I am telling you this because we need good laws and good people to help us deliver ‘real for our clients members of the Victorian community the people we care for. justice’ – – So, what can RMIT uniquely do to advance real justice that Victoria Legal Aid alone – – cannot? for life and really mean in a social justice What does RMIT’s catch cry – ‘Ready work’ – lawyering setting? In answering that question, I must first acknowledge where we are and why we are gathered. Tonight, is a both a celebration of the ten-year Juris Doctor offering and an opportunity to reflect on our past, present and future. So, I acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nations as the Traditional Owners of the land we are gathered on because this land was never ceded or freely given. – I pay my respect to Elders, past and present and those leaders who are emerging, as well Elders from other communities who are with us here tonight. Despite the renovation Old Melbourne Gaol for me is still a – – sobering place. It hasn’t always been a place of celebration. But things do change and for every tale of despair there is another of hope and redemption. In the abstract, this can amount to a belief in the power of the human spirit to overcome life’s disadvantages, or, its random acts of cruelty. But in the daily grind in the emotionally taxing nature of social justice lawyering it generally – – requires real experience of a client succeeding. One hundred and seventy-five years ago two Tasmanian Palawa men Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner did not succeed for they were executed just outside of this building. History records that of the Melbourne population turned out to watch as the two men ‘most slowly strangled to death in a bungled hanging.’ The former Assistant Protector of Aboriginal people an affecting, appalling, wrote: ‘such disgusting, execrable scene my eyes never saw.’ Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner were the first people to be hanged in Victoria. They were part of a small group of Tasmanian Aboriginal men and women brought here by the Chief Protector of the Port Phillip Aboriginal Protectorate to the Victorian Koori ‘help him subdue people’.
I am telling you this because we need good laws and good people to help us deliver ‘real justice’ for our clients – members of the Victorian community – the people we care for. So, what can RMIT uniquely do – to advance real justice – that Victoria Legal Aid alone cannot? What does RMIT’s catch cry – ‘Ready for life and work’ – really mean in a social justice lawyering setting? In answering that question, I must first acknowledge where we are and why we are gathered. Tonight, is a both a celebration of the ten-year Juris Doctor offering and an opportunity to reflect on our past, present and future. So, I acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nations as the Traditional Owners of the land we are gathered on – because this land was never ceded or freely given. I pay my respect to Elders, past and present and those leaders who are emerging, as well Elders from other communities who are with us here tonight. Despite the renovation – Old Melbourne Gaol for me – is still a sobering place. It hasn’t always been a place of celebration. But things do change and for every tale of despair there is another of hope and redemption. In the abstract, this can amount to a belief in the power of the human spirit to overcome life’s disadvantages, or, its random acts of cruelty. But in the daily grind – in the emotionally taxing nature of social justice lawyering – it generally requires real experience of a client succeeding. One hundred and seventy-five years ago two Tasmanian Palawa men Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner did not succeed for they were executed just outside of this building. History records that ‘most of the Melbourne population turned out to watch as the two men slowly strangled to death in a bungled hanging.’ The former Assistant Protector of Aboriginal people wrote: ‘such an affecting, appalling, disgusting, execrable scene my eyes never saw.’ Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner were the first people to be hanged in Victoria. They were part of a small group of Tasmanian Aboriginal men and women brought here by the Chief Protector of the Port Phillip Aboriginal Protectorate to ‘help him subdue the Victorian Koori people’.
vla-bevan-warner-speakers-notes-rimt-juris-doctor-10-year-anniversary_-20-july-2017.docx