Pursuing a Vision of Justice
Title: Pursuing a Vision of Justice: Essays in honour of Maithri Panagoda
Editor: Senaka Weeraratna
Publisher: Vijitha Yapa Publications, 484 pages, price: Rs 5900
Reviewed by Thiru Arumugam
Source : island
Ceylon Society of Australia (CSA) Member Maithri Panagoda is a lawyer practising in Sydney and this book is a collection of essays by judges, colleagues, academics, diplomats, historians, family and friends, about his life, times and work, compiled and edited by Senaka Weeraratna, a friend of his since their law faculty days at the University of Ceylon. Of the 25 essay contributors in the book, six are members of CSA. The Sydney launch of the book was on September 30, 2022 in the Strangers Room of New South Wales (NSW) Parliament with Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley, the State Governor, as the Chief Guest and Keynote Speaker.
Maithri grew up in the village of Wathumulla, which is about four km from Gampaha. In 1961 he entered Ananda College for his secondary education. He was editor of the Sinhala section of the school Magazine and in his final year in school he won the two gold medals that were on offer. He entered the Law Faculty of the University of Ceylon, Colombo Campus in 1969 and graduated with a LL.B. degree in1972. In the following year he was admitted as an Attorney-at-Law to the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.
In 1975 he proceeded to the UK for post-graduate studies and there he met Ramya Nanayakkara, a fellow lawyer. They were married in 1977 and in 1981 they decided to migrate to Australia. They arrived in Sydney and Maithri applied for 42 jobs but each time he was not selected on the grounds that he did not have any NSW legal experience.
He responded to an advertisement for a solicitor by the Western Aboriginal Legal Services (WALS) who are based in Dubbo, a town 400 km north-west of Sydney with a present population of about 40,000. He arrived for the interview on a hot summer’s day dressed in a three-piece suit and found that most of 12 Aboriginal members of the interview board were dressed in T-shirts and shorts! Although he was the only non-Caucasian candidate, he was offered the job which he accepted. He and his family moved to Dubbo in 1981.
He worked in WALS for seven years for Aboriginal clients mainly in civil matters such as debt, social security, tenancy, discrimination, false imprisonment, family law, and accident and injury matters. He built up a good rapport with his clients, but they had difficulty pronouncing his name and would ask for a lawyer called “My Tree”!
A significant case was when he appeared for a young Aboriginal named Stephen Bates who crossed the railway line in Broken Hill, but his leg got stuck in the tracks. An oncoming train caused the loss of his legs and arm. It was a difficult case establishing negligence by the railways as he had to show that there was common use by the public crossing the tracks and that the railways were aware of this usage. After years of legal battles, Maithri was able to win substantial damages for Stephen.
In 1991 his children reached secondary school stage and he decided to move to Sydney. He applied for a job in the 120-year-old firm of Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers who now have over 200 employees. Michael O’Dea, a former Managing Partner of the firm, said at the book launch that one of the best business decisions that he made was when he interviewed Maithri in 1991 and offered him a post in the firm. He has worked there for the past 31 years and is a Partner in the firm.
At Carroll & O’Dea Maithri continued his work with Aboriginal people. His most significant work has been with regard to the Stolen Generation. These are mixed race children who were forcibly removed from their mothers between 1883 and the 1970s. They were placed in foster care and suffered abuse. Because their removal was legal, compensation for these victims could only be obtained if it could be proved that they suffered abuse. In 2014 a scheme was agreed in NSW that Stolen Generation claims would be dealt with in an informal manner and up to 75,000 dollars per claimant would be paid. To date, Maithri and his team of 15 have successfully finalised over 250 such claims.
In 2015 Maithri was appointed Adjunct Professor of the School of Law, Sydney, in the University of Notre Dame. In 2016 Maithri was awarded the Order of Australia for significant service to the Sri Lankan community and to the law, particularly in litigation and dispute resolution. He is recognised as one of the country’s leading compensation lawyers.
The hard cover book “Pursuing a Vision of Justice” has 15 Parts and 30 Chapters and runs to over 500 pages. It is very interesting reading and recounts Maithri’s journey ‘Along the dusty road’ from rural Gampaha to metropolitan Sydney. It is well recommended reading. Space does not permit outlining Maithri’s other numerous social service activities.
Chapters written by CSA Members include Chapter two where Somasundaram Skandakumar recalls his friendship with Maithri when he was High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in Australia. In Chapter 17, Thiru Arumugam outlines Maithri’s work with Indigenous Australians. Chapter 21 has been written by the late Sunil de Silva (former Attorney General who emigrated to Australia) where he gives some details of Maithri’s other activities.
In Chapter 27 Hugh Karunanayake writes about “Two acclaimed Lawyers from Ceylon who migrated during the days of ‘White Australia’ policy”. The Lawyers are Leslie de Saram and Aubrey Martensz. In Chapter 29, Maithri’s lawyer wife Ramya recounts how she was trapped in Nilaveli Beach Hotel during the 2004 Tsunami. She was among the 30 survivors out of the 180 guests in the Hotel. Ramya also related her story at a CSA Meeting on February 22, 2009.
Australian residents can purchase the book through the Media release dated September 30, 2022 on the website of Carroll & O’Dea. The cost is 50 dollars including postage.
