President’s Report
I have pleasure in presenting my report for 2020/2021.
It has been another busy year for the HJAT and I want to start by doing something that is often left to the end of presidents and annual reports: to thank all members of the Committee for their contributions and support during the past twelve months. In particular I want to thank Mr Michael Booth as Treasurer and Public Officer for his diligence in those duties, and willingness to take on the extra tasks I have asked him to undertake during the year; and our long-serving Registrar, Mrs Sonia Churchill, for all her hard work and commitment to what can sometimes feel like a thankless role, but in reality is the one that keeps the Association running smoothly. I greatly value the support Michael and Sonia have given me.
I also want to sincerely thank those members who selflessly volunteered their services again during 2020/21 for the Association’s Document Signing Centre. Most have been doing it for many years and without members willing to volunteer for this important service to the community, it simply wouldn’t operate. More on the office to follow, but a big thank you now to all the roster volunteers.
It is not possible to comment in detail on all the activities during the past year – both the highs and the lows – but what follows are some of the main highlights:
The Association’s Patron
On the 16 June 2021, Prof. the Hon Kate Warner, ACretired as Governor of Tasmania and thus as Patron of The Honorary Justices’ Association. I want to acknowledge with gratitude and appreciation her patronage throughout her term, from 2014 to 2021 and thank her most sincerely.
It is also a great pleasure to welcome the new Governor, Her Excellency, the Hon. Barbara Baker, AC, who graciously accepted the invitation to become our new Patron, continuing a tradition that goes back to the formation of The Honorary Justice’s Association of Tasmania in 1925.
HJAT Journal
The transition of the Journal from a printed to a digital format during the past year has proved more difficult than was first anticipated. Formatting, layout, content, the digital platform itself and indeed emailing, brought unexpected challenges. Notwithstanding these, the Association will not be returning to a printed format, although we will, of course, continue to make a simplified printed version available to those members who cannot access it via email.
In going digital, we are joining our kindred association in the south, The Tasmanian Society of Justices of the Peace Inc. (TSJPI) who took the same decision shortly before the HJAT.
One of the main reasons for the change to digital was the cost: each quarterly printed journal was approximately $800 to print and post, and very labour-intensive. Had we not taken the leap to digital, it would have eventually led to an inevitable rise in the annual dues.
Reduction in annual membership dues
We want to keep and attract members by any means possible, so the saving achieved of over $3,000 in a full year in going digital with the Journal was directly passed on to members through the reduction in the annual dues to $25 from the 1 July 2021.
Document Signing Centre – C H Smith Centre, Launceston
The “JP Office” as it’s more colloquially known, remains a linchpin of the Association’s activities. Through the daily service we provide (10 am to 3 pm) – now well-known in Launceston – it is the HJAT’s face to the community.
Since our return from three months lockdown in 2020, the volume of documents seen has gradually returned to about pre-COVID levels. The office counts documents witnessed and certified rather than people coming in as a more accurate reflection of the true workload and volume. Some days can be very busy indeed. Here are just two recent examples:
29 July: 429 documents, including 352 documents certified
6 August: 350 documents, including 316 documents certified
As mentioned earlier, the service would not be possible without our willing volunteers. Their task was made more difficult during the past year by the need to adhere to a COVID-19 Action Plan for the office and, more recently, the requirement for everyone to use the Check-in Tas App. It is pleasing to report that, almost without exception, people entering our office use the app without complaint.
Nevertheless, the eventual opening of state borders and the possibility of introduction of COVID-19 into Tasmania poses a future challenge to the service we provide. Safety of our volunteers is paramount and will need to be uppermost in the Committee’s deliberations as to how the JP Office can, or if it should, remain open.
Professional Development
This continues to be a pivotal objective of the HJAT. Three successful refresher training sessions were held during 2020-2021 in conjunction with Level One training delivered on behalf of the Department of Justice:
20 August 2020, 19 November 2020 and 25 March 2021, with a further session on the 22 July2021.
The next refresher is scheduled for the 25 November 2021. These are free to our members and I encourage you to consider attending one of them.
This is now a regular PD program of the Association and three more will be held in 2022. Special refresher sessions on particular topics are also being considered. Dates will be announced in the December issue of the Journal
I believe passionately in the need for continual PD for justices of the peace. Gone are the days when a JP was appointed, may or may not have received some training, and that was just about it. Today’s world and the documents that inhabit it is a much more complex one than even a decade ago. Justices of the peace cannot expect to keep abreast of documentary and, more importantly, regulatory changes without undergoing regular professional development.
Annual UTAS Prize
During 2020-2021, the Association continued its support for law students at the University of Tasmania, through its annual $350 prize to the top student in LAW108 – Legal Reasoning and Technological Change. In 2020, the successful recipient was Delia Bartle. I hope you read about Delia in the Autumn edition of the Journal earlier in the year.
The HJAT has proudly supported outstanding law students through this annual prize for many years.
The Department of Justice and kindred associations
With the recent state election behind us and the re-appointment of the Hon. Elise Archer as Attorney-General, we look forward to continuing the good relationship that already exists, both with the Attorney-General and the Department of Justice. It is very pleasing to report that communications with senior departmental officers have improved greatly during the past year, with a recognition by both the Department and associations that the good relationship existing also needs to develop. The first of what is planned to be regular meetings with departmental officers was held via MS Teams on the 8 June, with the next scheduled for the 16 November.
Similarly, the three association presidents met regularly via Zoom during the past year to discuss matters of mutual interest and to formalise policy positions in our talks with the Department of Justice. These meetings, long overdue, have already proven immensely valuable in building good relationships and closer connections between the HJAT, HJAT-NW and the TSJPI. I am confident they will continue.
In conclusion, I want to thank all members for their loyalty and support of the HJAT over the past year. First and foremost, the Association only exists to serve its members and look after their interests as justices of the peace. I wish you all well in that role in your communities in the coming year.
David Plumridge,
President