NSW Council for Civil Liberties is delighted to announce the election of a new
President, Pauline Wright, only the second woman to lead the organisation since its
inception in 1963. Carolyn Simpson QC, former Justice of the Supreme Court of
NSW, was the first female President, from 1975 to 1979.
Wright said “The civil liberties movement has been my life’s work. I’ve been
engaged with NSW Council for Civil Liberties for most of my adult life and I’m
deeply honoured to have been elected President. It has informed almost every aspect
of my professional career. NSWCCL is an increasingly important organisation and its
work is dear to my heart.”
Having been President of the Law Society of NSW in 2017 and a current member of
the Executive Committee of the Law Council of Australia, Pauline is no stranger to
leadership. She has been a long-term member of the Council and was Vice President
during the presidencies of Kevin O’Rourke, Cameron Murphy and Stephen Blanks.
She said “I succeed Stephen Blanks, who has been President since 2013, and
Cameron Murphy who was President before him from 2000. They were both great
leaders, so they are big boots to fill. It will be an enormous challenge but I will give it
my best.”
“NSWCCL is a long-established and already well-respected organisation but I believe
our best days lie ahead,” she said. “There is, right now, a groundswell of support for
the human rights and freedoms that NSWCCL has stood for since its establishment in
1963. Successive governments have been steadily eroding the rights and freedoms
underpinning our democracy and people are waking up to it. Long live civil
liberties!"
Contacts:
Pauline Wright
President, NSW CCL
Michael Brull
Policy Lawyer, NSW CCL
