The Hon. Marcia Neave AO the Former Chair of the Royal Commission into Family Violence and Former Justice of the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Victoria presented the 20th Annual New Zealand Law Foundation Ethel Benjamin Commemorative Address at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery on Thursday 14 July 2016. The Address was entitled “The Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence – Responding to an Entrenched Social Problem”. Ms Neave spoke eloquently about the serious family violence problem in

Ms Neave spoke eloquently about the serious family violence problem in Australia, and explained how the Royal Commission undertook the consultation process. There was a focus on all kinds of family violence and the development of a 10-year bi-partisan plan to affect change via 227 individual recommendations to help those affected by family violence.

The topic of the Address was very timely, particularly considering New Zealand’s severe family violence problems, and provided a great deal of inspiration about what New Zealand could be doing better. The Address was extremely well attended by approximately 100 guests and OWLS were pleased to host another successful event with the help of our generous sponsors the New Zealand Law Foundation, the University of Otago Law Faculty, and the Williams Trust. The Address is available on the OWLS website and the DVD recording is available to watch on the New Zealand Law Foundation website <http://www.lawfoundation.org.nz/> for those who missed out. The Address will also be published in an upcoming issue of the Otago Law Review.