Nicholas Cowdery AO KC FAAL 

Nicholas Cowdery was the NSWCCL President from October 2019 to January 2021. A barrister, acting judge and now Adjunct Professor, Nick was the Director of Public Prosecutions for the Australian state of New South Wales from 1994 to 2011. Nick also served as President of the International Association of Prosecutors from 1999 to 2005 and was inaugural Co-Chair of the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association from 1995 to 2001. He chairs the National Human Rights Committee of the Law Council of Australia.

Mr Cowdery was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in June 2003, and an Officer of the Order in June 2019 in recognition of his distinguished service to the law, to the protection of human rights, to professional legal bodies, and to the community. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law.

Jonathan Gadir

Jonathan works in data privacy law, consulting for many of Australia's largest organisations. He previously worked in the newsroom of the ABC and in policy in the NGO sector and has taught media and communications law.

Josh Pallas

Josh Pallas was President of NSWCCL from mid 2022 to our AGM in October 2023. Josh has been a passionate and effective NSWCCL member since being placed with the Council as an intern under Stephen Blanks’s supervision by the Law School at the University of Wollongong. He has been active since 2016, joining the management committee in January 2017, becoming Vice-President from October 2017 - 2019 and again in October 2021.

He holds Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts degrees with First Class Honours from the University of Wollongong and a Master of Laws in Criminal Justice from the University of New South Wales. He was Tipstaff to the Hon. Justice Megan Latham in the Supreme Court before moving into criminal, public and commercial law practice and then to the Crown Solicitor's Office focusing on counterterrorism, criminal law and environmental crime.

Josh is completing a PhD on preventive detention and supervision laws in NSW at the University of Sydney. He has published academic works on criminal and human rights law in a range of journals including the Public Law Review, Current Issues in Criminal Justice and the University of Tasmania Law Review, as well as pieces for non-specialist audiences across the broader media including the Sydney Morning Herald and SBS.

Hans Heilpern

Hans is currently a legal member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal. As an academic he developed and taught in the first NSW tertiary courses for police and prison officers.

During the Wran Labor Government he was chief of staff to the Attorney General and later the Director General of the Department of Community Services.

Hans has been a member of a number of Commonwealth and State tribunals and was a member of the NSW Parole Board.

He was a special consultant to Commonwealth Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and the Commonwealth Minister for Health in connection with HIV/AIDS in prison. He was a Commissioner on the Inquiry into Abuse of Children in Queensland.

Cassandra Wilkinson OAM

Cassandra Wilkinson OAM was a leader in the community broadcasting sector for more than two decades, co-founding and chairing the board of FBi Radio, Sydney’s youth, arts and emerging culture radio station. FBi has been a critical platform for Australian music and a training ground for young professionals in media and the arts

In addition to a long career in public service, Cass has devoted herself to building opportunities for Australian artists through Music NSW, the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia and as co- owner of Lazy Thinking Records.

Cass is a senior executive in NSW Treasury and brings strong skills in finance and governance. She is passionate about organisational culture and ensuring public institutions reflect the communities they serve. Cass is also currently a non executive Director of the Special Broadcasting Service. 

Malcolm Ramage KC

Malcolm is a barrister specialising in criminal law. He was appointed KC in 1990. Malcolm has been a NSWCCL member since about 1971 and has has held the role of President.

David Pink

David Pink is a solicitor specialising in medical malpractice and dust diseases. He is secretary of the NSW Society of Labor Lawyers and company secretary of the SEARCH Foundation, serving in both roles since 2018.

He holds Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Sydney.

David joined the NSWCCL management committee in 2024.

Timothy Roberts - President

Timothy commenced in the legal profession in April 2020 at NEW Law, a law firm owned by unions and that provides legal services to unions, union members and the general public. Timothy commenced as a paralegal and research assistant to support Counsel Assisting the Teachers Federation Independent Inquiry into the status of teaching, and his work in this role contributed to the 2021 Valuing the teacher profession report. Timothy was admitted as a solicitor in July 2021.

Prior to Timothy’s appointment at NEW Law, he worked as a Senior Education Officer and Executive Officer at the NSW Education Standards Authority. Timothy holds a Bachelor of Biomedical Science and Master of Education from the University of Newcastle, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Technology Sydney.

Timothy began his career as a secondary science teacher, working primarily in regional NSW. In 2016, he was a representative for public schools on the Quality Teaching Council.

Timothy has also worked as a Relief Officer in many roles at the NSW Teachers Federation and been an association representative on their Branch Council.

Tia Giles

Tia is a current undergraduate law/communications student. She began her studies in 2021 at the University of Technology Sydney. She is passionate about civil liberties, particularly women’s rights, discrimination law reform, and strengthening human rights protections. Tia is also engaged in growing young people's involvement in CCL through the newly established student committee.

Lydia Shelly -  Vice President

Lydia became President of NSWCCL in 2023 after serving as Vice President for two years.

Lydia is admitted as a solicitor with the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the High Court of Australia. She is a practicing solicitor in Western Sydney and joined the committee in 2014.

Lydia is concerned over the erosion of fundamental legal principles and civil liberties due to increasingly draconian legislation, such as counter terrorism legislation. With a Masters of Terrorism and Security Studies, Lydia has a strong understanding of the policy frameworks that intersect with legislative responses.

Strengthening social cohesion in communities through democratic participation is one of her passions and she regularly engages with diverse stakeholders on civil liberty issues – including on drug law reform, the right to peacefully protest and police powers.

Dr Martin Bibby - Vice President 

Martin has been a member of the Committee since 2004. He was Assistant Secretary for a number of years and  convener of civil rights subcommittee 2007-2013.  Martin writes a large number of CCL’s submissions in relation to civil liberties and human rights issues. 

Formerly President of: Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia, NSW Institute for Educational Research, Schoolwatch Committee;  Chair of the Board of Educational Philosophy and Theory and the ethics committee of the Australian Association for Research in Education; secretary of the Federation of Australian Postgraduate Associations

Adam Connor - Secretary

Adam is currently a policy officer and law student. Adam commenced studies at University of New South Wales in 2021 and is working towards completion of a combined Bachelors degree, in Arts/Law. He has been working within the Union movement since 2020.

Adam joined the NSWCCL management committee in 2023 and was elected Secretary in 2024.