September 2020 - Message from the Chair

Members of the Business Law Section continue to make valuable contributions to business and the development of good law in Australia. Our members’ views and expertise are called upon frequently by lawmakers and administrators, especially in these very trying times, by:

• direct appointment to key positions;
• well-reasoned submissions to government and stakeholders; and
• direct consultation and advocacy to Parliamentary Committees and government agencies.

Several of these recent key contributions are worthy of special mention.

Alan Wein, a very highly regarded member of our SME Business Law Committee, has been appointed as the Chair of the Victorian Government’s Covid-19 CTRS Administration Committee.

Having had significant experience in Federal and State regulatory frameworks and legislation in SME’s, Alan will bring use experience to assist in achieving positive outcomes for Victoria in this period of unprecedented difficulty and uncertainty.

The BLS submissions continue to be a key part of assisting government to develop good law in this country. Details of recent submissions can be obtained elsewhere in this edition of the BLS Brief. In the 2019-2020 financial year, the BLS has made a massive contribution to the overall production of submissions from the Law Council, either by authoring submissions solely, or by contributions to joint submissions with other Sections or Committees of the Law Council. The following graph details the extent of efforts from all parts of the Law Council including the BLS.

Thank you to all committee members who have given of their valuable time to produce such important work.

In the last few months, we have taken part in several Parliamentary Committee hearings on matters of importance in our areas of practice:

• On 4 June 2020, Andrew Clements of the Taxation Committee represented the Law Council at the Parliamentary House of Representatives Standing Committee on Tax and Revenue, in relation to the tax treatment of employee share schemes;
• On 1 July 2020, Shannon Finch, Chair of the Corporations Committee, represented the Law Council with the President, Pauline Wright, at the Parliamentary Senate Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology;
• On 27 July 2020, Olga Ganopolsky, Chair of the Privacy Law Committee, and Peter Leonard of the Media and Communications Committee represented the Law Council with the President, Pauline Wright, at the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, in respect of the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Act 2018;
• On 29 July 2020, Greg Golding of the Corporations Committee represented the Law Council with the President, Pauline Wright, at the Parliamentary Committee on Financial Services, litigation funding and regulation of the class action industry;
• On 7 August 2020, Malcolm Brennan, Chair, and Wendy Rae, Deputy Chair, of the Foreign Investment Committee represented the Law Council at the Parliamentary Senate Economic References Committee on its inquiry into foreign investment proposals.

Again, thank you to all who have assisted in the work of the BLS over the last few months.

Greg Rodgers
Chair, Business Law Section
 

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