LSB December 2021 HR

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IN HONOUR Vale: Mark Glencraig Nicholls MICHAEL RODER QC Michael Roder QC reflects on the life of his great friend Mark Nicholls (25 August 1963 - 13 August 2021), whose immense contribution to the community belied his genuine modesty. first met Mark Nicholls in 1974 at St I Peters College in Adelaide. I was lucky to do so. During his years at St Peter’s College Mark excelled. He became a school prefect and house captain in 1979. He had many outside interests, including sport, all outdoor activities, scouting, and the Air Force. After completing school he told me that he had been shortlisted for a Rhodes scholarship, but as usual he told me this news without a hint that he thought this was anything remarkable. He did not end up heading to Oxford to study. He commenced a law and economics degree at the University of Adelaide in 1980. During his time at university he continued to love sports, scouts and was involved in many other activities, not least of all dancing in a trademark enthusiastic style of most of the early 1980s Adelaide discos. He and his lifelong friend Bill Reid became scout leaders at Rose Park at the age of 18. Bill remembers them speaking with bewilderment about what those parents of the late 1970s were doing entrusting their young ones’ safety to two teenagers on bush hikes and camps. Mark also worked when he was at university, from a full three-month stint at a silo, hay fever and all, to a volunteer in a mission that he told me was supposed to be located in Vanuatu, but he ended up in Peshawar on the Afghanistan border at the age of 19. Mark was popular throughout his law school days, not least for his beautifully 14 THE BULLETIN December 2021 written lecture notes, which he was always willing to share. It never worried him if others got a better score on open book exams with the benefit of copying his notes. Mark graduated in 1985 with an honours degree in law and a degree in economics. He later completed a masters degree in law in 1989 whilst working full time as a lawyer. On graduating, there were many professional opportunities for Mark. The family law firm run by his mother Illa and father Chris awaited and he practised there for a short period. But he chose his own path. He gained a position, based in Canberra, as a High Court judge’s associate to His Honour Justice Dawson. It was, and is, highly unusual for a graduate from Adelaide law school to obtain such a position. As a young associate, he undoubtedly impressed Justice Dawson, it being notable that he was given co-authorship credits on a published journal article with the learned Judge in his first year as an associate. Mark always had the view that he was incredibly fortunate in his life. He would often say that he had already “won the lottery” just by being born here. He was always motivated by “giving something back”. His opportunity came in the early 1990s, a few years after the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) was established. He was appointed as General Counsel of the Commission. The principles enshrined and the remedies now provided for in the Mark Nicholls Sex Discrimination Act 1984, the Racial Discrimination Act 1975and the Disability Discrimination Act 1993 are now accepted as everyday norms in Australian society but they were not entrenched in that same way when the Commission was established. Mark was identified by the HREOC as a contributor to the landmark Stolen Generations report “Bringing them Home”, in 1997, and as a contributor to the 1994 HREOC report into the Sex Discrimination Act. Several reports of HREOC published in the 1990s acknowledge his role in overseeing and enforcing the introduction and implementation of the groundbreaking Disability Discrimination Act 1993. He also addressed the Australian Senate in 1997 on critical amendments to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Act, designed to ensure that there were constitutionally enforceable remedies for those who had been subject to conduct that contravened these Acts. Mark also made submissions to the
IN HONOUR High Court in a series of ground-breaking human rights cases. On behalf of the Commission, he intervened on behalf of a Mr Croome, who was seeking to have Tasmania’s laws criminalising homosexuality declared unconstitutional. He also intervened on behalf of a young girl who had been denied refugee status in Australia on the basis that she had already been forcibly sterilised because of her race and therefore had nothing more to fear or worry about. Yet another example of his work was his intervention on behalf of a disabled worker who had been dismissed because of his disability when minor modifications to his job could have remedied the difficulty. In all cases, his written submissions - which are still available on the internet - reflected his clarity of thought, empathy and basic humanity. Remarkably, he also found the time whilst doing this to donate his time to be the head of the main New South Wales community volunteer legal service. I wish I could tell you how Mark reflected on all of this, but I cannot. He never discussed any of these things in any detail with his friends. He was perhaps the least boastful person I have met. Fortunately a historical record exists of many of his contributions. In the early 2000s, Mark returned to Adelaide, now with his wife Teresa and a young family. He had worked as a senior lawyer in a large Sydney corporate law firm, but it was not a career for him. He established his own consultancy for a short time, but most of his working life in this state was spent with One Steel, Arrium and now GFG, the owners of the steel works at Whyalla. Mark (and the owners) were always concerned about the need for reliable and cheap energy and the need to embrace renewable energy. As his brother Chris recalls, Mark came up with the idea of creating hydroelectric power by storing and pumping water from a disused mining pit. That idea was embraced years later by GFG as part of their overall plan, still being implemented today, to develop a carbon neutral plan and to contribute to the greening of Whyalla. The latter part of his working life was devoted to seeing that project completed, until serious illness intervened. His legacy to the town of Whyalla and to its principal business will remain for many decades. Mark Nicholls was a great friend and lawyer. His achievements reflected what he valued. Mark is survived by his wife Teresa, and children Georgia, Sam and Max. He never got tired of telling me how much he loved them. B MEMBERS ON THE MOVE MEMBERS ON THE MOVE The Honourable Steve Strickland QC wishes to advise the profession that he is returning to private practice as a barrister, arbitrator, mediator, and consultant generally in appeals and first instance trials. Enquiries as to his availability, fees and generally can be directed to Campbell Chambers. Email: admin@campbellchambers.com.au; stricklandqc@gmail.com. Phone: (08) 8110 4900 HON STEVE STRICKLAND QC December 2021 THE BULLETIN 15
Page 1 and 2: THE BULLETIN THE LAW SOCIETY OF SA
Page 3 and 4: This issue of The Law Society of So
Page 5 and 6: PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE I look forwar
Page 8 and 9: ANIMAL LAW Animals and intervention
Page 10 and 11: RENTING WITH PETS IN THE DOG HOUSE?
Page 12 and 13: Q&A Know Your Council Member: Melan
Page 16 and 17: DISABILITY JUSTICE More collaborati
Page 18 and 19: FEATURE THE NEED TO THINK OUTSIDE C
Page 20 and 21: FEATURE Western Law as having judge
Page 22 and 23: ANIMAL LAW Therapy or assistance an
Page 24 and 25: YOUNG LAWYERS facebook.com/YLCSA Yo
Page 26 and 27: WELLBEING & RESILIENCE It's OK to g
Page 28 and 29: RISK WATCH Culturally and linguisti
Page 30 and 31: FEATURE The existing legal safeguar
Page 32 and 33: FEATURE Turkeys and the law DIANA T
Page 34 and 35: TAX FILES DGRs that are not already
Page 36 and 37: FAMILY LAW CASE NOTES Family Law Ca
Page 38 and 39: GAZING IN THE GAZETTE REGULATIONS P
Page 40: We manage one of SA’s largest soc

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