Complete issue - Legal Aid Queensland - Queensland Government

New board members to help guideLegal Aid’s strategic directionLEGAL Aid Queensland’s board has a new chairpersonand three new members with Iyla Davies, Vince Knauthand Tony Rafter SC, joining Zoe Rathus and MargO’Donnell in guiding Legal Aid’s strategic direction.Marg O’Donnell, who has been a board membersince November 2004, was appointed as chairperson inSeptember 2005.Ms O’Donnell is a former Director-General of threeQueensland Government departments: Equity andFair Trading, Aboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderPolicy and Development, and the Arts. She wasVictoria’s first Legal Ombudsman and establishedand ran the Alternative Dispute Resolution Divisionin the Department of Attorney-General and Justice inQueensland.Ms O’Donnell is Chair of the Visiting Committeefor the Law School at Griffith University and is also afreelance consultant. She contributes her expertise to anumber of boards.Iyla Davies has been a member of the board sinceJune 2005 and is currently a senior lecturer in the LawFaculty at QUT. She coordinates the undergraduatefamily law program and the postgraduate mediationprogram. She is also currently the National President ofRelationships Australia.Ms Davies has previously served on communityservice committees including the SpecialistAccreditation Board of the Queensland Law Society,Lawyers Engaged in Alternative Dispute Resolution andthe Australasian Law Teachers Association.Chartered accountant Vince Knauth has broughtexpertise in economics, commerce and businessmanage ment to the Board since his appointment in July2005.Mr Knauth, who spent nearly three decades workingin the aviation industry as an air traffic controller,began his own chartered accounting practice in 1989,specialising in business taxation, superannuation andtrust account auditing.Tony Rafter SC is the most recent addition to theBoard, taking up his position in January 2006.Mr Rafter is a criminal law barrister working mainlyin appellate cases before the Court of Appeal and HighCourt.Admitted to the bar in 1985 and appointed SeniorCounsel in 2003, Mr Rafter recently oversaw theQueensland Thoroughbred Racing Commission ofInquiry.CEO appointedto MagistracyAFTER 29 years with Legal Aid, longservingCEO John Hodgins is set totake-on a new challenge.Mr Hodgins was appointed tothe Magistracy by Attorney-GeneralLinda Lavarch on March 23 and willsit behind the bench for the firsttime in the Cairns Magistrates Courton May 2.Mr Hodgins began his careerwith Legal Aid in 1977, working forthe Australian Legal Aid Office,which later merged with the LegalAssistance Committee to form theLegal Aid Office (Queensland).He worked as a family lawyerbefore being appointed to theposition of Assistant Director,Referrals (now Grants) in 1982 andlater headed-up the family lawpractice.Mr Hodgins became CEO in1990, following the resignationof Barry Smith who had lead theorganisation for 10 years.Mr Hodgins said he was lookingforward to the challenge of theMagistracy and serving the peopleof Cairns through his new role.“I’ve had nearly three decadeswith Legal Aid and I’m really proudof what we’ve achieved together asan organisation,” he said.“I’m happy to say that I’ll beleaving the organisation in goodshape, we’ve got great staff,talented up-and-coming managersand importantly, a real dedicationto social justice and helpingdisadvantaged people accessjustice.“I’m excited about becoming aMagistrate, particularly because I’llbe working in the court that has themost interaction with the public. Inthat way, I’ll be helping and servingthe people of Cairns, which is a realhonour.”Graham Quinlivan, who managesthe organisation’s legal practice,will be acting CEO.4 >> Head Note June 2006