional success.1

The question of purpose is central to legal education although sometimes described as the ‘lost question’2. Harold Koh, a former Dean of Yale Law School, emphasised the moral dimension of legal education as shaping its purpose:

“Law teachers are challenged to engage the moral imagination of students, to avoid dulling the idealism that took them to law school, and to nurture their sense of purpose...”

A Portrait of the Brennan Program at Age Six cont.


I do not believe it is our job to simply bless the status quo. We stand for principles about what the rule of law ought to be. As a law dean, I think that law schools are not just professional schools. They are institutions of moral purpose. We must speak up for the rule of law when someone is threatening it, because if we don’t, who will?

Law teachers are challenged to engage the moral imagination of students, to avoid dulling the idealism that took them to law school, and to nurture their sense of purpose4. We are familiar with the issues of law student and lawyer depression and especially troubled by research findings that the decline in mental health appears to begin in law school5. The challenge for legal education generally is to develop in students both legal technique and a sense of purpose and service. The two goals need be kept in balance; neither is sufficient alone. The US legal scholar Karl Llewellyn put it graphically:

“[t]echnique without ideals is a menace; ideals without technique are a mess.”6

1 W M Sullivan et al, Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law, John Wiley & Sons Inc, San Francisco, 2007, p 169.2 This is discussed further in P Redmond, ‘The Values Dimension of Legal Education: Educating for Justice and Service’ in C Gane and R H Huang (Eds), Legal Education in the Global Context: Opportunities and Challenges, Farnham, Ashgate, 2016, p 99.3 See W Larcombe and K Fethers, ‘Schooling the Blues: An Investigation of Factors Associated with Psychological Distress Among Law Students’ (2013) 36(2) UNSW Law Journal 1; Norm Kelk et al, Courting the Blues: Attitudes Towards Depression in Australian Law Students and Lawyers, BMRI Monograph 2009-1, Sydney, Brain & Mind Research Institute, 2009 <http://www.cald.asn.au/docs/Law%20Report%20Website%20version%204%20May%2009.pdf>.4 Quoted in William Twining, Karl Llewellyn and the Realist Movement, London, Weidenfeld and Nicholson, 1973, p 116. 5 Hon Robert French AC, “Legal Education in Australia – A Never Ending Story”, Australasian Law Teachers’ Association Conference, 4 July 2011, p 4. 6 Sullivan et al, n 8, p 85.

The buzz before Dylan Voller Speaks Out. Photo: Lisa Hogben

Similarly, Chief Justice Robert French warns:

“[a] law graduate without a sense of the different conceptions of justice and its relationship to the rule of law goes into the world with a patch over one eye. A law graduate with a keen sense of justice, whose knowledge of the law and legal skills are inadequate, is a danger to the public.”7

For some readers, the task of nurturing justice consciousness and an ethic of professional service might bring Sisyphus to mind. (Poor Sisyphus was condemned in Greek mythology to push an enormous rock up a hill only to have it roll back down again in endless repetition.) Certainly, this project is endless and perhaps difficult, but it is not futile. If a law school encourages students to reflect on their future professional work, to examine the role of law and its relationship to justice, to internalise and live out the profession’s proclaimed values, their education will enable them to “make their own the profession’s possibilities for a useful and fulfilling life.”8 This is a worthy enterprise. It is the Brennan Program’s goal—to build upon and strengthen outside the lecture hall the powerful intellectual and moral formation inherent in the formal curriculum.

FARAH AL MAJEDLLB

• Headspace, Liverpool

PHILIPPA CLARKLLB/BA Comms (Journalism)

• St Aidan’s Anglican Church

THOMAS BRENNANLLB/BA Comms (Creative Writing)

• St Francis of Assisi’s Catholic Church, Paddington

• Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS)

• The Two Wolves Community Cantina

THERESA DUONGLLB/BBUS

• St. Vincent De Paul SPARK Project

• Tax Help at UTS

• St. John Ambulance

ROBERT CHENJuris Doctor

• Allens Neota UTS Law Tech Challenge for Social Justice

• Brennan Justice and Leadership Program

• UTS, Faculty of Law

• Northern Sydney Area Tenants Service

2017 BRENNAN PROGRAM AWARDEES


SAYED HUSSAINIZADALLB/BA Comms (Journalism)

• Afghan Fajar Association Incorporated and Charity

KATHERINE LILLYLLB/BA Comms (Journalism)

• The Aurora Project

• UTS, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research

DANIELLA LAMBERTLLB/BA Comms (Social Inquiry)

• UTS Law Students’ Society • UTS, Faculty of Law• Redfern Legal Centre

ALICE MASONJuris Doctor

• StreetWork

JULIA LILLB/BBus

• St. Vincent De Paul SPARK Project

• UTS Law Students’ Society

• Cumberland Council

GEMMA MCGREALLLB/BA Comms (Journalism)

• Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research

BIANCA NEWTON LLB/BA Comms

(Public Communication)

• Headspace


JULIE MEHRDAWILLB/BA Comms (Social and

Political Sciences)

• Sydney Homeless Connect

• Australian Refugee Volunteers

• Starlight Children’s Foundation

• Salvos Legal

• UTS Future Students

• UTS Student Services Unit

CHRISTINE NGUYEN LLB/BBUS

• UTS Peer Network

• Sculpture by the Sea

• Cancer Council NSW

• Jeans for Genes Day

• Project Futures

• Auburn City Council

AHMAD NAMANJuris Doctor

• Inner City Legal Centre

• World Vision

• BIKESydney


BRIDIE NORMANJuris Doctor

• UTS Law Students’ Society Justice Action Committee

• UTS, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research


DIANA SEMAAN Juris Doctor

• Sydney Mediation Partnership Research Project


NICHOLAS RUFFLLB/B Bus

• City 2 Surf




• UTS HELPS

MICHELLE XU LLB/B Comms (Public

Communication)


• The Colour Run

• The Brennan Justice and Leadership Program

• Women’s Justice Network


ANITA SADIQJuris Doctor

• HIV/AIDS Legal Centre Inc (HALC)

• Lifeline

• Cumberland Hospital, Westmead

• Sydney Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Services

• Oxfam Trailwalker


On 15 May 2017, a week of activities to fundraise for the Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS) was launched with a lecture from The Honourable

Michael Kirby AC CMG. His honour’s address was titled ‘When does detention turn into punishment requiring judicial orders: the need for Constitutional lawyering’.

Drawing from his own experience as a young lawyer working with the Council for Civil Liberties, his esteemed judicial career and his ongoing work advocating for the recognition of human rights both nationally and internationally, his honour acknowledged that laws are often not explicitly written to assist disadvantaged people.

‘When you’re acting for the very, very disadvantaged you have to put on your glasses, you have to take out a magnifying glass, you have to then borrow another magnifying glass and you have got to go through the text of the legislation extremely carefully against the background of constitutional and general public law and administrative law principles in order to find a way to win.’

This is especially true of Australia’s mandatory detention laws and more broadly true of the laws and policies that apply to people seeking asylum.

His honour proposed that if we are searching (with our magnifying glasses) for a way to legally challenge the mandatory detention of people seeking asylum, then the Lim principle and subsequent considerations of this

principle are of interest. His honour explained that the Lim principle, from the case of Chu Kheng Lim v Minister for Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs (1992) 176 CLR 1, recognises that there is a constitutional immunity from being imprisoned without conviction. The rationale for this immunity is that involuntary detention is punitive in character and therefore exists only as part of the judicial function to adjudge and punish criminal guilt. However exceptions exist, including for detention that is reasonably necessary for deportation or determination of whether a person may be granted an entry permit.

The High Court has been asked to apply the Lim principle in various cases, and it has sometimes been upheld but has often not been. His honour discussed the case of Al-Kateb v Godwin (2004) 219 CLR 562 as an example. The court was divided on the question of whether Mr Al-Kateb’s indefinite detention was lawful. Justice Kirby’s judgment in this case included an explanation that international human rights law reinforced the Lim principle and when applied to Mr Al-Kateb’s situation required that he be released from detention. His honour joked that this gentle, brief and innocent suggestion that Australian law should be interpreted with consideration given to international human rights obligations was not well-received by other members of the court. Students in the room were probably unsurprised to hear that Justice Kirby was in the minority and the court’s decision meant Mr Al-Kateb faced a life of indefinite detention.

When does detention turn into punishment requiring judicial orders:

THE NEED FOR CONSTITUTIONAL LAWYERINGHwei-See Kay


His honour diverged from the discussion of legal principles to share a personal account of Mr Al-Kateb. Mr Al-Kateb was released from detention at the discretion of the minister at the time, he started working as soon as he was able to, became an Australian citizen and married. His honour was recently informed that Mr Al-Kateb and his wife now have a daughter.

Turning to how the question of how the Lim principle may apply to offshore processing centres on Nauru and Manus Island, his honour noted that there are a series of cases in which plaintiffs argue that Australia is in control of the people who are sent to these detention centres

and therefore their treatment is subject to the Lim principle. The argument is that detaining people seeking asylum on Nauru and Manus Island is not reasonably necessary for the purpose of their deportation or processing, it is punishment requiring judicial orders and therefore their detention is unlawful. His honour drew our attention to Plaintiff M68 v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (2016) 257 CLR 42, a recent case in which the court demonstrated significantly divergent views regarding this argument. His honour highlighted the judgment of Gordon J in which she makes a strong statement that detention is solely a judicial function and that the detention of the plaintiff fell foul of the Lim principle. The judgments in Plaintiff M68 reinforce that High Court’s consideration of the Lim principle and subsidiary issues reveals extremely divergent views about the origin and correct application of the principle.

Offshore detention of people seeking asylum has ignited the legal debate about when detention turns to punishment requiring judicial orders. His honour made clear that neither the common law nor legislation provides a clear-cut way to determine at what point one changes to the other. Nevertheless there is a point when day turns to night, when detention turns to punishment, and where it may be successfully argued that the mandatory detention of people seeking asylum is in breach of Australian law.

“...the Lim principle...recognises that there is a constitutional immunity from being imprisoned without conviction.”

Professor Paul Redmond, Hwei-See Kay, Sarah Avery and Thomas Brennan with the Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG. Photo: Reegan Myers

Recently Mr. Dutton announced that he would be cracking down on ‘fake refugees’, requiring that they must apply for temporary protection visas

by October. When I heard this news my mind went immediately to the hours of work that 15 or so other UTS students and I had put into updating spreadsheets at RACS, assisting them to stay on top of thousands of clients who were navigating the legal minefield of obtaining such visas. This new policy puts more pressure on such services which are functioning at capacity, and may mean that for some asylum seekers, they do not get the support they need. In this context, the screening of Nora Niasari’s film ‘The Phoenix’ as part of refugee week at UTS was perfectly timed. Although some years old, the short film breathed a fresh humanising perspective on an issue that is becoming fatigued by the mire of policy and politics, and for my fellow law students and I huddled in front of computers at RACS — reduced to a spreadsheet.

Over the last few years there has been a marked rise in the number of films about refugees. The vast majority of these films are focussed, if not obsessed with two kinds of existences in refuge. The first, is the trauma that demands flight, and in the second the trauma of travel and the journey to a new haven. In the former, we are treated to gritty and grim depictions of war and horrible conditions in (predominantly) Middle Eastern countries. Films like these ask us to consider the justification for seeking refuge. The latter forms a response to Australia’s abominable and bipartisan boat “turnback’s”, in which filmmakers produce works of fiction and non-fiction which attempt to function as investigative exposés, advocating for the fair treatment of those who have navigated horrific circumstances to arrive in Australia.

Despite this second category’s prevalence, it is also the most problematic version of the refugee film. Its mode of storytelling relies on a kind of spectatorial engagement that enlists empathy and sympathy for refugees. However, by continually examining the “journey” and not the arrival and most importantly not the “processing” audiences are subjected to a narrative which offers no obvious response. These films ask audiences to sympathise with fleeing refugees however, because of the inability to access these specific circumstances, there is a great risk of displacing, alienating and othering them as too far away to help, or beyond help. The popularity of these films culminated in the government sponsored film Journey, which enlisted the same manipulative strategies, but with an aim towards deterrence.

THE PHOENIX RACS week film screening review

ALISON POOLEY

“Niasari was moved to make this film after her own visits to Broadmeadows detention centre. She had been particularly struck by the stories of unaccompanied minors, sent ahead of their families to try and obtain refugee status in Australia.”


Nora Niasari’s film breaks away from these more sensationalised and politicised representations. The film is set almost entirely within the Broadmeadows Detention Centre. It follows the limbo-bound lives of a small group of Iranian and Afghani teenage refugees who find both challenge and respite in the theatrical activities coordinated by the charming and mysterious Mr. Farid. In this sterile and insecure environment, in which the children must accrue ‘activity points’ Mr. Farid tries to breath some life and passion into the children through acting. An exiled actor himself, once one of the most well-known faces in Iran, he is also personally challenged by the youths to face his own past.

Perhaps the reason that The Phoenix avoids the usual tropes of the genre is that the focus of the film is not its political message, but the story of human relationships and the universal desire to be cared for and nurtured. This shift away from the norm was no accident. Niasari intentionally broke away from other representations of refugees because she was frustrated by the way these narratives exaggerated certain issues.

‘They had a problem with authenticity. My goal was to be as authentic as possible, not sensationalising but humanising the children’s experience so that the audience could find common ground.’

Niasari was moved to make this film after her own visits to Broadmeadows detention centre. She had been particularly struck by the stories of unaccompanied minors, sent ahead of their families to try and obtain refugee status in Australia. She had seen in these young boys similar feelings of lost identity, loneliness and

being unsure of where they belonged that had struck her about Mr. Farid.

Niasari gives life to the space of the detention centre. At first, it might seem counterintuitive to move focus away from the traumas experienced by detainees. However, by drawing on her extensive research and the weeks of interviews she conducted, Niasari was able to advocate for refugees in a different way, by legitimising their ambition. Niasari occupies the edges of the frame with the horrors of detention, but pulls the camera’s focus towards the resilience, ambition and creativity of youth. This creates a tension between an imprisoned existence and the dream of freedom. Niasari breaks ground by making the centre’s oppression dynamic. It runs parallel to the passion and ambition of the theatre students. The camerawork peers around corners and exposes the screams and cries of prisoners, but presents in close-up the joy of uninterrupted play and performance. Niasari wanted to make a film that did not just reiterate the trauma of the children’s past, but explore the challenges they experienced in detention:

‘These children had repeated their stories so many times to doctors, to psychologists, to immigration officers; I did not want to repeat them yet again.’

By not reducing these individuals to their traumas, Niasari creates a point of access for everyone watching her film. Her role as director and storyteller is fully realised as she negotiates the audience’s transition from sympathy and empathy to understanding.

Photo: Courtesy of Nora Niasari

Having completed my second year of volunteering at the Refugee Advice and Casework Service, I was amazed at the incredible help their evening clinics

have received both from UTS volunteers and external legal services. From my starting in 2015, the evening clinics run every Monday and Wednesday from 4:30pm to 9:00pm have helped plant within me a vested interest in refugee social justice along with an understanding of the legal and electronic processes that are used to help refugees who’s claims need processing.

Volunteers usually begin at UTS by helping RACS staff and interning PLTs to organise tables, food, water and computer equipment in various rooms around

Building 5 for the clients and lawyers who will be arriving later. After this, the clients, lawyers and interpreters (if needed) are received at the entrance near the moot court and taken off to their rooms at various times before 7:00pm. After this, volunteers will stay in the RACS office on Level 3 of Building 5 and undertake administrative duties such as preparing client’s statements for future appointments or calling clients directly and booking them for urgent appointments. Alternatively, volunteers can also sometimes elect to observe client-lawyer meetings to gain a firsthand understanding of the responsibilities of legal agents in either preparing an initial statement for the client or a PLA form before their overall application is finalized.

UTS volunteers, then, prove a vital part in helping RACS to guarantee the legal representation of refugees seeking protection in Australia away from places of conflict and persecution. Recently, the help RACS has received from volunteers and legal agencies has allowed it to suspend the Monday night clinics in favour of allowing those who come on a Wednesday more opportunities to volunteer at the main office in Randwick. On the other hand, the recent deadline imposed by the Federal Government for Refugees to lodge their application by October 1st has made this support more crucial than ever. For those interested in immigration law and the aiding of refugees at a grassroots level, the RACS evening clinics provide a great initial experience of these areas that, in turn, contributes towards a vital area of social justice law in aiding those for whom finding representation is a complex, daunting process.

RACS WEEKLY CLINICS AT UTS LAWTom Brennan

2016 UTS Human Rights Awards


This Spring, the Brennan Program assisted with the sale of books kindly donated by Sir Gerard and Lady Brennan.

Sir Gerard and Lady Brennan culled their home library and donated an eclectic mix including crime, history, quality fiction and lots of surprises! All books were an incredible buy. For just a small gold coin donation students and staff purchased a part of Sir Gerard and Lady Brennan’s personal collection of non-legal literary treasures.

All proceeds of the sale went to the Refugee Advise and Casework Service (RACS), an organisation that is close to the Brennan Program’s heart for all the important work they do to support people who come to Australia seeking asylum. Over $1,200 was raised to assist RACS to continue with their services.

The Brennan Program would like to thank Sir Gerard and Lady Brennan for their generous donation. Many punters were interested in crime novels, fiction, the artworks, the cookbooks and the historical and political material, however, the most sought after books were ones with Sir Gerard or Lady Brennan’s name inscribed inside. This reflects the great respect and admiration the students and staff have for Sir Gerard and the impact he and Lady Brennan have on the Brennan Justice and Leadership Program.

SIR GERARD’S BOOK SALE FOR RACS

Alexa Dodd

This year the Brennan Justice and Leadership Program launched into the 2017 academic year by exploring cultural destruction and its impact on humanity. Based on a book

of the same name, The Destruction of Memory is a documentary film by director Tim Slade, which details the destruction of invaluable cultural sites and artifacts in the wake of armed conflict at several points over the last century. Images of the looting and degradation of UNESCO protected mausoleums in Mali, the bombing of a library during the Bosnian War, and most recently the destruction of the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria drew international condemnation and set the scene for an informative panel discussion after the movie.

Brennan students had the opportunity to attend a screening of the film followed by a panel discussion and Q&A with Tim Slade himself, joined by historian Professor Dirk Moses, and Modern History professor Dr. Gabrielle Simm. The panel enabled students to unpack how such atrocities have been continuously permitted to occur despite international legislation and policy. Their knowledgeable discussion went into depth on the development of destruction of cultural heritage as an international crime and the first prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for this crime in 2016. The panelists undoubtedly ignited an interest in the legal framework around cultural preservation and inspired students to engage with the crisis gripping historical land during times of conflict.

DESTRUCTION OF MEMORYDocumentary Film Screening and Panel Discussion Lily O’Keefe

Photos: Courtesy of Vast Productions USA 2015


Our team of four began training together a couple months out from the 2017 100km Oxfam Trailwalker. We spent a day each week or two hiking

along sections of the planned trails, getting progressively longer each time. This allowed us to get a feel for what the trail would involve, and to also develop friendships.

The event began early on Friday morning where we were excited, but nonetheless unaware of what the full 100km would feel like underfoot. We set off in a group of around 150 other participants and the crowd thinned out over the next few kilometres through bushland and up steep climbs.

We stopped at checkpoints setup at approximately 15km intervals. Our incredible support crew took shifts from dinner the first night until mid morning the next day bringing us much needed food, dry clothes, blankets, and moral support. Without them — it is unlikely that we would have been able to finish the event in such great form.

The hardest part of the Oxfam Trailwalker was definitely the mental aspect of walking further than we

had in training, through the night on zero sleep. There were times when different team members took the lead to encourage others to keep going, or when to take small breaks to eat and stay hydrated. At some points just prior to sunrise it was hard to think clearly about anything other than just taking that next step to try to get to the checkpoint to rest.

By far the best part of the Oxfam Trailwalker was crossing the finishing line with our team name, and participants being announced to the crowd. We were not prepared for the emotional feeling of accomplishment and relief to see our friends and family waiting for us. The comradery amongst all walkers on the track, and the volunteers, was wonderful. And the friendships we made with each other over this experience will stay with us for a long time.

We would encourage others to take part in the Oxfam Trailwalker if they want a chance to raise much needed funds to fight poverty, and to also challenge themselves both physically and mentally while making lifelong memories.

OXFAM TRAILWALKERParticipants — Michelle Xu, Jessica White,

John Cousins, Cassundra Corney Jessica White

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UTS Law students from the Brennan Justice and Leadership program gathered last Tuesday at the UTS Hatchery to compete in the 2017 grand final

of the Allens Neota Logic UTS Law Tech Challenge for Social Justice.

The grand final competition was a culmination of the program’s inaugural year, which saw 20 UTS Law students and five Allens’ lawyers come together over several months to develop ‘smart applications for social justice’.

Built using AI software from Neota Logic, the applications were tailored to meet the requirements of four partner not-for-profit organisations — Inner City Legal Centre Sydney, Anti-Slavery Australia, Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS) and The Aurora Project.

The winning team, Turtles, created the Safe Haven Enterprise Visa Application for Randwick-based community legal centre, Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS).Making strong use of accessible visual context cues and audio descriptions in a range of languages, the online app aims to make the complex visa application process — described as “impossible for people seeking asylum to navigate on their own” — easier for users from CALD backgrounds.

Turtles were announced winner after competing against the other teams to ‘pitch’ their applications to an expert judging panel. Richard Spurio, managing partner at Allens, said the team ‘nudged ahead’ to win the competition based on “the depth of thought put into the app, the quality of the design principles used, the answering of the competition brief, the demonstration of

how the app delivered value to the NGO and, of course, its inherent innovation aspects”.

With solicitors at RACS struggling to work through thousands of backlogged refugee visa claims ahead of the government’s impending October deadline, smart applications such as the Safe Haven Enterprise Visa Application demonstrate the extent to which technology can improve access to justice.

Lecturer Philippa Ryan, who heads the program, said the winning app was so well received by RACS there was a ‘tangible plan’ to develop it for use later in the year.

The other competing teams — Electric Sheep, MLTEC, Social Justice League and JPD — created diverse applications that included an online job portal for Indigenous job seekers and employers and an interactive resource that answers questions about human trafficking and exploitation.

Modelled on an original program developed by Georgetown Law School in the US, the challenge is just one component of a Faculty-wide push to equip law students with both practical and theoretical knowledge of disruptive technologies.

“Technology is changing law and creating new legal questions,” explained Lesley Hitchens, Dean of Law at UTS. “Lawyers will have to be across new technologies in order to meet client needs.”

“While law firms have to rethink the structure of legal practice in an uncertain environment, law schools also have a responsibility to do the same.”

UTS Law students create winning A.I. apps for Social JusticeTess Gibney

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Legal Technology and Social Justice Reflecting on the Allens Neota UTS

Law Tech Challenge for Social Justice

Jonathon Hetherington

Between November 2016 and August 2017, I had the privilege of participating in the Brennan Program’s Allens Neota UTS Law Tech Challenge

for Social Justice (Law Tech Challenge). As part of what was a challenging but immensely rewarding experience, I collaborated in a team of five (including four UTS students and one Allens lawyer) to design an application to assist the operations of a non-government organisation (NGO), The Aurora Project.

The Aurora Project, established in 2006, is a NGO focused upon strengthening Indigenous Organisations and promoting participation by all in the Indigenous sector. It is perhaps best known amongst students for the internship programs that it offers in the winter and summer months. Ultimately, the Aurora Project took part in the Law Tech Challenge with the hope that students would be able to assist them in their mission to provide opportunities in the Indigenous sector.

I, personally, became interested in the Law Tech Challenge after volunteering at several legal organisations and experiencing the disproportionality between the amount of work demanded of these organisations and their available capacity. There has been a lot of discussion around the potential for legal technology to alleviate such difficulties and the Law Tech Challenge provided me an opportunity to see if that was a realistic proposition.

As part of the Challenge we were allocated to our teams in November last year and within that team given one of five individual roles: project manager, quality assurance developer, application developer, client liaison officer or user experience designer. As quality assurance developer my role was to assist in the development of the functionality of the application and to test it to ensure

that it worked as intended. Over the summer, we were given access to thirty hours of Neota tutorial material to begin to learn how to use the software, which I found to be surprisingly intuitive given my lack of any coding literacy.

Throughout the next six months our team, JPD, undertook a variety of activities to construct our application, we attended workshops at Allens and webinars with Neota to learn how to use the application and met several times with our client to receive their feedback on the application’s development.

After much drafting and trial and error, thanks to the efforts of all the members of JPD we constructed the Aurora Project’s Indigenous Connection Hub, designed to match applicants, particularly Indigenous applicants, with opportunities in the Indigenous sector. The application gathers data from employers and then uses criteria provided by the applicant to evaluate and match the applicant with the most appropriate jobs for their interest and experience.

All teams presented applications at an evening to celebrate the conclusion of the program on 1 August. I, like many others, was very impressed by all teams applications, especially their technical depth and practical usefulness to each of the NGOs.

At the time of writing, we are currently in the handover process with Aurora and it is hoped that they will begin to use the application in the near future, which will undoubtedly be an exciting moment for the team.

The Challenge was a great experience, especially as the legal industry continues to trend towards legal technology. I encourage anyone interested to apply for its 2018 intake.

DYLAN VOLLER SPEAKS OUTHugh Wilson

Photos: Lisa Hogben

Panellists Paddy Gibson, Peter O’Brien, Dylan Voller, Professor Larissa Behrendt.


“... this was extremely saddening that Dylan continued to be treated with contempt even after he was blatantly neglected by the Northern Territory’s Government.”

DYLAN VOLLER SPEAKS OUTHugh Wilson

Iattended the Dylan Voller Speaks Out event because I was curious to know whether Dylan had observed a change in the Northern Territory’s Government’s policy

towards indigenous children, in response to the Four Corners investigation uncovering institutionalized child abuse by prison officers, in facilities such as the Don Dale Youth Detention Centre. The overall impression I gained from the event was that the Northern Territory’s statutory regime continued to discriminate against Indigenous Australians; the panel’s general sentiment was that the State Government treats aboriginals as second-class citizens by enforcing laws that marginalise them. Indeed, Paddy Gibson’s statement that the Northern Territory is an apartheid government shocked me because I believed, before the event, that Australia’s State laws did not egregiously discriminate against indigenous minorities. However, the testimonies of Dylan Voller and his solicitor, Peter O’Brien, proved that aboriginals continue to be treated differently from peoples of other races and cultures.

While this was an important matter that was thoroughly addressed by the panel, I was also interested in how Dylan was cross examined during the Royal Commission and whether other victims of the Northern Territory’s juvenile justice system were disinclined to give evidence at the Commission because of Dylan’s cross examination. Although Peter O’Brien had implied, during

the panel’s discussion before questions were taken from the floor, that Dylan was fiercely examined during the Commission’s hearing, Dylan told me that Counsel assisting the Commission had tried to misrepresent him as a dangerous criminal who required extreme treatment to ensure the safety of other inmates and prison officers. Further, Peter O’Brien said that other victims did not agree to go before the Commission because of how the Crown had attempted to portray Dylan; indeed, the Northern Territory gained an illegitimate advantage by using Dylan’s treatment during the Commission’s hearing as a warning against other victims who intended to give evidence. From a perspective that supports due process, this was very concerning because it was clear that the hearing’s adversarial nature had prevented the Commission from hearing all of the available evidence. However, more significantly from an ethical stance, this was extremely saddening that Dylan continued to be treated with contempt even after he was blatantly neglected by the Northern Territory’s Government.

Therefore, while the event, Dylan Voller Speaks Out was valuable because it provided the perspective that I needed to understand the adversities that Dylan had traversed, it also spoke a difficult truth to accept which is that in Australia, our Governments continue to abuse indigenous citizens.

Dylan Voller at the event.

This year, the Brennan Program hosted the 2017 Brennan Justice Short Film Competition, a competition open to all students registered with the

Brennan Program. The 2017 entries were outstanding and explored a range of social justice issues that impact not only the students, but the wider community. The films were assessed considering five criteria: justice message, story, cinematography, audio/music/sound effects, and overall impact.

First prize and the Redmond Award (in honour of the Brennan Program’s founding Director, Professor Paul Redmond) was awarded to Aishah Ali for her film The Immigrant Citizen. Aishah states that “My film is a microcosm for the difficulty immigrants face with representation by mainstream society, a process only intensified by Peter Dutton’s proposed changes to the Citizenship test. The film highlights the political

euphemism behind the word “tolerance” and its ability to paint immigrants as an “other” that need to be tolerated.”

Aishah’s prizes included 20 Reflections on Justice points, $200 Sydney Theatre Company vouchers, $200 Sydney Opera House Vouchers, double passes to Hoyts cinemas, and a Brennan prize pack.

Second place was awarded to Darrell Bagang for Speak Up!, a short film outlining how international students are vulnerable to workplace exploitation. Darrell states “This video encourages everyone to break this cycle by speaking up and doing something”. Third place went to Adam Silver for Reflections on Education Access, a reflective piece about the filmmaker’s volunteering experience in Uganda. Adam explains “Providing equal access to education is a global challenge. But the first step, is recognising the issue itself.”

SHORT FILM COMPETITIONAlexa Dodd

THE REDMOND AWARDAishah AliThe Immigrant Citizen

Darrell BagangSpeak Up!

Adam Silver Reflections on Education Access

SECOND PRIZE THIRD PRIZE

Photo: Rebecca Keen

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Transcript of Aishah Ali’s Film

THE IMMIGRANT CITIZEN

These days we’re quick to aggravate Jumping on our Facebook page Rage Flies like opinions taking centre stage Quick to become keyboard warriors And reclaim others pain Paint your feed in a foreign diplomacy of “They need to be saved” No Google sheiks are welcome here No bigots, no phobia, no hate But is utopia all just an illusionary game

But what is tolerance If not acceptance that there is something intrinsically wrong to be tolerated What is the other If not a projection of your unfacilitated opinion We have became the canvas of anxiety for generations, We are not victims But the reclaimers of our narratives And we are the 2% of the Australian population So you and me may never have conversation So this is my message, to every generalisation This is my message to every politician, This is my message to the minister of immigration. Dear Mr Peter Dutton. I am Aishah Ali And this is my grandmother.

She came here in ‘09 Barely enough English to fill up a small pint But she knew how to rewrite The story of the stereotypical immigrant life Became both breadwinner and goldmine Gold mind, she got a diploma at 57 while moving through several settings and a bad spine, Can wrap her tongue around chilli and now knows 3 different languages including mine

But our culture has become your wine and dine Takeaway boxes full of Turkish delight Orientalise Have our food have our Arabic and our Urdu for your tattoos, engrave out calligraphy within your showrooms, make political performances out of segregated swimming pools – but hey wasn’t multiculturalism an Australian value? Only if you change your name in chatrooms, make your Meekaeel Mikael, Your Suleiman Simon Your Ridwan Ryan But see our skin won’t lighten and even our silence is made violent How many times do we get played till we finally realise We are vinyl.

Dear Mr Peter Dutton, Where do you get your dumplings? Where do you get Australia’s economic strength? Is it down the streets of multiculturalism? Or a white supremacy test?

Photo: Still from ‘The Immigrant Citizen’

Running this Brennan Discussion Group has been a rewarding experience — we have had the opportunity to share diverse experiences and perspectives.

We chose to begin our discussions in regards to race and racism — how it manifests in our daily lives and within our families. We discovered insights into a distinct link between socio-economic class and race, and also noticed geographical trends. It was interesting to see how prejudice and racism was present in our society, and we also considered how societal attitudes towards certain races were being altered in accordance to global changes.

Our discussion into animal rights also revealed how we had a distinct prejudice towards animals typically considered pets, while other intelligent animals such as pigs were farmed. We ended up questioning where that bias came from, and what the correct practice really was in terms of animal farming and consumption. I personally felt that it was important to attempt to change our behaviour and at least reduce our meat consumption — not only to reduce our reliance and potential abuse of farmed animals, but to also manage our environmental impact. I personally felt that it was important to change the way we saw pets in our lives — especially the desire for purebred animals as it often leads to health problems for pets that are too inbred.

Our discussion regarding education was also interesting — and we were all able to bring different experiences to the table. In the context of changes to student HECS repayments, we found it concerning in that it may be a deterrent to students considering tertiary education. When taken in the context of young people struggling to enter the housing market and with fewer jobs available, we were concerned about the long-term impacts the changes would have, particularly on students

from a low socio-economic background. We also considered the role schools have in young people’s lives, and how they affect mental health. Currently the public education system could do more to provide support to young people.

While the discussion relating to gender equality would have benefited from a more diverse range of attendees, we were able to explore how many social attitudes amongst our peers remained rooted in a sense of patriarchal entitlement. We were able to share common experiences in social situations where we felt uncomfortable or attacked — particularly by men who seemed to exhibit a sense of entitlement to our bodies. We also noted how this often happened in group situations, while the men in our friendship grounds didn’t exhibit this behaviour on an individual scale. It was interesting but also concerning to see how this was a phenomenon that arose out of social dynamics, and we also acknowledged how it was difficult to bring to light or confront somebody in that environment.

This flowed naturally into our next topic around domestic violence — and it was interesting to see how culture played into situations of domestic violence. Parent-child violence was something a lot of people from CALD backgrounds seem to experience, but isn’t something we identified as being wrong. It was helpful to have this discussion, as I felt that it enlightened participants to the variety of domestic violence situations that may arise — not just in intimate partner relationships.

Overall, running and participating in these discussions groups has been a rewarding experience. It was heartening to see people engage and express their experiences and perspectives, and also have an open mind to considering new ideas or viewpoints that we hadn’t considered before.

BRENNAN DISCUSSION GROUPS Michelle Xu

Anna Zhu Photography


The Women’s Mentoring Program was created to link up successful women from the legal industry with aspiring female law students, in

order to cultivate a culture of guidance, inspiration and sisterhood. It Is no secret that the legal industry is still heavily male dominated and that this can be quite discouraging for young female law students who are yet to begin their legal careers. Mentoring programs are essential to support and guide students as they navigate their way through law school and make decisions about their future. But more importantly, they allow female law students to be inspired by the success and passion of women in the industry, who have fought against all odds to break into a difficult and demanding sphere.

This was the first year the UTS LSS ran the Women’s Mentoring Program, however, it was extremely successful and we look forward to building it up onwards. We had a huge amount of applications and chose 20 students for their eagerness to learn and achieve. To match, we had 20 amazing mentors, each with law degrees but a vast range of professional positions and career stories. There were barristers, solicitors, academics, mediators and consultants, all

demonstrating that a law degree can eventually take you in any direction.

The students and their mentors maintained contact throughout the year both online and in person, meeting over coffee to discuss their goals, issues and confusions. The UTS LSS hosted two events throughout the year to allow mentors and students to touch base with one another, as well as to bond with other mentors and students and members of the LSS. There was a launch evening and a catch-up brunch, both of which were intimate gatherings full of endless conversation and inspiration.

Although I did not personally have a mentor, my interactions with all the mentors in my capacity as the organiser of the Program this year taught and inspired me endlessly. I learnt that my law degree is versatile and can take me anywhere, and that not knowing exactly where I want to end up is completely fine. If it takes me a lifetime to figure it out, that’s also fine! However, most importantly, it taught me and all the other ambitious, talented and more-than-capable students involved that being a female in a male-dominated industry should never, ever hold us back from reaching our full potential.

WOMEN’S MENTORING PROGRAM

Ushna Bashir

Photo: UTS LSS

The first of the three Speaker Series events was held at the Tea Room in the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney’s CBD, on the 20th of April

2017. The topics of conversation related to ‘Technology and the Law,’ with specific regard being given to issues surrounding telecommunications and the privacy of Australian citizens.

A core reason why the event was such a success, was due to the informative and unique perspectives provided by the expert panel; consisting of Mr. Leonard, Mr. Andrew Stewart, Ms Hannah Glass and Ms Caity McLoughlin, all of whom engaged the audience with refreshing insights into fundamental issues relating to technology and the law. The first topic of conversation related to Data and Media, where the panel addressed the intricacies of the laws which relate to drones. Here, the panel’s insight into how the regulation of news organisations is often different to how other businesses and individuals are regulated was engaging and very surprising. The panel then focused on how the law interacts with Metadata, and whether the personal information of individuals is sufficiently protected. On the topic of data, the audience was then able to hear about the specifics of the data retention scheme, where the panel provided a highly analytical and comprehensive illustration of the current controversy surrounding the scheme and the problems associated with it.

Questions relating to Blockchain and Secure Transactions were subsequently addressed by the panel. As more and more people are becoming aware of Blockchain and its logistics, the discussion of legislative regulation and digital currencies, and the potential of these forms of technology was highly relatable. The panel’s legal understanding of Data use and Processing, specifically how everyday transactions may be used by commercial strategists, was surprising and quite eye–opening, as it highlighted just how much information businesses may have access to. Similarly responses to questions of Digital rights, precisely the legal redress available for app owners, was incredibly thought-provoking.

Given the context which we live in today, the topics discussed were relevant and beneficial. As there is a need to be well-informed about the increasing interconnectedness between the law and technology, and the rights of Australian citizens amidst the rapid change in the law, the night was highly rewarding. The Speaker Series Launch was informative and comprehensive in its analysis of the increasing issues associated with technology and the law, and the rights of individual citizens. Students, staff and guests were greatly benefited by the talks, and the event was definitely one which was appreciated by many.

Speaker Series 1: Gilbert + Tobin Speaker Series Launch Dinner TECHNOLOGY, TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND THE STRAIN ON PRIVACYRavi Dutta

Photo: UTS LSS


Speaker Series II: Protecting our Rights was held on 22nd August and discussed Australian human rights and the potential for human rights

protections in Australia. The speakers that attended were Harry Hobbs and Stephen Blanks. Harry Hobbs is a PhD Candidate, Lionel Murphy Postgraduate Scholar, and a Garth Nettheim Doctoral Teaching Fellow at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) who is researching Constitutional Law and Indigenous rights. Stephen Blanks became the president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties in October 2013, having been Secretary since 2005 and his particular civil liberty interests include asylum seekers, free speech, privacy and racial vilification.

The speakers discussed human rights in Australia and the lack of existing protections for these rights. The speakers brought up both those rights protected through existing statutes e.g. the Racial Discrimination Act and those also protected in the Constitution (both implied and expressed). In discussing this, they noted the significant impact the lack of existing protections

on those most disadvantaged in our communities. This is seen in cases concerning refugees in Australia and their treatment by the Australian government or the treatment of Indigenous Australians by the government. There have been cases where the High Court of Australia had to rely on already ratified but the not enacted ICCPR to overturn unjust and discriminatory laws.

The discussion then moved towards discussing the necessity of such protections. They noted that while a constitutional charter of rights would ensure that they are protected efficiently, it also poses an issue of flexibility. Another solution raised was the concept of a new preamble to the Constitution. They also raised introducing a Bill of Rights in statute as another means of protecting rights, which could provide more flexibility. Overall they noted both limitations and benefits with all the different solutions. Nonetheless, they noted the importance and necessity of a better form of protection which would ensure that greater protection of everyone’s civil liberties in Australia and ensure those most disadvantaged are not discriminated against.

Corrs Chambers Westgarth Speaker Series II

PROTECTING OUR RIGHTSKatya Shliapnikoff

“...while a constitutional charter of rights would ensure that they are protected efficiently, it also poses an issue of flexibility.”

Across May and June a group of six students visited the Family Detention Centre in Villawood Immigration Detention Centre. We brought four

hampers made up of basic groceries, a few toys and female hygiene necessities. As a group we visited three families, each sharing different, lived experiences of Australia’s current Immigration policy.

Something that surprised me from the outset was that lack of security around the facility. The gate into the Community Centre was open and it is quite easy to walk in and out of the Centre. This was quite opposite to experience of being under constant surveillance described by some of the families we spoke with. The families who have been placed here have a curfew and although they can leave the Centre within the allowed times they are unable to work or volunteer.

We spent significant time with a mother and her six-week old baby. She is an asylum seeker who had arrived by boat. She had spent four years on Nauru where she met her husband and father of her second child. She was brought to the Villawood family centre largely because of her pregnancy. Her neighbor, another detainee, helped her when she went into labor, arranging a taxi to the local hospital, where she gave birth alone. Her husband has been denied entry into Australia and will remain on Nauru, unless he can get an America visa. She told us that the only way they can be reunited is if her and her baby return to Nauru, which is something she is considering.

We spent most of our visit in her living room talking and playing with her baby. She was so happy and grateful to have people to talk with. She spoke about her family in Somalia and how her seven-year old son is still there, living with her sisters. Speaking about him brought her to tears and it became too painful for her to talk about. She walks outside to get sunlight but other than that there is nothing else she can really do. The local shopping centre is very expensive to get to, a $38 dollar taxi ride. There is minimal public transport around the centre, with the local train station a significant walk. Sometimes she walks to the shops but finds the walk quite scary especially with a newborn baby. She spoke of her motivation to better her English but the lack of resources to help, as she is too advanced for the lessons provided by Immigration.

The second family we met was a mother and a two year old. She met her husband in a detention centre in Darwin where she fell pregnant. Her husband was deported when she was six months pregnant. Since then she has been in a Victorian centre and has been in Villawood family centre for a year. She expressed great concern for her son, because at two years old, he is not speaking. She fought for him to see a speech pathologist and she is fighting for him to get his Medicare card. She would like him to go to

daycare but immigration won’t allow it unless she pays for it, and despite spending her days idle in community detention, she is not allowed to work to support herself. She does her best to take her son to parks so that he can be around other children and talk with them.

She spoke about how she finds phone calls from her caseworker traumatizing and how immigration are trying to scare her by using language like ‘we are going to have to start making the hard decisions’, never quite explaining what that means for her and her son. Her situations is very complicated as her son has NZ citizenship and was born here but she is from Nepal – so he would not be able to get ID if he was to go with her. She spoke about how immigration want her to prove her marriage but her husband was deported, they don’t give her the chance the prove herself. Her son’s grandfather, her father in law, visits as often as he can, is very willing to help and support her. She really wants to know how she could get sponsorship but has no idea who to contact or ask for that help. She spoke about how depressing the centre is because there is no clarity around next direction or next steps. Everyone is depressed. She gets no sleep between looking after her son and trying to get her case together.

At the end of each visit, we debriefed as a group, as there was a lot to take in. In the later visits we were able to let the families know when we were coming ahead of time, and bring more personalized hampers – nappies & baby supplies, colouring books for the children. A significant issue is that these families have nothing to fill there days with. There is a community centre but it has been shut down and is no longer in use. There is playground and sandpit for children but the facility is so cold and eerie. The playground overlooks the main detention centre, which looks like a prison.

As a group, I think we can all agree that the visits gave emotional, honest and individual insights into how Australia’s immigration policy is affecting real people, who just want a better life, daily.

LSS VILLAWOOD VISITMichelle Toy

Photo: UTS LSS


On Friday 12 May, as a group of seven eager volunteers, we were lucky enough to colourfully dress up and visit the Westmead

Children’s Hospital to share some love and laughs with the children and families staying there.

Despite the early start, the day was really enjoyable and a great opportunity to meet the children who are experiencing difficult times and try put a smile on their faces. Some of the volunteers had done this before, but there were also new volunteers in the group. We were able to interact with the children by playing games, drawing and blowing bubbles with them, and the cuteness overload was real. The children were very friendly and approachable; they didn’t hesitate to fill us in about all their favourite things and get side-tracked into telling us mini stories about random happenings in their life.

WESTMEAD CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL VISIT

Sevin Pakbaz

Photo: UTS LSS

It was a good feeling to know that at the end of the day, we could have put the biggest smile on a seriously ill child, and made them forget their worries, even just for a small amount of time. The impact of these visits, I am sure, is massive. It is so important to have constant positive interaction with the children to keep them engaged.

The biggest takeaway from this experience was seeing that happiness is truly the medicine for everything. Witnessing the children fight their illnesses with big smiles on their faces was really eye-opening. The little warriors demonstrated such strong morale in the midst of all their health concerns and illnesses, it was a very powerful example for everyone.

I am really grateful that the Brennan Justice program allowed us to take part in this rewarding experience and without a doubt all the volunteers would agree that they will love to go back soon.

On Saturday 9th September the UTS Law Students’ Society (UTS LSS) held its annual Social Justice Conference, aiming to promote knowledge sharing

and discussion on a number of social justice issues and the way they intersect with the legal sphere. This year the key focus of the conference was on the way legal professionals engage with clients that have complex and compounded issues. It aimed to unpack the unique needs of these individuals, how they are affected and treated within the legal system, and how legal practitioners adapt to these needs whilst remaining professional and exercising their own self-care.

The day opened with a keynote address by Dr Mehreen Faruqi, Greens MP in the NSW Legislative Council, who spoke about the importance of maintaining empathy and a passion for justice in all areas of life and work.

The first panel of the day was on the topic of mental health and trauma in Clients, and featured Kat Armstrong, the President and Co-Founder of the Women’s Justice Network; Dr Jane Wangmann, expert in the legal responses to domestic violence; and Jan Christie, manager of Moving Forward domestic violence crisis centre. The panel explored the ways in which mental health and trauma affect individuals on emotional, physical and neurological levels, and impede their ability to receive equitable treatment within the court and prison system. The panelists discussed how legal professionals can navigate the complex needs of these clients and provide effective trauma-informed care.

The second panel was on the topic of Working with Indigenous Communities, and featured Tony McAvoy SC, the first Aboriginal person to be appointed Senior Counsel in NSW; Dr Thalia Anthony, expert in Indigenous criminalisation and Indigenous community justice mechanisms; and Lizzy Jarrett, a Gumbaynggirr woman and member of Grandmothers Against Removal and the Indigenous Social Justice Association. The diverse perspectives of the panelists gave insight into the many systemic barriers faced by Indigenous Australians within the legal system, their treatment within Australian courts and prisons, and what law students and legal professionals can do to address these issues.

The day concluded with a Resilience and Self-Care in the Law workshop, presented by Jackie Jones, a solicitor and accredited family law specialist. The workshop aimed to help students recognise the stress and pressures unique to the study and practice of law, and identify effective techniques to cope with those burdens and exercise self-care.

The Conference was a fantastic opportunity for students to reflect on the many complex issues facing individuals engaging with the legal system, share ideas, and learn from a diverse and highly experienced range of speakers and presenters.

UTS Law Students’ Society Annual Social Justice Conference

Compassion and Complexity in the Legal ProfessionSarah Avery

Photos: UTS LSS


HOMELESSNESS CLOTHES DRIVE INGA NEILSEN

On June 1st, the UTS LSS and Justice Action Committee held the second annual Homelessness Clothes Drive. Students were encouraged to bring in and donate smart casual and business clothes that they no longer wear, and enjoy a fundraising BBQ while listening to guest speakers. All clothes were donated to ‘Dress For Success,’ a Sydney-based charity that provides professional clothing and support services to women free of charge to empower them to achieve self-sufficiency and employment.

Students had the opportunity to hear from Stella Angelo, a volunteer with Dress for Success, and Michelle Parker, the CEO of YFoundations, the peak body for youth homelessness in NSW, will focus on exploring the experience of children and young people in a familial setting when experiencing DV. A student speaker also spoke and shared her personal experiences of homelessness and domestic violence. The clothes drive was a wonderful success, and the launch event was a great opportunity for students to reflect on the problem of homelessness in Australia and the small contributions they can make to help target the issue.

CHARITY TRIVIA NIGHTGEORGIA DIXON

The Autumn Session trivia night began LSS fundraising for the year with a big bang. Over 60 students divided into teams of up to 9 people battled it out for the prestigious title of LSS Charity Trivia Night Champions, all whilst raising money for the Redfern Legal Centre. Competitors answered questions from a range of topics including True or False, Guess the LSS executive member, general knowledge, Australiana and many more categories. It was a night filled with friendly competition, laughter and a full house at the Underground. The trivia was a chance

for students putting their ordinarily useless stored information to good use and do it all for charity. The Team Fairgrievous Bodily Harm took out both the Best Team Name and the overall top point score. The evening was extremely successful and thanks to the efforts of the Justice Action Committee, $1230 was raised for a very worthy cause.

RACS BBQ AND BOOK/CLOTHES SWAP STALL INGA NEILSEN

In Autumn this year, in response to an emergency callout from the Refugee Advice and Casework Service (RACS) for donations, the UTS LSS in partnership with the UTS Faculty of Law organised a week of fundraising activities to support refugees in dire need of legal support services. The LSS held a fundraising BBQ on the Thursday of this week, with all proceeds going directly to RACS. Official merchandise such as t-shirts and hats were also available for purchase. This was attended by representatives from RACS, as well as faculty members, and several students who are involved in various volunteering capacities within the refugee sector spoke about their experiences and the importance of getting involved in the fight for justice for refugees. The BBQ was followed by a screening of the short film ‘The Phoenix’ by Nora Niasari, which tells the story of an exiled Iranian actor who uses theatre classes as a way to connect with youth detained in an Australian Detention Centre.

Throughout the week there was also a clothes and books swap, where staff and students were invited to donate clothing and pre-loved books, and come along to the stall to exchange them for others in return for a gold coin donation. This novel and fun way of raising money was a massive success for all involved. All initiatives throughout the week helped promote discussion and awareness of the significance of legal assistance for refugees and asylum seekers, and raised a total of $2467 to support RACS.

JUSTICE ACTION COMMITTEE Founded in 2012, the UTS LSS Justice Action Committee is a group of students who are passionate about social justice, and come together throughout the year to coordinate various initiatives. In 2017, this included a homelessness clothes drive, two charity trivia nights, a fundraising BBQ for RACS, and a fundraising law ball raffle.

SPECIAL THANKSYearbook DesignerCarmen Tom

PhotographersAishah Ali

Alexa Dodd

Rebecca Keen

Lisa Hogben

Reegan Myers

Novi Sugiarto

Anna Zhu Photography

TANDI Media

Many thanks toProfessor Paul Redmond

Anna Fletcher

Rachel Coventry

Alexa Dodd

Jennifer Goth

Rebecca Keen

Reegan Myers

Monica Reade

Brennan Program Management Committee

UTS Faculty of Law

UTS Law Students’ Society

UTS LSS Justice Action Committee


Documents

UTS FACULTY OF LAW Brennan Justice & Leadership Program · Professor Paul Redman 16 2017 Brennan Program Awardees THE BRENNAN PROGRAM AND THE REFUGEE ADVICE AND CASEWORK SERVICE (RACS)