Silent Witnesses:
The place of the coronial
system in a civilised society
2012 Conference
20 - 23 November 2012
Amora Jamison Hotel, Sydney
 days to go...

 

The Debate
Wednesday 21 November 2012
3.00 pm - 5.00 pm

The Motion:
In a twenty first century civilised society the autopsy is an anachronism

This session will be an educative tool that looks at the issues surrounding this complex area. Rather than determine the issue, it is not proposed to take a final vote on the motion. The debate will last for 60 - 70 minutes, with each speaker having 10 minutes to present.  Summing up, Dr Burgmann will undertake a short review of the issues raised during the course of the debate. Statements and questions will also be taken from the floor.


The Affirmative Team
* Mr Graham Segal
* Ms Helen Roberts

* Associate Professor Ian Kerridge

The Negative Team
* Dr Peter Smart
* Ms Margaret Cunneen SC
* Dr Ian Freckelton SC

The Facilitator:
  
The Hon Dr Meredith Burgmann is an academic, political activist and Member of the Council of the City of Sydney. She was active in the early environment movement and is also a long-time Civil Libertarian. Over the years she has held significant political positions, including time as a Labor member and President of the Legislative Council of NSW. She was also President of the Academics Union and a founding member of the National Pay Equity Coalition and the Ernie Awards for Sexist Remarks.

Affirmative Team:
  
Mr Graham Segal OAM, is a barrister practising in Sydney. He has an active interest in the use of and necessity for autopsies and has written on the topic. In 2005 he was awarded an OAM for service to the community, particularly as a proponent for the recognitions of different cultural and religious practices within the Australian legal system.
Dr Ian Kerridge is a Director and Associate Professor in Bioethics at the Centre of Values, Ethics and the Law of Medicine at the University of Sydney and Staff Haematologist/Bone Marrow Transplant physican at the Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney. He is the author of over 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals and five textbooks of ethics. His current research interests in Ethics include the philosophy of medicine, stem cells, drug policy, end-of-life care, synthetic genomics, public health and organ donaton. 
Ms Helen Roberts  is a NSW Crown Prosecutor based at Parramatta. She prosecutes mainly in sexual assault trials along with matters in the District Court, although she appeared as junior counsel in the "Sydney airport bikie murder" trial in 2011. In late 2004 she was appointed as the Debuty Coroner for the Northern Territory. She spent 3 years in Darwin and 6 months in Alice Springs, including a period as Crown Prosecutor in the Territory. She has returned to the Northern Terriorty a number of times to appear as counsel assisting the Northern Terriory Coroner in complex inquests.

Negative Team:
Dr Ian Freckelton SC is a barrister in full-time practice, working as a Senior Counsel from Crockett Chambers in Melbourne. He has a mixed trial, appellate and advisory practice in administrative law, criminal law and commercial law. In over two decades at the Bar, Dr Freckelton has appeared in many leading cases across a range of legal areas in various jurisdictions throughout Australia. Dr Freckelton has published extensively in the area of forensic science and law.
Dr Peter Smart is a medical Graduate of the University of Liverpool, UK. He is now based in  Wagga Wagga NSW where he holds Specialist Pathologist positions both in the Public and Private Sectors. He has been involved in Coronial autopsy services in the UK and Australia for almost 30 years and currently provides a regional coronial autopsy service encompassing a large area of south western NSW. 
Ms Margaret Cunneen SC has been a Crown Prosecutor since 1990 and was appointed Deputy Senior 
Crown Prosecutor in 2002. She took silk in 2007. From 1977-1981 she worked in the Attorney-
General's Ministerial Office and from 1981-1986 she was an Industrial Officer at the Public Service 
Board's Legal Branch. Margaret has a Bachelor of Laws (NSWIT) and a Master of Laws (Syd) and has prosecuted many murder trials and sexual assault cases including a series of high-profile
 paedophile and gang rape cases.


Asia Pacific Coroners' Society Conference 2012
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