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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 7 Hansard (28 June) . . Page.. 2100 ..
MS CARNELL
(continuing):Professor Curtis was particularly concerned that people coming to the ACT tribunal should get a proper hearing. They should not feel intimidated by the process, even if they had no legal representative. Practising this philosophy, the "reasons for decision" that Professor Curtis wrote are notable for their clarity and thoroughness. They are accessible and easy to understand. In all, he was a great advocate for administrative law, which he saw as important in ensuring good government. The Canberra community is fortunate to have had the benefit of his commitment and enormous experience in this area. He retired from the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in November 1998.
Throughout his time living in Canberra, Lindsay Curtis was an active member of the Anglican parish of St John the Baptist in Reid. He became the Chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn, as well as holding other positions within the church where his commitment and energy were also valued. In his work with the church he demonstrated his commitment to social justice. This paralleled the commitment to accessible justice he had shown in his work with administrative law.
Lindsay Curtis was a man of principle. In all the areas in which he worked his commitment to his work and his principles showed through.
I am sure that all members join me in expressing our sympathy to Professor Curtis' family and in acknowledging the outstanding contribution he made to this territory.
MR STANHOPE
(Leader of the Opposition): I wish to join with the Chief Minister in expressing her condolences. As the Chief Minister has said, Lindsay Curtis was a distinguished Canberran and a servant of the people. He died in April, aged 72. He was rightly described by Pat Brazil, writing in the Canberra Times, as a man of the law.Professor Curtis had a significant role in implementing important legislative programs-the Law Reform Commission Act, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act, the Ombudsman Act, the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act and the Freedom of Information Act. He played his role with conviction as he firmly believed that the law, and the governments that made them, should serve the people.
This belief may have resulted from his upbringing. Despite appearances, Lindsay Curtis did not have an easy path in life. Born in 1928, Professor Curtis was raised on a dairy farm in Victoria and educated in one-teacher schools until he won scholarships to Geelong High School and to Melbourne University. At university he took degrees in science and in law. He put his knowledge to work immediately, moving on graduation to Canberra to work in the Patents Office. In 1960 he commenced what was to be a long career in reforming the law when he moved to the law reform section of the Department of Territories. In 1963 Professor Curtis joined the Attorney-General's Department where he worked for 26 years, interrupted only by a period as Secretary of Law for Papua New Guinea from 1969 to 1971.
Lindsay Curtis became a Deputy Secretary of Attorney-General's in 1983 and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1989. As a digression, I can add that it was during that long period in the Attorney-General's Department that my path as a legal officer within the Commonwealth Public Service crossed on many occasions that of Professor Curtis. His distinguished career in Attorney-General's was marked by a commitment to
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