Page 2659 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 26 September 2007
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During his period in the Commonwealth Public Service he served as the national secretary and then President of the Australian Government Lawyers Association. At the time of his election to the Legislative Assembly, he was counsel assisting the Solicitor-General involved in constitutional and international law litigation, including representing the commonwealth in the High Court. He completed a master’s degree in constitutional law at the Australian National University in 1988 and taught that subject on a part-time basis at the ANU.
As the Chief Minister has indicated, he was a member of the Assembly from 1990 until 1996. He came into this place in 1990 being appointed to a casual vacancy in the Legislative Assembly left by the resignation of Paul Whalan. Those who recall his time in the Assembly remember his intellectual capacity and his willingness to engage in debate. He was not afraid to make concessions in the face of a good argument, but he will also be remembered because he was able to negotiate good outcomes for the government and the territory. Even his most hardened political opponents describe him as a humanist and a quintessential lawyer.
During his time in the Assembly he also served as a member of the executive and held a range of ministerial responsibilities. From 1991-95 he served as Attorney-General—clearly his area of greatest passion. Like most ACT ministers, he had to cover a huge range of responsibility. During this time he dealt with a range of constitutional issues. Of particular importance and note was the transfer of the courts from the commonwealth to the ACT jurisdiction. He also dealt with a wide range of legal policy matters—from surrogacy, to filling the position of Victims of Crime Coordinator, to immunity for the DPP, to electoral reforms, to petrol prices. As Attorney-General he took an active interest in issues relating to the machinery of justice, at this stage becoming aware of the problems in the ACT associated with the rules of the various jurisdictions, an issue he continued to pursue closely as a judge.
As Attorney-General he was also keenly interested in law reform, encouraging the work of the Community Law Reform Commission in areas such as tenancy and defamation law reform. Later as a judge, this early involvement in these areas of evolving policy gave him a particular acuity in dealing with the social and legal dilemmas facing ordinary people. As Attorney-General, he will be remembered for his work on diversionary conferencing, restorative justice initiatives and the role of victims in criminal proceedings.
Terry Connolly was appointed Master of the ACT Supreme Court from February 1996 until January 2003. His appointment to the Supreme Court as Master of the court by the Liberal Government speaks volumes about his formidable reputation as a member of the Assembly and his intellect. As Master, he exercised the functions of a judge of the court in civil and commercial matters and presided over hundreds of civil trials and motions.
In 2001 he attended a course on mediation training at Harvard Law School and introduced a pilot mediation project in the Supreme Court to encourage early resolution of more complex cases—another clear example of his commitment to continuing the process of reform in the legal profession.
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