My book is officially launched.

The following is the speech I gave at the recent launch of my book REFORM: Australia's Golden Era of Social and Legal Reform 1965 - 1995: The Memoir of a Participant.

I am greatly honoured by the presence of so many of you here tonight who have had direct links to the Law Foundation of NSW’s multiple initiatives.

Having the NSW Attorney General, Michael Daley, make the time to come and launch my memoir, REFORM, is very gratifying. And I thank former NSW Attorney General, Terry Sheahan for his warm words, too.

Thanks to everyone here for coming tonight – especially my children and wife, Pat - your presence is wonderful.

As those of you who do read my book, REFORM, will learn, I had a very ordinary but happy early life. I was one of six children, with parents who were determined their children would get the kind of good education they themselves missed out on.

The book chronicles a few false starts career-wise and reveals that I more or less stumbled into law. And shows, even very early on in my career, that I had a reformer’s DNA, as I immediately saw that the average person’s access to the law left a lot to be desired.

After I initiated the first pro bono legal advice service in Redfern in 1971 via the Young Lawyers Committee, John Mant, a senior member of the committee, suggested I should apply for a Churchill Fellowship – a fund offering Australians an opportunity to travel overseas to learn more about an issue they are passionate about. In my case, legal reforms in the US, UK and Canada.

That evening, on returning home to my wife Pat and our two young girls, I mentioned Mant’s suggestion to Pat, and she, rather selflessly considering the age of the girls, and knowing it would mean my being away for months said, ‘why not?’

The decision to apply for a Churchill Fellowship turned out to be a life changing decision as my application was accepted and I was quickly bundled off overseas.

In 1972, a young man who had never been anywhere, travelled through the U.S., Canada and the U.K. for 5 months visiting fascinating places, meeting leaders in their field, being introduced to new initiatives and soaking up valuable knowledge and experience.

Before leaving, I had researched the best people to talk to in each city and town and – luckily - they were only too happy to explain their work to this young Aussie lawyer and often referred me on to more contacts.

On my return, the experiences gained through The Churchill Fellowship led to the NSW Law Society seeing me as a suitable candidate to run the newly established Law Foundation of NSW. Another life changing moment.

And it is due to my time with the Law Foundation that I am standing here tonight launching my memoir, REFORM.

Six or seven years ago, after some luncheon event we had attended, I was in Terry Sheahan’s chambers when he said it was time I wrote the story of the Law Foundation of NSW.

The idea appealed to me. Thankfully I am a good note taker and had kept diaries and materials from my Fellowship travels as well as Law Foundation reports and other relevant data, so I had lots of resources.

As I put my heart and soul into the Foundation for over twenty years it can’t be much of a surprise that my history evolved into a more personal story, hence the subtitle – A Memoir of a Participant.

David Clune, an historian who has published many books over the years, was at the same lunch with Terry and I, and volunteered to help with the book. Over the years David gave me valuable feedback and in the later stages, helped edit the book. His encouragement and insights were essential. Sadly, he had a medical appointment and could not be here tonight. Thanks David.

When I took up the role of director in 1973, the Law Foundation of NSW’s board already had a number of initiatives it was keen to pursue.

These initiatives included: the new College of Law, a social science research team, the role of computers and the law, and legal studies in junior secondary classes.

I also outline in the book the Law Foundation of NSW’s involvement in many other major initiatives and projects including:

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre

Community Justice Centres

Youth Forum and the Campbelltown

Youth and the Law Project

Pocket Guide to the Law

The Model Court Project

Advocating for a Judicial Commission

The Communications Law Centre

Review of the Juvenile Justice System

Civil Justice Research Centre

Legal Information Access Centre

Tomorrow’s Legal Services

I really appreciate the large number of people who contributed over many years to the huge body of work the Foundation undertook. Many here tonight have links to these projects and I thank them.

I am also very proud of the contribution the Foundation made by allocating discretionary funding to a large range of non-profit grass roots community organisations whose needs fitted within the Foundation’s own goals.

It soon became clear that, to round out the memoir, there were several sub-stories to be told as well. An important one, I realised as I put the book together, was that I had been fortunate to have worked with a number of different governments both in NSW and Federally.

The common denominator of these governments was that they all undertook significant reforms, and the Foundation was often a contributor to the goals of these reformist governments.

For my sins, I have always been interested in how governments work so really enjoyed detailing the Foundation’s key role in so many great initiatives while drawing attention to the work of the reforming federal governments of Whitlam, Hawke and Keating and in my own state of NSW, the Askin, Wran and Unsworth governments.

The process of writing REFORM was more fun than I expected, and I hope you will all enjoy reading it. By all means, read from beginning to end, but, as many of the chapters are self-contained mini-histories, it’s also a book you can just open at the chapters that interest you most.

Now, a big shout out to my family who are here tonight.

Of course, thanks to my wife Pat for her nearly fifty-seven years of love and support. I owe everything to you. I am sorry you had to read and reread, and reread, the manuscript over the years of its creation. Your advice and input and encouragement were vital and very much appreciated. Thank you.

My daughters, Anne and Jane:

Anne, who, along with Pat, was more than wonderful in helping organize this launch in this spectacular space.

And Jane, and her husband Simon, who you probably all met at the front desk on your way in, who have both been so supportive.

My sons, John, Matthew, and Tim:

John, who is currently living in the UK, couldn’t make it but is here in spirit. As you might know, John is a brilliant writer, who has published five bestselling novels. He took time out to read my manuscript and helped edit the chapters detailing my family’s history and my early years. Thank you, John.

Matt, who lives in Merriwa, has driven four hours to be here – a long way to come for his dad. I really appreciate it, Matt.

Thanks to Tim and his partner Claire who have come down from Katoomba. My talented son designed REFORM’s wonderful cover and built the book’s brilliant website.

Also so delighted to see a sprinkling of my older grandchildren in the room. Sam and his partner Bonnie, Alex and his partner Shan, Kate, and Mia. Thanks for coming guys!

Also, thanks to some very dear long-time friends also here supporting me as usual.

A very special thanks also to Dawn Wong – my long-term colleague at the Law Foundation and later my business partner in our successful law firm, RetireLaw. Like Pat, Dawn has read REFORM more times than she would like to remember and is probably very happy to see it launched and out of her life.

A huge vote of appreciation to Peter Cashman for his generous foreword to the book.

And though unable to attend, thanks to our national treasures, Tom Keneally and Peter Garrett, for reading and blurbing the book.

You can order a copy of REFORM Australia's Golden Era of Social and Legal Reform 1965 - 1995: A Memoir of a Participant HERE.

ABOUT:

REFORM Australia's Golden Era of Social and Legal Reform 1965 - 1995:

A Memoir of a Participant

As a society evolves, so must its laws. Purcell's instructive memoir of achieving genuine social and legal change will inspire the reformers of today and tomorrow.

Entering law in the early 1960s, author Terry Purcell quickly recognised the limitations of the existing legal services programmes and wanted to help find better ways these services could be accessed and delivered.

From humble beginnings as a child in Sydney's inner west, winning a Churchill Fellowship gave Purcell the unique and timely opportunity to learn how social and legal reforms were being implemented overseas. Purcell met and spoke with many passionate lawyers and some of the great reformers of the day whilst travelling through an America rocked by the Watergate scandal, including visiting a legal aid programme on the Navajo reservation, seeing firsthand the poverty of Southside Chicago and then meeting with committed lawyers in Canada and the UK's highly developed welfare state.

Back in Australia as Director of the Law Foundation of NSW from 1973 to 1995, Purcell encouraged and funded many reform initiatives including the digitisation of legal data, social science research of the legal profession and encouraging community access to legal information by publishing 'Australia's Constitution - Time for Change', the 'Pocket Guide to the Law' and The Law Handbook'. The Law Foundation also supported The NSW College of Law, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, legal studies in schools, Continuing Legal Education, and Community Justice Centres, and helped modernise the NSW Court System.

As a witness and participant in Australia's golden age of social and legal reform from 1965 to 1995, Purcell weathered the rise and fall of governments. From the slow demise of the Menzies era to the promise of Gough Whitlam, acknowledging key reforms of Askin and Wran ministers, through the Fraser years onto the ambitious Hawke-Keating period- Purcell remained steadfast in his belief in improving access to the law for all.

Terry Purcell LLB was Director of The Law Foundation of NSW from 1973 to 1995 and was a founding partner in the estate planning firm RetireLaw. Recently retired, Terry lives with his wife Pat on the Northern Beaches and has five children and eleven grandchildren.

Terry Purcell was a valiant leader of a bunch of constitutional outliers including myself and genial Peter Garrett who wanted to introduce peace, aspiration and reasonable idealism into a constitution.

- Thomas Keneally, AO

The work Terry, myself and others contributed to constitutional reform was important and can inform current events.

- Peter Garrett, AM

During my tenure as the Attorney General of NSW, there were two unprecedented, but much-needed projects introduced largely by the Law Foundation and its Director, Terry Purcell.

- Terry Sheahan, AO