Silk Mark Robins calls out Victorian Bar’s ‘bullying’

An eminent silk has accused the Victorian barristers’ council of a ‘regrettable pile-on’ of a female member who had publicly criticised overuse of acknowledgment of country.

Lana Collaris, left, and Mark Robins.

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Victoria’s peak barristers body has been shaken by bullying alle­gations after an eminent silk accused its council of engaging in a “regrettable pile-on” of a female member who had publicly criticised the overuse of the acknowledgment of country.

Mark Robins in late March ­tabled a letter to the Victorian Bar accusing them of the worst behaviour he has seen in his multiple terms on the Bar council, and rebuking councillors for the “simply unacceptable” treatment of Lana Collaris.

His letter came after Ms Collaris had been accused of “making a mockery” out of the association, and damaging its reputation through her public commentary and social media posts.

“Whilst I do not always agree with Lana, I believe she and any Bar councillor always has the right to express themselves on matters that concern them and the right to be fairly heard,” Mr Robins wrote.

“We hear so much these days about ‘safe spaces’ and Bar council should be a safe space for all of us. That includes it being safe for those with whom we disagree.”

Bar council president Justin Hannebery told The Australian that everyone should have the right to “express their views freely and respectfully, and it is my expectation that this standard be ­observed by all Bar council ­members”.

The Victorian Bar over the past few years has been embroiled in controversy, in large part because of its divide between progressive and conservative members.

Ms Collaris, a junior councillor, has frequently raised the eyebrows of her fellow members, particularly after she penned an op-ed in this masthead last year calling for the Victorian Bar to stop performing acknowledgments of country.

She also spoke publicly against the Indigenous voice to parliament in 2023 when the Bar held a vote on whether it would support the constitutional change.

The letter by Mr Robins to the Bar council came in response to the treatment of Ms Collaris during a January meeting in which she had moved a motion to amend the minutes from a ­December meeting.

During the December meeting, Ms Collaris had been told she had “made a mockery of the Victorian Bar” and had been criticised for “damaging the reputation” of the Bar when she was posting on social media.

Her motion to amend the minutes to ensure these comments were documented is understood to have taken up about an hour of time at the January meeting.

“I know all Bar councillors are busy, and I too was frustrated that so much time was taken on these issues, particularly as I had to leave that meeting early and I wished to address some of the agenda items in more detail, but I do not blame Lana for any of that,” Mr Robins wrote.

“Any Bar councillor is entitled to raise concerns as to minutes without fear of similar conduct to that I witnessed at that meeting.

“For her part, Lana did the right thing by giving notice in advance.”

Mr Robins also called on Mr Hannebery to reprimand members who did not act appropriately.

“If Bar councillors cannot be civil to one another, then they should consider their own position, but the president as chairman of the meetings should not hesitate to bring them to order,” he wrote.

“Indeed, I have not seen this type of behaviour to be permitted in any of my previous terms as Bar councillor.

“It is simply unacceptable.”

Mr Hannebery said he did not “share the views expressed about past events”.

“All Bar council meetings should be conducted respectfully to facilitate the sharing of the many diverse views of our elected members,” he said.

“And I will continue to do whatever I can to achieve this outcome.

“Bullying is contrary to the conduct standards expected of Victorian barristers and is not ­tolerated.

“I am always available to any member to privately discuss any concerns they may have,” Mr Hannebery said.

He pointed to the Bar’s recent workplace survey that revealed “many positive trends, such as a welcome reduction in the gender pay gap, a notable increase in the representation of women at the Bar and a marked decline in incidents of discrimination and ­harassment, and bullying”.