PN1
JUSTICE
ROSS: Minister.
PN2
MR
A BREEN: Good morning, Mr President and members of the Fair Work
Commission, and the representatives from industry, trade union movement and the
legal profession who are with us here today. I also welcome and
acknowledge Binet DP and your family who are with us today as well.
PN3
The
Australian government, on whose behalf I speak today, is very pleased to take
part in these proceedings. The Minister for Employment, Senator the
Honourable Michaelia Cash is unfortunately unable to be here today, but I wish
to pass on her congratulations to you, Deputy President.
PN4
The
Fair Work Commission as Australia's National Workplace Relations Tribunal is an
esteemed institution in this country with a history of over 100 years and which
now covers the majority of workplaces in Australia. This institution and
its predecessors have an extremely important function in this country and have
presided over some of the most significant decisions to have shaped the
nation's industrial landscape.
PN5
It
remains closely interwoven in the industrial fabric of Australia and as the
national economy changes, it will continue to play an important part in shaping
the workplace relations framework into the future. The Fair Work
Commission's guiding principles reflect its important heritage, equity, good
conscience and the merits of the matter. It is required to exercise its
powers and perform its functions under the Fair Work Act 2009 in a manner that
is fair and just, open and transparent and that promotes harmonious and
cooperative workplace relations.
PN6
Deputy
President, as a new and senior member of the Commission, I know you are highly
qualified to undertake this task. You graduated with a degree of Bachelor
of Economics in 1989, followed by the degree of Bachelor of Law in 1993, both
from the University of Western Australia. Since that time, you have
dedicated your professional life with distinction to a great range of aspects
of employment and workplace relations matters.
PN7
You
rose rapidly through the ranks in private practice with Freehills and Clayton
Utz before establishing a boutique multidisciplinary practice Gregor and Binet
Pty Ltd in 2007. There appears to be no matter of employment and
workplace relations in which you do not have experience and expertise at the
highest level. These contributions include the activities of advocacy,
advice, investigations, training, practice and project management in the fields
of industrial relations, human resources and safety.
PN8
Your
ability to complete major and sensitive projects at work, to undertake every
aspect of legal professional activity and to demonstrate exemplary professional
leadership should be an inspiration to others who may seek to follow a similar
path. I know the people of Western Australia have benefited from your
singular contributions, just as the Fair Work Commission will benefit in
future.
PN9
The
high regard and esteem in which you are held is reflected in your appointment
as President of the Industrial Relations Society in Western Australia and
President of the Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association.
PN10
Among
other roles, you are also one of just 16 people serving on the Executive
Committee of the International Labour and Employment Relations Association as
the Asia Pacific representative. The calibre of women and men appointed
to the Fair Work Commission must be high and they must show good
judgment. The Australian government is confident that you will perform
your duties as a Deputy President of the Fair Work Commission fairly,
impartially and effectively. Your addition to the Fair Work Commission
will only further enhance the important work performed by this honourable
institution. Congratulations.
PN11
MS
D WILLMOTT: If the Commission pleases, it is a great pleasure to welcome
the appointment of Binet DP to the Fair Work Commission on behalf of the
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and our members. Binet DP, we
acknowledge the standing you have obtained in the field of workplace relations
as developed over the course of your career practising employment law at
Freehills and then later Clayton Utz and later in your own boutique legal
practice, Gregor and Binet.
PN12
You
come to the Commission as a highly regarded senior practitioner with extensive
experience in employment and industrial law. A former client has told how
you provided a differing perspective to issues and would discuss options in
order to ensure that what was being provided was what we wanted and that is was
accomplished in the best possible way. This person says you were
extremely helpful in delivering their project, at times under some difficult
and frustrating circumstances with the ultimate goal of achieving a workable
outcome.
PN13
They
added that your approach is one of true collaboration and instilling growth in
the individuals with whom you interact, and I quote:
PN14
She
is a good listener, an excellent sounding board, well‑informed,
experienced, intelligent, sincere, warm and engaging, and always available.
PN15
High
praise, indeed.
PN16
You
come with experience in all manner of workplace relations matters, including
employment law, industrial strategy, workplace inquiries and mediation.
You have regularly appeared as counsel in various state and federal courts and
tribunals dealing with employment matters.
PN17
While
it is described by some as "the dismal science", you also have a
degree in Economics and may even be required to draw upon this knowledge
too. Your appointment comes at a time when the balance in the profile of
matters before the Commission has changed, shifting from collective disputes to
more individual rights-based disputes. Your experience will stand you in
good stead.
PN18
Judge
Lucev, now of the Federal Circuit Court, worked with you at Freehills. He
notes that you always sought to know more; not to question in an insubordinate
way, but rather in an intellectual way, and I quote:
PN19
She
wants to know. She questions because she wants to understand. She
is keen to think through ideas.
PN20
Those
who appear before you should take note.
PN21
You
have had an outstanding legal mind, even from your days as a student at the
University of Western Australia where you completed your Bachelor of Economics
and later a Bachelor of Laws. As a final-year law student, you drafted
the 30,000-word text of the original WA Industrial Law section of the revered
Halsbury's Laws of Australia.
PN22
But
after graduating, I understand that your career had a slightly rocky
start. I am told that your first appearance as an advocate was before a
Full Bench on a demarcation matter. It was, indeed, unusual for a first
appearance to be a Full Bench matter and I understood that when you rose to
question your first witness, your very first question received an objection and
as you have described it, it felt like your career was about to be over before
it even began.
PN23
You
have thrived in a profession dominated by men. At Freehills, I understand
you represented the Freemasons for a claim arising from the termination of
their general manager. When you arrived at their headquarters, you were
informed that you would not be able to enter the boardroom as no woman had ever
entered the boardroom, but you took the obstacle in your stride, persuading
your client to allow you to be the first woman to enter their board room.
PN24
As
Judge Lucev tells it:
PN25
Melanie
is willing to break down barriers to push though.
PN26
He
goes on to note that,
PN27
She
has a broad understanding of the human condition and will have no difficulty
with impartiality in her role.
PN28
The
legal profession owes you a debt of gratitude. Your are currently
Secretary of the Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association and
have been an active participant in the Australian Human Resources Institute,
the WA Employees Relations Committee and the IR Society of WA.
PN29
Your
activities go beyond our shores. Last year you were elected to represent
the Asia Pacific on the World Governing Committee of the International Labour
and Employment Relations Association.
PN30
On
this very special day for you, it is also appropriate to acknowledge the
support that you have received from your family. Their support has helped
you in your successful career and also as the mother of five boys, and it is
delightful to have Jonty, Cullen and Quinn here to celebrate with you
today. We should also acknowledge that two more boys have sadly left this
life.
PN31
Deputy
President, your origins and experience from Western Australia will serve you
well. It is a state with a rich resources history. It has also
undergone and continues to experience dynamic change and evolution, with contemporary
Australian workplaces facing economic challenges and new opportunities in equal
measure.
PN32
The
Australian Chamber and our members are confident your experience will enable
you to make a very positive contribution to the work of the Commission.
We congratulate you and wish you well, if the Commission pleases.
PN33
MS
M HAMMAT: Members of the Commission, Binet DP, your family, other invited
guests, it's a great pleasure for me to rise today on behalf of Unions WA and
the Australian Council of Trade Unions to welcome you, Binet DP, to this very
Australian institution, the Fair Work Commission.
PN34
Congratulations
and welcome. You have joined a unique Australian institution that
continues to uphold a longstanding Australian system of workplace and
industrial relations. It is a system that balances the unilateral power
of management with the right of employees to utilise collective bargaining and
to access an independent and impartial umpire when circumstances require
it. It's an industrial relations system that has always recognised that
work and work relations are not just part of our economic story, but that work
is also part of the story of our society and the story of our community as
well.
PN35
It's
an industrial relations system that at its heart recognises that Australian
workplaces should not just be productive but they should also be fair.
Our history has demonstrated the merit of having a third party who is able to
intervene in the employment relationship in the interests of fairness, equity
and efficiency when circumstances require it.
PN36
This
approach has been good for the economy, has contributed significantly to
improving living standards for workers and their families and it has ensured a
degree of economic equity across our nation.
PN37
Deputy
President, you are joining this Commission at a time of great change, not just
in the Western Australian economy, not just in our industrial relations
system. We have already seen significant change in industrial relations
over the last 20 years and for those of us in the room who think about the
employment relationship for the future, we understand that the next 10 year or
so will bring a whole range of new challenges, not just for the Commission to
face, but for regulators and for the practitioners of the Industrial Relations
in this country as work is changed, as the employment relationship is
challenged and is redefined and disrupted. During these difficult years,
it will be vital that, as a country, our institutions have access to the best
minds to guide us through these challenging and difficult times.
PN38
Deputy
President, we have heard much this morning about your long and esteemed career,
but you are also well-known for your involvement and commitment to the
profession and to Industrial Relations generally. You are known not just
as a practitioner but one who has a keen interest in advancing our collective
understanding of industrial relations and the law, and you've had a very active
involvement in professional bodies throughout your career.
PN39
I
think your qualifications, your long experience and your attributes will well
qualify you for this role, not just today but into the future as we
collectively meet the challenges that we face as an economy and as a
society. So on half of the trade union movement, can I welcome you to
your appointment. I am confident that as long as this institution remains
committed to being guided by equity, good accountants on the merits of the
matters before it, that you will make a valuable and substantial contribution
to preserving and promoting fairness in our workplaces and productivity as
well. If it pleases the Commission.
PN40
MR
A MUSIKANTH: If it pleases the Commission, it is my pleasure my morning
to welcome Binet DP to the Fair Work Commission on behalf of the Law Council of
Australia, the Law Society of Western Australia and the legal profession.
PN41
Deputy
President, your appointment marks a new phase in the lengthy and distinguished
career in employment law and industrial relations. The Law Society
congratulates both you and your family on this significant achievement.
I've also been asked by the President of the Law Council of Australia, Mr
Stuart Clark AM to extend his personal congratulations and best wishes to you
on your appointment.
PN42
Previous
speakers have already recounted your education and career and acknowledged your
achievements, so I therefore do not intend repeating what they have said.
There is, however, one thing in particular which I would like to
emphasise. It is the fact that you have, for your entire career, been a
member of the Law Society of Western Australia.
PN43
Indeed,
you became a member of the society in 1994, the year prior to your admission as
a practitioner. Over the past 22 years, you have not contented yourself
in being a mere spectator. On the contrary, you have been a highly valued
contributor to the work of the society over many years. You have served
the society on its Bullying in the Profession Committee between 2008 and 2011.
PN44
You
have also made an important contribution to the society's continuing
professional development program, including speaking at many of its
seminars. Perhaps, most significantly, you have for some 15 years served
as a member of the society's Employee Relations Committee, joining the
committee in 2001 and becoming its Deputy Convenor five years later in 2006.
PN45
The
society's employee relations committee, not unlike this Tribunal, draws on the
experience and expertise of members from a wide variety of fields who come from
a range of different backgrounds including employer/employee union and
government. Your active contribution to the work of the society in
general and to the Employee Relations Committee in particular is greatly
appreciated.
PN46
As
other speakers have already noted, the work which you have done outside of practice
has not been confined to the activities of the Law Society. Somehow, you
have managed to find the time to play a leading role in the work of a number of
other organisations too. As Ms Willmott has mentioned, during your career
you have had extensive experience both as an instructor and as an advocate
before various state and Commonwealth courts and tribunals, including this
Commission.
PN47
This
Commission of course plays a vital role in the maintenance of minimum wages and
employment conditions and in the resolution of workplace disputes in
Australia. The very notion of the Commission's remit requires it to draw
both on a wide range of skills and expertise, and on a diverse range of
professional disciplines and backgrounds when it comes to the selection and
appointment of those who are to preside over its activities.
PN48
The
Law Society is therefore delighted to see that the strong skill base already
present on the Bench of the Commission in Perth has been further enhanced by
the appointment of an experienced and talented member of the legal profession.
PN49
Deputy
President, you have been described as possessing a "can do" approach
and as being super organised, very thorough and very committed. I have
also been told that you enjoy excellent negotiation skills; skills which
sometimes extended well beyond your chosen areas of speciality. In fact,
I have it on good authority that your talents are such that at a particular
stage of your career you even managed to requisition, of all things, a
helicopter. While the application of that particular skill will
mercifully perhaps not be one which is likely to consume too much of your time
on the Bench, there's no question that you many other talents and attributes
will stand you in excellent stead for the years that lie before you.
PN50
Deputy
President, for more than two decades you have been immersed in the practice of
employment law and industrial relations. The legal profession has every
confidence that you will serve the Commission with great distinction. We
extend both the heartiest congratulations to you on your appointment and our
very best wishes for a long and distinguished career on the Bench of this
Tribunal. May it please the Commission.
PN51
DEPUTY
PRESIDENT BINET: Thank you, President Ross, Ms Hammat, Ms Willmott, Mr
Breen and Mr Musikanth. I would also like to acknowledge the presence of
the members of the State Commission and my colleagues on the Bench. I
laboured for some weeks trying to write a speech for today. I eventually
set upon an opening line which I thought had appropriate dramatic effect.
PN52
President
Ross, I stand before you by virtue of those who sit behind me. I imagined
myself standing and delivering the line. It's a great opening and I asked
O'Callaghan SDP, who is renowned for doing not only his own work but also the
work of the parties, to proof read my speech and he'd pointed out that as I'd
been appointed to the Bench; I would be actually sitting with the President and
not standing before him. Clearly I'm having some difficulty transitioning, in
my own mind, from the Bar Table to the Bench, although it is somewhere where I
have wanted to be all my life.
PN53
I
was born into a family with a passion for politics, business, economics, work
and people. As a little girl, I never wanted to be a princess or a
ballerina. From the moment I opened my mouth I wanted to work in
industrial relations. As a child, my father who is well-known to many of
you, was employed by the Chamber of Commerce. He was mostly on the road
in the North, in the East and for extended spells in foreign lands, such as the
ILO in Geneva or the North Sea or the Middle East. It was from these
exotic places he would send postcards back to my mother who was stuck in
suburban Perth raising two children who would alternatively take turns stopping
breathing with either asthma or fibular convulsions.
PN54
My
mother, having left school at 14, returned to study when my brother started
school. Somehow she managed to combine raising us with full-time work and
study, eventually acquiring two undergraduate degrees and a masters. It's
from her that I acquired my passion for study, a steely determination and a
strong work ethic.
PN55
So
that we had an opportunity to spend time with my father, my brother and I would
tag along with him during our school holidays. I grew up with WA's major
construction projects; the Northwest shelf project, the Argyle Diamond Mine,
the Telfer Gold Mine. From inception, through construction to production,
eventually as an adult, providing advice to the project participants. An
understanding of the history of the projects in this state and the features
which are peculiar to our state will hopefully equip me to assist those parties
who will develop the projects of the future which will deliver WA's economy
from the doldrums it currently experiences back to boom time.
PN56
My
father has an enviable standing in the industrial relations community.
His ability to be widely accepted and respected arises from his capacity to
easily mix and meet with people, whatever their background and status, and his
genuine interest in what they do. In particular, he has the most
incredible capacity to understand and recall systems of work. Over many
years, I've listened to him talk ore leaching processes with metallurgists,
tunnel inclines with engineers, and slaughtering with meat workers. Like
him, I've always been fascinated with how work is done and the people who do
it.
PN57
In
the days when projects factored in a certain number of fatalities as
inevitable, there were less stringent safety rules and as a child I would
eagerly jump at the opportunity to drive an oil truck or scramble over a
processing plant, or travel down the ore lines on a high rail. As an
adult in our practice together, both of us would leap at every opportunity to
spend time in our client's workplaces, whether that was maximum-security
prisons or gold mines in the high Andes at 5000 metres above sea level.
PN58
While
there are financial restraints upon the capacity for Tribunal members to travel
to sites in the way my father was able to do when he was on the Bench, I hope I
never lose that connection with the real world of work and those who work hard
and long hours for modest reward. Mining and construction was and always
has been my passion. When other little girls were playing with dolls, I
collected rock and construction company stickers. I would proudly show my
rocks to the rock doctors who were among the diverse range of people who would
frequent out home, because my mother would insist that my father hold dinners
at home, rather than go out for dinner with clients.
PN59
I'm
forever in debt to those men who so patiently engaged in discussion and debate
with what I now realised must have been a horribly precocious child.
PN60
Members
of the Tribunal, such as the former President, the late Honourable Barry
Madden, former Commissioner Bob Merriman, the Honourable Geoff Guidice, former
Deputy President McCarthy; capital venturers like Courtney Chamberlain, IR
petitioners like Geoff Stockden and union leaders like Don Bartlem and Kevin
Reynolds, journalists like Paul Murray. They patiently provided me with
insight into their spheres of work and thought.
PN61
I
was, and remain, particularly interested in wage determination and my father
recounts one evening, well before he was appointed to the Bench, Barry Madden
and I engaged in animated conversation about the merits of alternative wage
determination models. Much later, following his appointment to the Bench,
the two-tier wage system which we discussed that evening eventually proved to be
an innovative and highly successful mechanism which achieved significant
productivity improvements in the Australian economy.
PN62
On
another occasion with my father, I ran into Kevin Reynolds in the street and we
discussed with him that his members were about to construct new school
buildings for my school. We discussed the work conditions on site and an
appropriate site allowance, given those conditions. True to his word, he
subsequently honoured it in his negotiations with the builder, based on a
handshake with a 13‑year-old.
PN63
I
was raised and educated by the Loreto sisters, with a view that gender should
impose no limitation. In fact, the Loreto nuns who educated me took the
view, in common with my mother, that women who aspired for equality lacked ambition.
At university I was fortunate to be educated by some of the best industrial
relations academics in the country, including Marcelle Brown and Professor Ray
Fells They taught me to apply an intellectual rigour and reasoning to my
lifelong interest in the practice of workplace relations.
PN64
While
my law degree gave me an entree into the law firms, advising on the major
industrial matters in the country, my economics degree with its HR/IR
management majors gave me an insight into people. Arguably, a more
important qualification given that if ore is not being loaded at the cost of a
million dollars a day, winning in the Federal Court is of little comfort to a
client. The reality is that it's necessary to find a people-solution to
industrial disputes and not simply a legal one.
PN65
The
conciliation powers of the Fair Work Commission make it uniquely placed, not
only to assist the parties to resolve disputes, but to take a far more
proactive role and help the parties build better relationships. The New
Approaches Project and the Major Project Panel are exciting developments in
this regard. I hope to participate in this work and future strategies
which seek to engage industrial parties in a proactive and collaborative way.
PN66
While
at university, I became fascinated with the study of comparative industrial
relations. It's an interest which I've subsequently been able to pursue
in my role at ALERA. It is of great interest to me that countries around
the world are basing their industrial relations system on the conciliation
senate approach, with a well-resourced and expansively powered Tribunal that
Australia first instituted in 1904, but has since watered down somewhat.
Hopefully, success of the Commission's latest proactive engagement strategies
with the industrial parties will be viewed favourably when the government next
reviews the resourcing powers of the Commission.
PN67
I
was fortunate to spend my formative years as a lawyer in top-tier national law
firms, which exposed me to the biggest and most complex industrial matters; not
only here in the West, but around Australia. The long hours and weeks
without days off were compensated by the opportunity to work and play with the
best and brightest, including Chloe Piper and Duncan Fletcher who are here
today.
PN68
It
was a collaborative and intellectually stimulating environment which taught me
to work hard and think innovatively. Advocacy is an art form and I was
fortunate to learn it from master craftsman like Tony Power, Ian Neill, Chris
O'Grady, Brian Lacy and Toni Lucev. Apart from the gesture of an opposing
counsel, I might never had an advocacy career as Deirdre noted.
PN69
That
experience did teach me an important lesson and that is while we are
adversaries for the purposes of our client's case, we're compatriots as
advocates and we all have a role in nurturing the next generation of
advocates. The risk of young advocates, particularly non-legally trained
ones stumbling at the first hurdle has been significantly reduced by the
brilliant advocacy program run by Chris O'Grady and Brian Lacy with the
assistance of the Fair Work Commission.
PN70
As
daunting as appearances are for those who are legal practitioners or lay
advocates, the experience for those self-represented parties must be
overwhelming. Increasingly, self-representation is the norm in the
tribunal. The Fair Work Commission under the leadership of President Ross
has made exceptional progress in making the Tribunal more accessible through
innovative initiatives, such as the mock advocacy program and the release of
the Bench Books. I hope to contribute to the future strategies that allow
everyone who has a genuine claim the opportunity to fully pursue a remedy or
fairly defend a claim.
PN71
As
a baby lawyer, working primarily in the mining construction section, it wasn't
uncommon to be the only woman in the room, but I never experienced gender
discrimination from clients. In my experience, clients were solely
interested in the aptitude of their lawyer and not the sex, a point no better
proven than the Grand Lodge.
PN72
They
chose - they had the opportunity to choose a male or female lawyer and they
decided they would work with a female lawyer. I ended up working quite
closely with them and ended up being issued with my own copy of the rule book
and have the unique claim to be one of the few women to have viewed the Grand
Master's sword. Sadly, the biggest challenge to young women lawyers in
corporate law firms is a lack of mentors and mentoring from other women.
PN73
When
I commenced the practice of law, women partners in top-tier commercial law
firms were very rare. Those few that did achieve such lofty heights
typically had no children, or if they did had returned to work almost
immediately after their children were born. A career and active
parenthood appeared to be mutually exclusive options.
PN74
In
appointing me as the first female Deputy President from Western Australia, the
government has given many young female lawyers the comfort that choosing to
work part-time while their children are young does not necessarily mean that
they need to abandon otherwise promising careers. I thank the government
for the faith they have placed in me and look forward to demonstrating that
this confidence was well-placed.
PN75
Although
I had few female mentors, I have however been blessed with many patient and
gifted male mentors, including Templeman J, Chief Commissioner Tony Beech,
Nigel Hadgkiss, Russell Allen, former SDP Brian Lacy, Hampton C and most
recently O'Callaghan SDP, who if he does anymore for me, will be owed my
firstborn son.
PN76
My
longest and strongest mentor, however, is Judge Lucev. I have all my
professional career aspired to his legal brilliance and to this day, one of my
most treasured possessions is an advice on which he wrote "Good work"
more than 15 years ago. My own lack of female mentors has driven me to do
what I can do to encourage other young women. I'm particularly proud of
the Women in IR Breakfast which over the years has brought together up to 180
young women across the industrial relations and human resources professions to
network and be addressed by leading women at different stages of their careers
about the challenges they've faced and overcome.
PN77
I
hope to continue to contribute in whatever way I can to encourage young women
to pursue a career in industrial relations. In more recent years, I've
been fortunate to work with some extremely competent and incredibly hardworking
women, such as Susan Barrera, Maria Saraceni, Peter Mabbs, Angie Dominish,
Heather Harker, Acting Senior Commissioner Pam Scott, Chris Howe and Jessica
Price, all of whom who have become close friends and continue to be important
mentors and inspirations for me.
PN78
Despite
what might be presumed from my CV, I'm a passionate believer in the importance
of unions in our country. I'm an admirer of the charismatic leadership
styles of union leaders such as Kevin Reynolds and Russell Armstrong who has
come back from England today to be here this morning. The dedication of
union officials such as Mark Shipman and Paul Hunt and the intellectual capabilities
of union leaders like Will Tracey and Elyane Palmer who is here today.
PN79
While
the media frequently portrays unions as corrupt and violent, less attention is
paid to the social welfare contribution made by unions, which goes well beyond
the critical representational role they play in an industrial sense. I am
very conscious that even with two degrees, including one in law, it was only in
the later stages of my career that I was able to negotiate the terms and
conditions of my employment. For those less fortunate than me, the
challenge is overwhelming. Without the unions, many of the most basis
conditions of working life that we take for granted in Australia we would be
without.
PN80
While
I am incredibly proud of what I've achieved in my career, I am most proud of my
sons. All five of them in each of their own way are an inspiration to
me. My eldest son Jonty is defiantly quirky and independent. He is
successful and whatever he chooses to succeed at. During his school
holidays, he worked in my legal practice, and I'm extraordinarily proud to say
that he did a better job than most of the baby lawyers that I've
supervised. Cullen, my middle son, is gritty and determined and is my
motivation for pushing myself whenever I get to my physical and mental limitations.
PN81
Quinn,
my baby, is clever and caring, and no matter how bad a day is, Quinn can always
make it better with a kiss and a bear hug. The loss of my twin boys, Liam
and Aiden burnt a hole in my soul that will never heal, but has made me
conscious of the gift that life is. Since losing them, I've lived a life
more fully and passionately, conscious that every day is a gift which should be
lived without regrets.
PN82
My
thanks go to Scott who while married and since has always supported me to allow
me to pursue my career, whether it was proof-reading 80-page client reports in
the early hours of the morning, abandoning his work and personal commitments to
look after the boys or to bring me a baked dinner and iced coffee while I
worked through the night.
PN83
In
addition, I've also been incredibly fortunate to have family friends such as
the McCarthys, the Colemans and the Lucevs who have provided both professional
and personal support in the good times and the bad, since I was a child.
Finally, a thanks to my wider group of family and friends, who are in the room
today, who have put up with my bossiness, my chatter, and my inability to sit
still, and love me all the same.
PN84
It
is the time and effort that each and every person in this room has invested in
me over the years that has equipped me with the potential to make a notable
contribution to this organisation and the people it serves. I intend to make
you all proud. Thank you.
PN85
JUSTICE
ROSS: Before we adjourn, I will shortly invite the Deputy President to take
the Oath of Office. The Deputy President has already formally taken the
oath, but it's important that it be repeated on this public occasion.
It's important because the oath represents a promise; a promise between a
member and the public that the institution serves that they will faithfully and
impartially perform the duties of their office.
PN86
DEPUTY
PRESIDENT BINET: I, Melanie Binet, do swear that I will bear true
allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors
according to the law, that I will well and truly serve her in the office of
Deputy President of the Fair Work Commission and I will faithfully and
impartially perform the duties of the office, so help me God.
PN87
JUSTICE
ROSS: We adjourn the Commission.
ADJOURNED
INDEFINITELY [9.10 AM]
