Moved by Councillor Scott, seconded by the
Chair (the Lord Mayor) –
It is resolved that:
(A)
Council
note:
(i)
esteemed
City of Sydney barrister David Bernie was born on 25 September 1955 and sadly
passed away after a long illness on 7 July 2023;
(ii)
known
to be the life of every party, often seen in Hawaiian shirts, caring for his
cherished cats, especially to those in Selwyn Street, Paddington, David was a
dedicated and active community member in the City of Sydney, alongside his
beloved partner Barry;
(iii)
David
served as the Vice President of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties (CCL) for
many years;
(iv)
David
was the driving force behind the Council’s push for an Australian Human Rights
Act for decades, and his support for the Act was underpinned by a deep,
personal belief that the State should provide an explicit statutory basis for
respecting, protecting and promoting fundamental human rights;
(v)
David
was an experienced barrister that many frequently turned to for help, and was
kind, extremely generous with his time, ready to stand up and help others
navigate difficult, often unfair, legal situations through his considerable pro
bono work;
(vi)
David
donated countless hours of work over the years to help people with protest
cases, particularly World Youth Day, passport refusal, visa reviews and
overturning unfair censorship laws;
(vii)
David
was so well regarded that he was invited to act as the independent legal
representative to sit in on the first use of ASIO’s Detention and Questioning
Warrants in anti-terrorism cases; and
(viii)
David
developed the protocols and standard operating procedures to ensure the best
possible privacy protections for the first CCTV cameras installed in the City
of Sydney, which were then adopted statewide (although later overturned);
(B)
the
Lord Mayor be requested to write to David Bernie’s family expressing the City’s
condolences; and
(C)
all
present observe a minute silence to commemorate the life of David Bernie and
his tireless contributions to our community.
Carried unanimously.
X086655