The Gazette 1975

Report of President's Visit to New Zealand

of the Legislation Committee of the New Zea- land Law Society. (2) The legal problems of Inflation by I. L. McKay, of the Law Revision Committee of New Zealand. (3) Dangerous Products and the Consumer in New Zealand by Geoffrey W. R. Palmer, a Consul- tant 'to the Australian Government and to the Zealand Accident Compensation Committee. (4) Court Structure and Procedure by A. D. Holland. Council member of 'the New Zealand Law Society and a past lecturer in Commercial Law in the University of Canterbury. (5) The Land Transfer System by F. M. Brookfield, Editor of Goodall & Brookfield on Conveyancing. (6) The Right to Life by The Hon. Mr. Justice Beattie. (7) Administrative Law — The vanishing Sphinx by the Hon. Mr. Justice Cooke who is a member of the Law Reform Committee, and Chairman of the Commission of Enquiry into Housing. All of the papers which were read and discussed were of immense in'terest. My intention is to present the papers to the library and it is hoped that edited editions of some of the papers may be worthy of re- porting in the Gazette in due course. Apart from the official papers read at the Confer- ence, I was invited 'to, and sat in on, a closed meeting of the New Zealand Law Society, which lasted four hours. It was a most interesting experience. The most notable general feature was that the various problems and matters which came up for discussion were very largely in line with matters which would come up for discussion at any meeting of the pro- fession in 'this country. Among the topics discussed were the following: — Taxation legislation and the inroads into the quest- ion of privilege; Need to publicly criticise certain legislation where appropriate; Consideration of funding a Negligence Insurance Scheme; A need for more and more practical Seminars; Public relations and the general image of the pro- fession; Publicity material; The progress of a training course for Legal Exec- tives; The suggested remoteness of the Council of the New Zealand Law Society from some of the practical problems of members in remote areas. The New Zealand Legal System In general it was a valuable exercise in ascertaining the mind of the profession and in having new ideas discussed and talked about. The New Zealand legal system is based on thé Com- .284

When the New Zealand Law Society invitation was received last November to attend the 16th Triennial Conference in Wellington from 3rd to the 8th April, this seemed a long way off. I wondered, when it was suggested that the invite tion should be accepted, whether a trip to New Zealand, would in any way be of benefit to the Society. I must confess that the measure of my interest and enthusiasm for the suggested journey was so great that it outweighed any reservations which I had as to the benefit which would be gained. My acceptance in the end was more than justified. In fact I find it difficult to curb my enthusiasm. Before arriving in Wellington I was uncertain as to what exactly lay before me. On arrival I found within a very short space of time that my wife and I had the very good fortune to meet people who had a natural ability to extend a very sincere and warm welcome, and we evidenced a friendliness and a con- cern for our welfare which went far beyond our great- est expectations. The Conference Chairman was Mr. M. O'Brien, Q.C., his Assistants, Mr. John McGrath and Mr. Michael Shanahan. One might assume that they were by reason of bearing such surnames the purveyors of the traditional form of Irish hospitality. It fact it was something more oxtensive than that and was in no way confined to those of Irish ancestry. While many New Zealand Lawyers are of Irish decent, there are equally as many with English, Scottish and Welsh ancestry and all displayed a similar sincere and ex- cellent form of hospitality; it was evident everywhere in all the people we met, and in all the areas we visit- ed from Mr.Lester Castie, President of the New Lea- land law Society and his wife, through the whole range of Secretaries and Staff of the New Zealand and District Law Societies. I met Lawyers who attended The International Bar Conference in Dublin in 1968 and they were very anxious and in- deed determined to repay in kind the Irish hospitality extended at that time. The open and friendly approach and the interest displayed in Ireland and in our Society presented a continuous flow of questions which led to two news- paper interviews, many luncheons and dinners and private functions apart from the official functions of Conference. We were hosted, wined and dined by the the Auckland, Christchurch, and Canterbury Societies and on our homeward journey by the Victoria Law Society (Australia). Our Hotel Expenses in New Zealand were paid for by the New Zealand Law Society. Conference The papers a't the actual Conference and the sub- sequent discussions dealt with the following matters: —

(1) Private right v Public interest by C. I. Patterson,