THE HON MARK DREYFUS QC MP
Cabinet Secretary
Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency
Parliamentary Secretary for Industry and Innovation
2 February, 2013
APPOINTMENT OF MARK DREYFUS QC AS ATTORNEY GENERAL OF AUSTRALIA
I would like to thank Prime Minister Gillard for the honour of this appointment as first law
officer of Australia.
Australia’s legal system should provide a framework that allows us to protect and care for all
Australians, including our elderly, our sick, our injured, our workers, our new arrivals, our
indigenous people, our young and our outspoken writers, artists and journalists.
The best Attorneys General are those who seek to ensure that Australian laws reflect our
national values of fairness and equality of opportunity. I congratulate Nicola Roxon,
Australia’s first female Attorney General, who has been a passionate advocate for these
values.
I pay tribute to Nicola’s work, especially for her rock-solid resolve in introducing plain
packaging laws for cigarettes, to help people pursue a healthier life. This is no small
achievement when you consider the might and wealth of those opposing this sensible
initiative. Australia’s plain packaging laws are now recognised and lauded around the world.
I wish Nicola and her family all the best. There is no doubt the community will continue to
be served extremely well by her talent, drive and experience.
I would also like to thank Climate Change Minister Greg Combet with whom I have worked
closely to since 2010 to develop and implement Australia’s climate laws, the Clean Energy
Future Plan.
Despite constant and unreasoned attack from many quarters, this Labor Government is
successfully cutting carbon pollution to slow the damaging effects of climate change. The
scheme has been designed to look after Australian families and jobs as we make the
transition to a cleaner economy. Real climate action would stall and every cent of financial
support for households and industries would be stripped away by a Coalition Government.
Labor’s climate laws, including the carbon price, are held in high esteem around the world
by scientists, economists and by the great number of Australians who understand this
enormous challenge cannot be avoided by any government. I am proud to have played a
role in launching this reform.
Throughout my years of legal practice I have formed a deep belief in the principles of the
rule of law, open, transparent and accessible justice, the right to a fair trial and the
protection of an independent judiciary.
I will be guided by these principles in my new role as Attorney General.
As Minister for Emergency Management, I will oversee the large financial contribution made
by the Gillard Labor Government to the administration of emergency services and disaster
relief, to ensure communities devastated by the fires and floods across Australia this
summer have food, water, shelter and decent support during the months and years of
rebuilding their homes and lives.
This is a priority for the Gillard Government and one to which I will dedicate myself.
Biography
- Born October 3, 1956, Perth, Western Australia. Married, 3 children
- 2007 - Federal Member for Isaacs (Vic)
- 1999 - Appointed Queen’s Counsel
- 1987 - Joined the Victorian Bar
- 1985 - 1987 Ministerial Adviser to Victorian Attorney General Jim Kennan
- 1982 - 1985 Commercial Solicitor, Freehill, Hollingdale and Page
- 1982 - 1985 Volunteer Solicitor, Fitzroy Legal Service
- 1982 - Admitted to legal practice
Mark Dreyfus was elected to the House of Representatives as the Member for Isaacs in
November 2007.
In 2010, he was appointed as Cabinet Secretary and Parliamentary Secretary for Climate
Change and Energy Efficiency; Innovation and Industry.
In his first term, Mark chaired the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal
and Constitutional Affairs and was a member of the House Standing Committee on Climate
Change, Water, Environment and the Arts, and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on
Intelligence and Security.
Mark practised a barrister before entering Parliament. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in
1999 and noted as one of Victoria’s top defamation, commercial and planning lawyers. He
appeared at trial and appellate level in cases involving company law, administrative law,
constitutional law, freedom of information, employment law, town planning, personal
injury, taxation, media ownership, intellectual property, heritage preservation,
environmental law, building and construction, contract law and customs.
His practice included:
- advising federal, state and local governments
- appearing in a number of landmark cases in the High Court including the Stolen Generations litigation for which he won the 2001 Civil Justice Award (Australian Plaintiff Lawyers Association)
- advising Westpac, Telstra, NAB, ANZ, Coles Myer and other companies
- representing the ABC, commercial TV networks, News Ltd, Fairfax and other media outlets in numerous defamation, free speech and freedom of information cases
- appearing at Victorian Royal Commissions (Tricontinental inquiry; Metropolitan Ambulance Service inquiry)
- representing and advising the Law Institute of Victoria
undertaking regular pro bono work representing community groups, Gun Control Australia, Public Transport Users Association, WWF, Friends of the Earth and the Environment Defender’s Office.
While practising, Mark was also Vice Chair of the Victorian Bar and a Director of the Law
Council of Australia.
Mark lived in the Northern Territory in the late 1970s working as a field officer for the Northern Land Council. He worked closely with traditional owners on the establishment of Kakadu National Park, land and sea claims, and mining negotiations. This early work as an advocate taught him the practical value of legal skills, informing his choice of a legal and political career.
He lives in Melbourne with his wife Deborah and three children.
