Speech presented at the Opening Ceremony
Speech delivered by Law Council of Australia President, Mr Tass Liveris at the Opening Ceremony of the 35th LAWASIA Conference, College of Law, Sydney, 18 November 2022.
"Good evening.
I would like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognising their continuing connection to land, waters and community. In particular, I acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation on whose lands we meet in Sydney. I pay my respects to Elders both past and present and extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today.
It is a pleasure to be here in Sydney with you. The program for this year’s LAWASIA Conference is filled with exceptional speakers focusing on diverse and interesting topics spanning human rights and the rule of law, family law, business law and alternative dispute resolution.
It has only been recently that Australia’s legal profession has been able to come back together in person to discuss issues of importance, like those you will be focusing on over the coming days. I know this is also true for many of the overseas jurisdictions represented at this Conference, and we warmly welcome each of you back to Australia. For me personally, this capacity to once again meet and tackle the major topics of the day, to focus on expanding our knowledge and understanding, has been very welcome. I am always inspired to hear and learn from my colleagues and look forward to speaking with as many of you as possible over the course of the Conference.
I warmly welcome delegates from across the world – not only from all parts of Australia, but also from countries including Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, India, New Zealand, Fiji, Taiwan, Nepal, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Switzerland, Jamaica, Bangladesh, Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Thailand, Germany and Sri Lanka.
It has been my great privilege, in my time as President, to meet and work with distinguished leaders of the legal profession from almost all of these jurisdictions.
The Law Council of Australia values its friendships with counterpart legal professional organisations around the world, and particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. We come together bilaterally, and as members of LAWASIA, POLA, the International Bar Association, Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association and the South Pacific Lawyers’ Association – of which the Law Council is very proud to be Secretariat.
These exchanges inform and enhance our work on international, cross-border and universal legal issues."
Read the full speech below.
Last Updated on 06/12/2022