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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-09-27 Daily Xml
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MULLIGHAN, MR E.P.

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:05): I move:

That the House of Assembly expresses its deep regret at the death of the Hon. Edward Picton (better known as Ted) Mullighan, a former Supreme Court judge, independent commissioner and champion of reconciliation, and places on record its appreciation of his meritorious service to our state's legal and justice system, and that as a mark of respect to his memory the sitting of the house be suspended until the ringing of the bells.

It was with great sadness that I learned 11 days ago of the passing of Ted Mullighan, who died after a lengthy illness on 16 September, aged 72. Ted Mullighan made an enormous contribution to our state as a lawyer, as a judge, as a mentor, and as a humanitarian. He championed the cause of Aboriginal reconciliation amongst his peers in the judiciary and throughout the broader community. Through his work as commissioner leading the government's inquiries into the treatment of children in state care and of children on the APY lands, he undertook some of the most wrenching and challenging investigations in our state's recent history.

It was Ted's ability to win the trust and the confidence of people who had suffered the most harrowing abuse, thereby enabling them to tell their stories, that set him apart as a man of undisputed integrity and character. He is remembered by all who knew him as a thoroughly decent, fair and compassionate man, and these traits were eulogised and celebrated at last Friday's state funeral at St Peter's Cathedral, attended by so many of Ted's family, friends, colleagues and admirers, including many former and present members of parliament.

Ted Mullighan was born on 25 March 1939, just months before Europe descended into war. In his school years, during which he attended Pulteney Grammar, his interests were focused as much on the sporting field, in particular football and cricket, as they were on the classroom. It was during this time that his lifelong passion for the Port Adelaide Football Club, the Magpies, and then later the Power, was born. He was also a man with a deep love of cricket.

In 1956, the year that the Olympics first came to Australia, Ted began law studies at the University of Adelaide. In 1962 he was admitted to practise law, soon establishing himself, among other credentials, as South Australia's foremost family law practitioner. In 1978 he was appointed a Queen's Counsel and also began his two-year term as president of the Law Society of South Australia.

Over the next decade, Ted's work included a role as counsel assisting at a total of six royal commissions, including as counsel for victims of the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires as they sought compensation. In 1989 he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia, a position he held with distinction until his retirement in 2004.

While I had met Ted Mullighan on a number of previous occasions, my first opportunity to watch him in action came in 1993. It was during a period when there was real concern in the northern suburbs about local crime and about sentencing. I wrote to the then Chief Justice Len King, asking whether it would be possible for a judge or a magistrate to attend and address a public meeting in Salisbury that would be attended by many local citizens, including people from various neighbourhood watch groups. To my pleasant surprise, Len King replied that a magistrate and a Supreme Court justice would be available to attend. Ted Mullighan was the judge.

I was concerned that the meeting might prove difficult, as a number of people who were coming were victims of crime who were extremely angry about law and order issues, but I soon realised that I had no need to be afraid. Ted told stories and the audience listened. He outlined to the meeting a range of scenarios that a jury and a judge might face—issues that would be raised in court, and would then be considered in sentencing, but would never be included in any media coverage.

By his putting the audience in his own shoes, and by citing examples of specific cases, people began to see things differently. Instead of an angry response, there was a terrific and positive dialogue from which he won sustained applause. Ted's integrity, his decency, his strength, his warmth and his wisdom had won through. I think it spoke volumes for his qualities as a communicator and as a man.

Through his manner, as well as his acumen, he was able, in his quiet, dignified way, to reassure and to educate. It was this compelling blend of understanding and authority that led the government to specifically appoint Ted Mullighan to oversee what was to prove arguably his most complex and sensitive assignment—the inquiry into the treatment of hundreds and hundreds of children who had suffered the worst imaginable abuse while in state care.

The respectful way he approached these delicate tasks helped people living with unimaginable pain to tell their stories, often for the very first time, without fear of judgement, without fear of recrimination—the process through which a number of victims, simply by being heard, were finally able to take the first difficult steps in the healing process. One by one, people who had suffered the most terrible abuse told me how Ted Mullighan had helped them.

Ted brought the very same qualities and diligence to the role he assumed in 2007 as commissioner for the inquiry into the treatment of children on the APY lands. For this contribution, and for his other outstanding work, our state owes Ted Mullighan a great debt. He was a man whose profession was the law but whose passion, and whose very being, was justice.

The many complementary facts of Ted Mullighan's rich and rewarding life were poignantly detailed at last Friday's state funeral. Lindy Powell QC spoke about the enormous respect that Ted maintained amongst our legal profession, of his tireless commitment to mentoring and encouraging aspiring young lawyers. She also highlighted his unwavering courtesy and decency towards his fellow practitioners and to witnesses and then, as a judge, to all who came before his court.

His invaluable contribution to our legal process was recognised with a number of awards and honours over the years. Among them are the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's Law Award that Ted received in 2003 for his work with Aboriginal people. That citation recognises his active role in nominating Aboriginal justices of the peace, in supporting a number of innovations in the sentencing of Aboriginal defendants and in his careful examination of traditional Aboriginal methods of dealing with offenders.

During his 10-year tenure as chair of the Law Society of South Australia's Advocacy Group, Ted was also instrumental in establishing advocacy training programs, and he played a vital role in helping and inspiring instructors and young advocates to develop and enhance their skills. In 2008, he became just the second person—the first being a Victorian Supreme Court judge and human rights advocate, Lex Lasry—to receive the Law Council of Australia's annual President's Medal for providing 'outstanding service to the legal profession'.

At last Friday's funeral service, Jenny Turner, who worked alongside Ted Mullighan during the inquiry into Children in State Care, spoke of the dedication and resolve that Ted brought to this most confronting assignment, an investigation where Ted himself was moved to note in his final report how:

Nothing prepared me for the foul undercurrent of society revealed in the evidence to the inquiry.

He goes on to say:

Not my life in the community or my work in the law, as a practitioner and a judge.

He went on to say:

I feel a deep sense of privilege and responsibility at having been entrusted with the disclosure of people's most painful memories. The courage and strength they showed is something that must never be forgotten.

Ted Mullighan was also a devoted and loving family man, and the closeness of that bond was also detailed at Friday's funeral service by his elder son James, who spoke with great tenderness and warm-hearted humour about a lifetime of treasured memories. It was Ted Mullighan's inherent decency and integrity as well as the dedication and the commitment he showed to his family, to his profession and to the wider community that ensure he will be remembered as an outstanding role model, a gentleman, and an inspiration.

On behalf of all members of this side of the house and on behalf of the people of South Australia I want to extend my deepest condolences to Ted's loving wife Jan, to his sons James, Charles, Paul, David and Stephen, to his extended family and to his many friends, colleagues and admirers.

Honourable members: Hear, hear!

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:17): I rise to second the motion. The Hon. Edward Picton Mullighan QC was born on 25 March 1939, and died on 16 September 2011 at the age just of 72, having served as one of the state's most respected and influential lawmakers whose compassion and dedication touched many South Australians.

Ted's funeral opened with an Aboriginal smoking ceremony and closed with bagpipes playing the Majestic Highland Cathedral and the ringing of the Cathedral bells. They were all strong signals of Ted's life, the diversity of his achievements and the huge number of people whom he had touched.

Ted commenced his law degree at Adelaide University in 1956 and was admitted to practice in 1962. What was to become an illustrious and distinguished career had only just begun. By 1978 he had been appointed Queen's Counsel and named as president of the Law Society. Having been involved in many landmark cases, including acting as counsel assisting the inquiry into the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983, Ted's outstanding work was recognised in 1989 when he was appointed to the bench of the Supreme Court. Ted's focus on rehabilitation over punishment often set him apart from his colleagues. He said:

I trust that the community will not always want to pursue the relentless goal of increasing punishment as a way of fixing society's current problems. I would very much like to work with offenders and help them realise the effects they have had on victims of their crimes.

But for all the serious work on the bench, Ted also had a wonderful sense of humour. Ted had a very whimsical wit. I well remember attending one of the wonderful medico-legal conferences many years ago when Ted, as guest speaker, thoroughly entertained all those present simply by reading through various articles from that day's paper and adding his own comments and observations. I am a sucker for such observational humour. If satire is the lowest form of wit, observational humour, which takes the mundane and everyday and lets us see it in a new and funny light, is surely the highest, and Ted was a master of it.

In 2003 he was awarded a Human Rights Law Award for his work in promoting the rights of Aboriginal people within the South Australian legal system. He worked tirelessly, advocated for Aboriginal court interpreters, examined traditional Aboriginal ways of dealing with offenders, and supported innovations in the sentencing of Aboriginal defendants. Ted took early retirement from the Supreme Court in 2004 in order to take on what was to become one of his greatest personal challenges: he became the commissioner of the inquiries into Children in State Care and the inquiry into Children on APY lands.

It was only at this point that I first began to get to know Ted Mullighan, not as a lawyer but in my role as the newly-appointed shadow minister for families and communities. Although Ted already had a wonderful reputation as an excellent lawyer and a mentor of great humour and patience, it was in this new role that his compassion and understanding really shone like a beacon to the wider community.

Ted interviewed 800 abused people, criss-crossing the state to wherever he felt they would be most comfortable. Each of those interviews must have taken a huge toll on Ted as he listened to the painful stories that some victims revealed for the very first time. No-one was rushed. Everyone was given all the time they needed. He examined more than 40 years worth of alleged sex abuse, and in April 2008 he tabled before parliament a 600-page report.

Throughout his time as Commissioner into Children in State Care and on the APY lands Ted always took great pains to ensure that, as the opposition spokesperson, I was thoroughly briefed and given access to as much information as I wanted. He made a point of contacting me regularly and meeting with me in person, along with his senior staff, to impart, to the extent that that was possible, a sense of the nature of the work that the commission was undertaking: work which I know was often harrowing and personally draining, because he gave so much of himself to each and every person who sought to have their voice heard.

I certainly have a clear sense of the importance of Ted's work, not just in unearthing long-buried secrets and giving people a chance of feeling that they could at last seek justice, but probably more importantly in giving people a sense that at last their voices were being heard. More than anything else, Ted's ability to truly listen to these people's stories gave them a sense of healing and closure. It was an extraordinary effort and I am not sure that anyone apart from Ted could have fulfilled it quite so well.

Ted's distinguished career was recognised most recently when he received the Law Council's Presidents Medal for outstanding service to the law in 2008. Despite all his accolades, Ted remained a humble man. After being contacted by Who's Who for his biography, he said:

They contacted me but I wouldn't be part of it. I was told it was for the elite and that it included all the important people in Australia. Everyone is important and I did not want to be named in any elitist publication.

Ted was a man of many dimensions: a strong supporter of the Port Adelaide Football Club, having grown up on the Lefevre Peninsula and attending Largs Bay Primary School. He was also a legendary cricketer at Pulteney Grammar as captain of their first XI and went on to play more than four decades in the old scholars side. Indeed, the Pulteney Grammar School flag was on display at his funeral.

It might seem a strange combination but, in addition to his sporting prowess, Ted was also an excellent cook of tomato sauce and jams in particular. Indeed, I got to know Ted's jams before I got to know Ted. I had the good fortune to stay at a friend's house in Louth Bay near Port Lincoln for some holidays many years ago and the house was always stocked with life's necessities, such as tea, coffee, sugar, milk, cereal and various spreads for the toast. The deal was you could use whatever you wanted as long as you replaced it, and we used the jam, only being told later that it was very honourable jam, having been made by the eminent Justice Mullighan.

More than anything else though, Ted was a family man. His wonderful wife Jan, head of the clan Campbell, and is equally wonderful sons—James, Charles, Paul, David and Stephen—were the most important things in his life. They were the anchor that gave him the strength to do the important work he did, especially the arduous work as commissioner in his later years. The deep sense of loss felt by the wider community at Ted's passing must be magnified a thousandfold for his family. On behalf of the Liberal opposition, I express my sincere condolences to Jan and all the boys, and their wider family.

An avid reader, Ted named Charles Dickens as one of his heroes, and Dickens said, 'Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.' Ted's heart not only did not harden, it grew bigger and more embracing as he travelled through life's journey; his touch not only never hurt, it actually healed many. He had a profound effect on our state and he will be sadly missed. I commend the motion to the house.

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Urban Development, Planning and the City of Adelaide, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Food Marketing) (14:24): I would like to say a few words about the Hon. Ted Mullighan, and in saying them I am focusing in particular on his marvellous career in the law. Ted was a fantastic mentor to many young lawyers, and those who attended the funeral service last week could not help but have been impressed by the words of Lindy Powell when she spoke with some passion about the assistance and the inspiration that Ted offered to young lawyers throughout his career.

He was also an outstanding contributor to the Law Society of South Australia. Again, members of this place should appreciate that the work of the Law Society by its members is entirely voluntary and some people contribute far more than others, and throughout his career Ted was a very, very significant contributor to the Law Society of South Australia and, through the Law Society, to the administration of justice in this state.

His period of time as a barrister and a silk are well known, and, of course, he was an outstanding tribute to both the courts and the legal system in South Australia in those roles. After coming to the court, he continued to demonstrate the same personal qualities which had distinguished him as a practitioner, and I can say that having appeared in his court. In particular, I recall in one case where all the parties to the proceedings—and I can assure members there were a great many—were people for whom English was at least a third (if not fourth) language and who had absolutely no idea what was going on in front of them.

Nevertheless, the way the judge, Ted Mullighan, handled that case was an absolutely outstanding example of compassion in the sense that he did not form any swift judgements about any of the various characters he had arraigned before him—and that could have been very easy, I might say. He had enormous patience, forbearance, wisdom and overall tremendous courtesy.

I recall shortly after being elected to this place, when I had no particular role in relation to the justice system, receiving a telephone call from Ted asking whether he could come down and have a chat to me about his interest in restorative justice, and we spent some time talking about that. His passion for restorative justice was absolutely genuine and something that I do not believe ever left him.

The children in state care work which he did is something that is a landmark in South Australia and something about which I am sure none of us need to hear any more from me. I would like to say that the South Australian community in losing Ted Mullighan has suffered a tremendous loss. Individuals of his kind come along very infrequently, and the fabric of the community is always diminished by their loss.

Of course, the loss to our community of Ted Mullighan is insignificant compared with the loss that it represents to his family, and I would also like to extend my particular personal condolences to Jan, James, Charles, Paul, David and Stephen to whom I personally attribute my success, such as it is in politics, because he was one of my first ever employees and he set me on the right path. So, thank you very much, Stephen. We are really today celebrating the life of an extraordinary South Australian, an extraordinary man, and you will have to wait a very long time to have another Ted Mullighan.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Minister for Education, Minister for Early Childhood Development, Minister for Science and Information Economy) (14:28): Like so many South Australians, I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the Hon. Edward Picton Mullighan QC on Friday 16 September. Ted was, of course, an extraordinary man. He made a lifelong commitment to the service of the state exemplified by his decision to retire early from the Supreme Court to accept the commission of inquiry into sexual abuse of children in care, and I will say a little more about that in a moment.

I just want to remark upon his legal career. Lindy Powell QC eulogised about this and spoke of his great capacity for mentoring young lawyers, and I certainly witnessed this in his courtroom. I can remember on one occasion a young lawyer was making a submission about an interlocutory matter, and it had been disposed of against his interests. He then had to make a submission, which sort of amounted to, 'Can you quickly prepare your reasons and give me a copy of the transcript because we want to appeal it?' Now, that generally does not go down very well with the judge because it is a bit of an implication that they are a bit of a dill, but the young lawyer in question did it very elegantly and politely and, classically, Ted congratulated him on the way in which he had done that. I can imagine other judges taking an entirely different course.

As I was listening to Lindy Powell—I do not know whether she remembers it—but I certainly remember a High Court dinner when the High Court was in town, and they got all the lawyers together, and I think Ted was master of ceremonies. Lindy had just been the first female president of the Law Society, and Ted congratulated her and said that it was an extraordinary period of presidency and that she'd undertaken and discharged her functions with great skill and capacity. He then went on to say that it was a such a success that we should try it again in another 100 years—so Ted had a great wit and entertained many of us.

I got to know him very well in the course of the commission of inquiry into state care and the APY Lands. I, like the Leader of the Opposition, was given the benefit of many briefings about his work, and it was wonderful to see the way in which he carried out his work. Our meetings usually commenced with an analysis of the previous weekend's results for Port Power and sharing our views about how they could be better coached, and then we quickly got down to the work of talking about this most important inquiry. What came across from Ted was that he understood that the process of the inquiry was as important as the things that he was going to recommend.

He understood that he was engaged in a process of healing for many of these people, some of whom were in advanced years, some of whom were quite young, but all of whom had suffered abuse in care and were suffering the consequences of that. Ted also understood that he was listening to people who had sometimes tried to tell their stories to somebody else and had had that story utterly disrespected. Sometimes this was for reasons which were understandable: they were quizzed by lawyers and police officers for the purposes of seeing whether their evidence would stand up, not in a cruel way, but the effect of it was that they were feeling essentially re-abused by the process that was set up to help them.

He understood that, and he understood that his inquiry was a way in which they were going to be able to tell in a full way their story that they had not had the opportunity to tell before. Of course, that meant that he was dealing with many people who were not only suffering the loss in all of what had happened to them but also had a deep distrust of authority and so, for many of his interviews, he had to endure hours and hours of people shouting at him before he could begin the process of listening to them. They were testing whether he was somebody worth allowing their story to be told to, and they all were able to satisfy themselves that, of course, he was.

The stories of the people he helped were extraordinary. Ted understood that the process of telling a story was a way in which people could then begin to take back charge of their own lives, and many of them did that. One woman poignantly said to me that before the inquiry her children saw her as somebody who just could not cope, somebody who was hopeless. After the inquiry, they saw her as a strong person, somebody who had endured and survived. So, he had permitted her to retell her story of her life in a way which has now meant that she has recaptured her life. Her life is now a much better life because of the way in which Ted listened to her.

Ted will be sadly missed by that massive community of people that he helped. He should still be here to listen to their stories and see how their lives have changed, and he should still be around to have lunch with his mates, and he should still be around to be with his family. It was one of the most beautiful funeral services that I have ever attended, and I hope it was some comfort to the family. My condolences go to Jan, James, Charles, Paul, David, Stephen and the rest of the family.

The Hon. G. PORTOLESI (Hartley—Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers, Minister Assisting the Premier in Social Inclusion) (14:34): I, too, would like to rise briefly to make a contribution as a sign of respect in memory of Justice Edward (Ted) Mullighan. I do note that over the past few months we have risen in this house to remember and say farewell to a number of very strong leaders and activists in particular for Aboriginal people and the rights of Aboriginal people—people like Len King, Elliot Johnson not that long ago and, of course, Matt Rigney also.

It does serve as a very powerful reminder of the very strong convictions and dedication of so many in our community, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, who wish to right the wrongs committed against Aboriginal people and, in doing so, remove the barriers. I had the privilege of getting to know him a little when I was working for minister Weatherill, and there is no question that Ted Mullighan was no exception.

He was and will continue to be for a very long time a very respected champion of Aboriginal affairs and reconciliation. From the nineties, Justice Mullighan promoted cultural awareness within the judiciary and magistracy in South Australia and supported innovation in the sentencing of Aboriginal offenders. As a former co-chair of Reconciliation SA from 2003-04, he championed the cause of reconciliation amongst his peers and within the wider community.

Mark Waters, the current State Manager of Reconciliation SA, remarked that he was a leader who built networks and the profile of the organisation and that, although he was a man of huge intellect, he understood the importance of listening, consulting and working towards consensus. I do not think anybody in this place would disagree with that analysis.

He also very clearly knew that understanding the importance of culture and country was paramount to achieving the goals of reconciliation and understanding in relation to Aboriginal affairs. He nominated Aboriginal justices of the peace, studied and considered the traditional Aboriginal ways of dealing with offences, fought for the increased use of Aboriginal court interpreters and promoted models of restorative and community justice.

Clearly he will be forever remembered for his outstanding role in the Inquiry into Children in State Care and then the inquiry into children in the APY lands. We can only imagine, as minister Weatherill has alluded to, what an arduous, draining and challenging task it must have been for him at a very personal level but, through the bleakness, Justice Mullighan did see a brighter future and, at the conclusion of the inquiry, he stated:

I feel a deep sense of privilege and responsibility at having been entrusted with the disclosures of people's most painful memories. The courage and strength they showed is something that must never be forgotten.

The extensive recommendations from his inquiries have seen unprecedented increases in permanent policing and social services for people living on the APY lands—increases in health services, compulsory school attendance, mandatory notification training and the list goes on. There is no question that he approached his work with great conviction, compassion and effectiveness.

When questioned about the effect the inquiry had on him, he said that of all the possible emotions he experienced the greatest by far was sadness. However, Justice Mullighan used this sadness, I think, to strengthen his resolve and his commitment to social justice, reconciliation and improving the rights of Aboriginal people. I join the house in acknowledging his enormous contribution to our community. I extend my condolences to his wife and boys, and I am certain that his legacy will live for a very long time.

The Hon. J.M. RANKINE (Wright—Minister for Families and Communities, Minister for Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Disability) (14:38): As we have heard, Justice Mullighan had a very eminent professional life, but I venture to say that the biggest challenge he faced in his career was when he accepted the important role of Commissioner of the Inquiry into Children in State Care.

Through his commissions into the Inquiry into Children in State Care, and later the abuse of children on the APY lands, Justice Mullighan uncovered many heart-wrenching stories of abuse, and I think it is fair to say that no-one could have imagined the extent of the abuse uncovered. He gave victims who had suffered the most horrendous mistreatment a voice and a chance to tell their story. For the first time, people felt like someone actually listened to them and believed what they had to say.

Inquiries like these are never easy, and working with people and hearing their stories must have been a most horrendously devastating experience, but Justice Mullighan undertook a task that has resulted in far greater community awareness as well as fundamental changes in attitudes and in the way we all address child protection. I am proud to be part of a government that was brave enough to lift the lid on these issues. The results and impact of his work will continue, and the results of his work continue to drive reform.

At his funeral I heard story after story from people he had listened to, people who had told him their stories. Justice Mullighan understood how important the work was that he was doing, and I have seen firsthand how much it meant to those people he worked with. His understanding, compassion and tireless support for people who were victims of abuse is awe-inspiring. He has truly made a difference to the lives of so many.

The act of giving a voice to the victims should never be underestimated and while the process can be difficult or uncomfortable, it is so important. As a government, we are committed to delivering on his recommendations and striving to improve our systems. Each year I table a report in parliament to make sure that we are publicly accountable to his recommendations.

Amongst the many survivors who spoke to me at Justice Mullighan's funeral was a young woman. She was very distressed. I tried to comfort her, I put my arm around her as she sobbed, and she said, 'He was the only one that listened.' As the hearse left the cathedral, in relation to the wonderful service and the massive attendance of people who had come along to show their respect for Justice Mullighan and their compassion for his family, she said quietly, 'You deserve this, Ted.'

My sincere condolences to Mrs Mullighan and their five sons, James, Charles, Paul, David and Stephen, their partners and grandchildren. I hope, in your sorrow, it helps to have so much to be proud of.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Correctional Services) (14:42): I rise to support the motion of condolence for the late Edward Picton Mullighan. I am not going to talk about his long career—others have done so—I am going to talk about the brief time that he pulled me aside and gave me his wisdom about the way we incarcerate offenders.

He was someone who was very generous with his time and very generous with a new, young minister like me. He pulled me aside and spent a lot of time talking to me about the way we incarcerate our Indigenous prisoners. For him, it was something that he was very concerned about, especially about the reoffend rate of some of our prisoners.

We talked about cultural sensitivity, we talked about training, we talked about education, we talked about restorative justice and we talked about making sure that there was a sense of hope. A lot of the things that we do today in our correctional facilities are as a result of those conversations that I had with Justice Mullighan.

He talked at length about the importance of making sure that young people knew that there was an opportunity outside of prison. He wanted me to make sure that we could do a lot, especially with our mining companies in the Far North and Indigenous offenders. Indeed, because of some of the work that he did, the government signed a memorandum of understanding with BHP to have young Indigenous offenders work with BHP, getting accredited and getting mine ready. It was that type of involvement that he thought would best suit young offenders.

I will tell the story of one young man who has had his life changed through the intervention of this course, which has been of great benefit and is there because of Justice Mullighan. This young man told me that his grandfather, his father and he had all been in prison, and that he had a two year old boy. He was desperate to break the cycle of offending.

This young man could never obtain gainful employment because of his record of imprisonment. Every time he went for a job interview he was knocked back and, of course, he fell into a life of reoffending. What Justice Mullighan said to me was that what these offenders needed was the ability to have employers look at them while in our custody so that the imprisonment, the incarceration, was not a factor in their employment. Basically, the company got a chance to look at the work ethic of the young men involved, rather than the CV which said that for a period of time he was incarcerated, which was, of course, compulsory to offer up.

This young man did a three-month course with BHP and then went on to do another six-month course. He is currently employed with BHP at Olympic Dam and now earns more than the general manager of Port Augusta Prison. We now use that young man at Port Augusta to talk to other young offenders. That one course, which takes in 12 offenders every six months, changes lives—and that is the impact that Ted Mullighan had on people. He did not seek credit for it, he never thought to get credit for it, but that program was put in place by me and by the department because of the hard work of Justice Mullighan.

He was a great Port supporter, which of course made me listen even more intently to what he had to say. He was also the father of a very close friend of mine. My deepest condolences go to Justice Mullighan's family—to his wife, Jan; his children, James, Charles, Paul, David and Stephen. I doubt very much that this is the last that this parliament has heard of the name Mullighan.

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON (Croydon) (14:45): Ted Mullighan was an outstanding defence counsel for a very long time, and he was an exemplar of the old-fashioned principles of the rule of law, British justice and fair play, the presumption of innocence and never conducting himself as a judge in a way that would give rise to a suspicion of bias.

In the 1980s, Ted had a client who was charged with possession of a commercial quantity of illegal substances taped to the undercarriage of his car. I am not going on the transcript but on my memory of Ted's account, but Ted asked the police witness a question, 'Did you drive to Salisbury North on 20 February?' Answer, 'Yes.' 'Did you attend an address at Bagsters Road?' Answer, 'Yes.' 'Did you believe this to be the house of Mr X, the accused?' Answer, 'Yes, I did.' 'Was there a vehicle in the driveway of that house?' Answer, 'Yes, there was.' 'I put it to you that you taped the substances beneath the undercarriage of that vehicle.' Answer, 'What date was that again?' Vale Ted Mullighan.

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg) (14:47): Ted Mullighan QC will be remembered for many things and fondly by many people. I have no doubt that all the speakers today to this motion, which I resoundingly support, are absolutely sincere in conveying to the people of South Australia the loss of Ted Mullighan but also to Jan and their sons the enormous personal loss in his passing.

As one of the younger practitioners who was operating during the 1980s, when Ted was a not so young practitioner but had not attained silk, I would like to place on record the enormous contribution he made largely in criminal and family law cases during that decade. Members will be aware that in the late seventies family law in Australia was revolutionised and, for divorce, the Australian Family Law Act had thrown out all the cruelty, desertion, and adultery fault liability and brought in a new regime, where divorce was to become a dissolution of marriage and there was only one ground, that is, irretrievable breakdown evidenced by 12 months' separation.

In 1980, Ted Mullighan was the successful counsel in one of the first Full Court cases before Chief Justice Evatt (and two others, of course) in the case of Spanos, which remains a leading authority today on the question of the requirement of intent to be conveyed from one spouse to another to establish the 12-month separation commencement. It was an interesting case; on this occasion, I will not go into the detail, but Ted was representing the husband, and the wife was represented by Terry Groom, who will be remembered by some of you.

It went essentially on the basis that the wife claimed that she considered that there had been no conveying of intent from her husband to her and therefore that the commencement date had not applied. She presented this on appeal to the Full Court. The Full Court, however, did have other evidence before them, which they suggested corroborated the intention, and that was that the husband had not only separated from living in the house with his wife but had also established a new friendship. He was living with a de facto partner, and she was pregnant with a child and was blossoming away. Suffice to say, Ted won the case and it remains the leading authority.

A couple of years later, I attended the chambers of the then solicitors; in South Australia you can practice both at the bar and as a solicitor. I attended at Ted's door, at Mullighan, Jordan and Howe, with a notice of appeal on a divorce. They are not very common, because it is often very difficult to be able to set aside a decree nisi judgement. I went in and we had the usual preliminaries that happen between the instructing solicitor and counsel: 'The clerk wants to represent me?' 'Yes.' 'The fees are in a trust account? 'Yes.' 'Have you done the notice of appeal?' 'Yes.' 'Hand it over.'

I said, 'In this instance I want you to apply for Mrs So-and-so in an appeal against the decree nisi of marriage.' He said, 'What are the grounds?' I said, 'Well, she is claiming that he still loves her and that he is mistaken in his view that she is the last person on earth he wants to see, or words to that effect, that he has put in his statement.' The gist of it was that there was no irretrievable breakdown and therefore that reconciliation was on the horizon. He said, 'Do you realise I acted in the Spanos case and we won that and of course the appeal was dismissed?' I said, 'Yes, Ted, but in this instance you haven't got a pregnant girlfriend, so you are on a winner.'

He did not see the humour or the intellect in that, but nevertheless he took on the case. Not surprisingly, he lost, so even the great Ted Mullighan did not win all cases. The reason I tell this story is that not only is it in the annals of very significant leading cases in law, but also that, as the attorney and other speakers have indicated, the courtesy and compassion which Ted Mullighan extended to fellow counsel, ultimately on the bench to counsel appearing before him and, importantly, to clients, I think are probably some of the most enduring memories that those of us who have practised with and against Ted will remember.

On this occasion of the unhappy couple, he spent a good hour or so, after the appeal had been lost convincingly and properly, with her. Of course, he had said to me, 'Look, whatever shred of affection might have been there, Vicky, it had certainly evaporated by the time we finished this case.' Nevertheless, he spent considerable time with her. The process was bruising and painful for her, but I think at the end she felt that she had had her day in court with fine counsel. Her case had been presented as best it could, and she is living testimony, as Ted would say, that it is sometimes necessary for people to have their case presented and argued and for that advocacy to be heard for them to feel that there is justice.

Many people in South Australia will be grateful for Ted's representation. Our leader and others have spoken of hundreds who have had the benefit of him being just a very good listener and of his conveying in his handwritten notes the extraordinary report that he provided to this parliament. With those few words, Madam Speaker, I certainly hope that Ted rests in peace and that all of us can from time to time remember, as was acknowledged yesterday with the special sitting of Justice Bell, who is here with the High Court, the fine contribution that he has made to the judiciary, to the profession and to South Australia.

The SPEAKER (14:54): Thank you, members. Obviously, a wonderful man. I ask that you carry the motion in the usual way.

Motion carried by members standing in their places in silence.


[Sitting suspended from 14:54 to 15:06]


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