Leadership & advocacy

Constitutional recognition

In our Annual Progress Report for 2022, the AISN noted Arnold Bloch Leibler’s commitment to working alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians towards the establishment of a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous Voice to the federal parliament - the model of constitutional recognition presented in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

This Report is intended to reflect on the impacts of the firm’s activities, which in 2023 includes the impacts of the firm’s work with respect to constitutional recognition.

At the outset, despite the fact that we ourselves were devastated by the result, we acknowledge that the adverse impacts of the referendum result on many First Nations peoples are unfathomable to non-First Nations Australians.

Senior Partner Mark Leibler co-chaired both the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the Referendum Council, which culminated in the Uluru Statement from the Heart. As guest of honour at the firm’s 70th anniversary in August, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese acknowledged Arnold Bloch Leibler’s longstanding commitment to recognition and reconciliation more broadly, describing Mark’s role as “one of insight and influence”.

Throughout 2023, Mark was one of the most active and high profile non-Indigenous advocates for the Voice, with the full backing of the partnership and Arnold Bloch Leibler as a whole. He and public interest partner Peter Seidel accepted numerous invitations from clients, campaigners and community organisations to address people’s questions and concerns regarding the Voice referendum.

We are profoundly disappointed by the result of the referendum, but of course hope remains and must be pursued. There is no choice to give up. In fact, the real work of walking in solidarity with Indigenous Australians begins again and we will re-commit to that journey in 2024.

As public interest partner Peter Seidel wrote in an all-firm email:

“We have consulted with a range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander friends and clients following the referendum. We are encouraged that, alongside the pain is a powerful determination to chart an alternative path forward that respects and supports First Nations Australians to overcome the intolerable gaps of opportunity and outcome, and to progress their inherent rights as the first peoples of these lands.

Regardless of the sorry outcome, the referendum process was of great value in raising awareness of Indigenous perspectives and of intergenerational Indigenous suffering and trauma, the failure of successive governments to effectively address these and the critical importance of respectfully listening, really listening, to the people affected.

No matter how people voted, there is now near-unanimous agreement that we need do things differently and that, as a nation, we will seize the momentum.”

Arnold Bloch Leibler has walked alongside First Nations Australians in solidarity for more than three decades and are proud that we did all that we could to encourage fellow Australians to vote YES at the referendum, as outlined below.

In the weeks since 14 October, we have sought to give shape to the necessary process of grieving and healing, and we look forward to participating as passionate advocates in the next stage of the journey towards a better, fairer, kinder future for the nation and all Australians.

Voice to Parliament Q&A

On 25 July 2023, the AISN hosted an internal Q&A session on the Voice, with panellists Mark Leibler and Peter Seidel. The event aimed to educate our staff on the origins of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the Voice proposal and the facts about the referendum question and the proposal more generally. We hoped to equip our staff with the knowledge and understanding to be able to counter misinformation in conversations outside of Arnold Bloch Leibler, and to be able to advocate for a YES vote among their own networks.

In facilitating the Q&A, Co-Chair Annie Ward-Ambler asked Mark and Peter questions that had been raised anonymously by staff members ahead of the event. This approach was taken to ensure staff members could safely raise genuine questions free from judgement. 

The event was hosted in Melbourne with opening and closing comments from Co-Chair Julia Heyward. Members of the Sydney office attended via Zoom from the boardrooms in Sydney. The event was catered by Kallico Catering in Sydney and Mabu Mabu in Melbourne.

Article in Peppermint

Co-Chairs Max Griffin, Julia Heyward and Annie Ward-Ambler contributed an article entitled ‘Voice, A New Vision: Actioning Solidarity Through Allyship’ to an edition of Peppermint Magazine edited by Teela Reid published in February 2023. The edition focused on the Voice in the lead up to the referendum. The firm also financially contributed to that edition of Peppermint.

Intranet webpage

In the lead up to the referendum, the AISN created a webpage accessible on Arnold Bloch Leibler’s intranet which provided a variety of resources for staff, including links to articles and other commentary, videos and interactive question functions to allow Arnold Bloch Leibler staff to request additional resources from the AISN, and links to campaign resources and volunteering information.

YouTube video generates 200,000+ views

In a short video, promoted across social media over several weeks ahead of the October referendum, Mark explained why he looked forward to voting YES in the referendum. “I’m not politically aligned. I’m a tax lawyer by profession, with a keen eye for detail. So, all in all, I feel I have a pretty clear picture of what we will be voting on in the referendum.”

Advocacy in the legal profession

A quote from Senior Partner Mark Leibler popped up regularly in Lawyers Weekly, describing lawyers across the country as “ideally placed” to ensure that the voting public understood what it was being asked at the referendum. Mark expanded on the “call to action” to the profession, taking part in a number of events and interviews targeting the legal profession.

These included:

• an internal firm event in August hosted by the AISN, where lawyers and staff at all levels were encouraged to submit questions through the AISN which were put to Mark and Public Interest Partner Peter Seidel;
• a lunch for managing partners of law firms, hosted by the Law Institute of Victoria in May; and
• a series of articles published in the Law Society Journal in July.

Advocacy in the Jewish community

Mark was also active across the Australian Jewish community, explaining how a YES vote aligned with Jewish values while respecting that people had questions and concerns. Activities through the year included:

• an article and Q&A published in the Australian Jewish News in April where Mark explained that, while there is always a diversity of views within any community, his sense was that the Australian Jewish community broadly supported the Voice as a just and reasonable step towards righting past wrongs;
• a workshop with the Australian Union of Jewish Students in August; and
• a large community gathering in Melbourne in September, hosted by Progressive Judaism Victoria, Kol Halev, the Jewish Museum of Australia and The King David School, with Noel Pearson as keynote speaker, joined by Mark and constitutional lawyer Melissa Castan.

Advocacy in the broader community

Well-placed to respond to questions about the referendum, Mark Leibler and Peter Seidel accepted requests from a range of clients and others, wanting to draw on our expertise in informing their networks ahead of the referendum. Activities included:

• speaking at a local community forum hosted by the federal Member for Higgins, Michelle Ananda-Rajah;
• taking part in a panel discussion at The Tax Institute’s annual Women in Tax luncheon in May, with Mark joining Karri Walker from Victoria’s First Peoples’ Assembly and former ABL lawyer in a discussion facilitated by Arnold Bloch Leibler senior associate Kaitilin Lowdon;
• also in May, Peter Seidel presenting to a gathering hosted by clients at the Scanlon Foundation;
• business client Qualitas hosting an event for the board and executive in September, with Mark as special guest; and
• Aveo inviting all staff across their vast retirement living communities to participate in an online Q&A event in October, with Mark as special guest.