When: 29 July 2021, 6:30 to 8:00pm
Where: Online via Zoom
You are invited to the Annual Frank Walker Lecture 2021, featuring an address by Milton Cockburn on the topic 'Unravelling the War on Wran'. Join the NSW Society of Labor Lawyers as we celebrate the life and times of the late Attorney-General the Hon Frank Walker QC, MP.
The Wran Government's legislative achievements were historic. Among its many achievements, the Wran Government implemented reforms to decriminalise homosexual acts, ensure public funding and disclosure of donations during elections, enact the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) and the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW) and remove crimes in the state that had an unfair bias towards those of lower socio-economic status. The late Frank Walker, to varying degrees, played an important role in these law reform projects as Attorney-General from 1978 to 1981.
And yet, since Wran’s passing, there has been a concerted effort by elements of the media to defame Wran and some of his ministers and therefore to diminish the personal and professional legacy of the Wran Government. This year for the Annual Frank Walker Lecture, Milton Cockburn, former editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and staff member to Neville Wran, will be delivering a lecture in which he puts the case for dismissing recent and historic media attacks on Wran’s legacy.
Join friends and family of Frank, fellow practitioners, academics and students to celebrate the life of a great Labor reformer.
Recent Articles by Milton Cockburn
Attendees at the event can access Milton Cockburn's writing on the ABC Four Corners expose on the Luna Park Ghost Train fires at the following links:
(first published in the Southern Highlands Newsletter)
About Milton Cockburn
Milton Cockburn has worked in both the public and private sectors. He was an adviser in NSW Premier Neville Wran’s Ministerial Advisory Unit from 1978 until 1981. He was a journalist for The Sydney Morning Herald for 16 years, including as Political Correspondent and Canberra Bureau Chief and Editor. He also worked for the Sydney Olympic Games Organising Committee and was later the head of an industry association. He is the co-author, with Mike Steketee, of Wran: An Unauthorised Biography published in 1986.
About Frank Walker
Frank Walker was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the Georges River electorate from 1970 to 1988. He served as the 41st Attorney General of NSW from 1976 to 1983. Following his state parliamentary career Frank ran successfully for the seat of Robertson in 1990 and represented the electorate until the 1996 election. During his political life, Frank was a reformist, overseeing significant legislative change in the areas of land rights, criminal law, and discrimination law.