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The Victorian Bar has been accused of “silencing women” after ousting Kathleen Foley from its council just days after she publicly denounced the Attorney-General for alleged inappropriate conduct towards women.
With the announcement of a new council came the swift accusations that Victorian Bar had sent a message to young women that if they complain about inappropriate conduct towards them, they will “pay a price”. At least, that is what many have taken away from the news that barrister Kathleen Foley has been ousted from the council.
“Do members of the Victorian Bar have no presence of mind, no self-awareness?” was the question asked — and shared broadly across social media — by former member with the Labor Party and economist Craig Emerson in a tweet published shortly after.
“Whatever their reason for voting off Kathleen Foley, surely they [would] be aware that this sends a message to young women everywhere,” he said, adding: “Don’t complain about men’s behaviour or you will pay a price.”
Writer and social commentator Jane Caro agreed, adding that she wondered whether it was “exactly the message they intended to send” to the wider community.
The controversial accusations have been debated and picked apart with some arguing that Ms Foley — and former president Wendy Harris QC — were not re-elected because of their policies around education, awareness training and private events.
Ruling against Ms Harris was the “Vote for Change” ticket which sought a clean sweep of all 21 council positions with a promise to reform the governing council. They raised concerns during the campaign about the use of council finances and whether they had advocated strongly enough for members of the Bar during the pandemic.
Whatever the reason, the timing and a lack of official clarification from the Bar has not been responded to well. From the looks of some tweets, the Victorian Bar spent some part of their day fielding calls and emails from disgruntled Australians.
When Lawyers Weekly asked for a response, the Victorian Bar chose not to comment.
The below members form the new council:
Those with more than 15 years’ standing:
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
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Naomi Neilson
