Speech by Derek Fielding on being made a Life Member of QCCL

Derek Fielding was honoured to receive his life membership and asked me to speak for him on its award. He himself has had a lifelong interest in civil liberties since being a student at Trinity College, Dublin. In 1975 he became QCCL President during what he describes as the oppressive Bjelke-Petersen era. He was lucky enough to a University of Queensland Librarian with job tenure and so felt able to speak out while being disappointed that others in a similar position did not.

During Derek’s time one member who went on to greater things was Quentin Bryce, now Governor-General. Another was Leneen Forde who was later Governor of Queensland. Derek says that the right to march was a critical issue in his time with the QCCL offering support and advice to marchers particularly though new member, Terry O’Gorman. For the rest of his commentary he referred me to what he rightly described as Eddie Clarke’s excellent work “Guardian of Your Rights” which set out his recollections in some detail. I quote it now. It would be easy to change the years by adding 35 and you would get much the same comments from me.

In 1978 he expressed similar views:

Your Executive believed that it was most important for the Council to remain a non-political body and to confine itself to seeking change through the normal democratic processes… It is vital that the Council should retain its independence and credibility not only in order to attract membership on a non-political basis but to be able to negotiate with government and other authorities.

Fielding also reaffirmed established policy concerning attitudes towards the police. He said that the Council did not support people who broke the law, and it was not hostile to the police or to lawful authority. However, he added that the Council was opposed to police who behaved illegally or unreasonably, and to the arbitrary or unlawful use of authority.

In one of his Presidential Reports, Fielding likened the role of the Council to that of a watchdog. He believed that without such a watchdog, they would lose their civil liberties through apathy and sloth induced by material prosperity.

In 1977 Fielding expounded his philosophical outlook on reform in an answer to an anarchist correspondent who accused him of being a ‘naive liberal’. Fielding’s outlook remains one that is fundamental to the nature and aims of the council:

I do accept that the world and human beings are very imperfect and that the most we can hope is to come somewhat near our ideals. If you like, I am a pragmatist aiming to make the best possible job of things as they are and working with others to change those things which I find oppressive, irrational or plain stupid. This includes resisting injustice both by taking remedial action within the system… and working to change the system through persuasion of the public… Above all, I think that the most important value is compassion for individuals, which is why I try to assist people who have suffered injustice.

In 1979 he announced that he would not seek the office of president once more because he was not keeping up with the developments in his own field, and that the Council would profit from the injection of new ideas and energies. In his final President’s Report in 1979, Fielding referred to the accomplishments of the Council and the problem of lack of human resources:

Looking back through the Executive Minutes for the fourth and final year of my term as President, I am astonished at the number of matters which we have been concerned on both State and Federal levels. Reviewing these activities confirms my view that we are trying to carry out an ambitious task with quite inadequate resources, a task which is well beyond the capacity of a small group of concerned people attempting to cope in their spare time on a voluntary basis with difficult matters often requiring considerable research and expertise…

There is good evidence that, in spite of our very limited resources, we have considerable support in the community and that our letters and submissions are often effective, especially at Federal level, where we have very good contact on both sides of the Senate. On the other hand, we are frequently unable to offer effective assistance to individuals who appear to have suffered injustice.

At the AGM on the 28 November 1979, the Council executive elected Terry O’Gorman as the new president for the following year.

During an interview in 2005, when asked what he felt was the most important contribution that he made to the Council at that time, Fielding replied:

Well two things. First energising the Council again after that period it was moribund. That was one thing and I took it as being necessary. And the other was Terry O’Gorman always talks about me as his mentor, and I think he’s probably my greatest gift to civil liberties if that’s true.

Speech Delivered by Andrew Sinclair
President 2012-2013.