Former Chairpersons of the NSW Sentencing Council:

The Hon Alan R Abadee RFD QC
The Honourable Alan Abadee RFD QC is a retired Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. He was admitted to the Bar in 1964 and appointed one of Her Majesty’s Council (QC) in 1984. He was also a Deputy Judge Advocate General of the Australian Defence Force between 1996 and 2000. Mr Abadee was the Chairperson of the Sentencing Council from 2003 till April 2006.


Former Members of the NSW Sentencing Council:

Hon J P Slattery AO QC (Deputy Chairperson)
The Honourable John Patrick Slattery AO QC was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court in 1970 and Chief Judge at Common Law in 1984, a position he held until his retirement in 1988. He has held a number of Chair and Committee member appointments including Royal Commissioner of the Chelmsford Private Hospital and Mental Health Services between 1988 and 1990, Chair of the NSW Parole Board between 1976 and 1983 and Director of Langton Clinic between 1972 and 1981. Mr Slattery retired as the Deputy Chairperson of the Sentencing Council in March 2007.

Professor Larissa Behrendt
Prof. Larissa Behrendt completed her Masters and Doctorate in Indigenous Rights and International Law at Harvard Law School, and is a Lionel Murphy Scholar. She is a Barrister of the Supreme Court of the ACT, the Director of Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at UTS and the Director of Ngiya, National Institute of Indigenous Law, Policy and Practice. Professor Behrendt was a member of the Sentencing Council from 2003 till August 2005.

Ms Catherine Burn APM (Assistant Commissioner Police)
Assistant Commissioner Catherine Burn joined the NSW Police in 1984, and has spent much of her career working as a criminal investigator, including general detectives, homicide, strike forces and special crime and internal affairs. She was the NSW Police liaison officer for the Parliamentary Inquiry into Redfern and Waterloo and was appointed as Assistant Commissioner, Professional Standards, in December 2006.

Ms Burn holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, an Honours Degree in Psychology and a Masters of Management. Her considerable achievements include receipt of the National Medal (2000); the Police Medal for 20 years service (2004); two Commissioner's Commendations; and the Australian Police medal (2007). Assistant Commissioner Burn was the Burwood Citizen of the Year (2005); 2007 Woman of the Year for the Heffron electorate (Redfern) and the International Women's Day 2007 NSW Woman of the Year for achievement in valuing difference - Leading change.

Mr Chris Craigie, SC (Former Deputy Senior Public Defender)
Mr Craigie was admitted as a Solicitor in 1976 and as a Barrister in 1980, and was appointed as Senior Counsel in 2001. Mr. Craigie is presently a Deputy Senior Public Defender and Acting Senior Public Defender. Mr Craigie was appointed to the Sentencing Council in 2007 and replaced the Hon Judge Peter Zahra as the Council member with expertise in defence matters, from April 2007 - July 2007.

Mr Craigie was recently appointed (23 August) as the new Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. The 7 year term will commence in October 2007.

Assistant Commissioner Chris Evans APM (NSW Police)
Assistant Commissioner Evans retired after over 40 years of Service within the New South Wales Police in July 2007. He held the position of Commander, Operations Support Command. Mr Evans had been awarded the Peter Mitchell Trophy for the Highest Marks on the Constable First Class Exam in 1971. He had received numerous medals for his service within the NSW Police and brought to the Council considerable expertise and experience in law enforcement. He retired from the Council in 2007.

Mr Norman Laing (Representative with expertise in Aboriginal justice matters)
Mr Laing is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the NSW Aboriginal Lands Council. Before holding this role he worked as a barrister in Sydney and as the Indigenous Research Associate for the Federal Court of Australia. Mr Laing was a full time soldier with the Australian Regular Army from 1995 to 2003 whilst completing his Bachelor of Laws and served with the Royal Australian Army Legal Corps and the Australian Military Prosecutions Office. In 2002, after completing a fulltime volunteer position with the Aboriginal Legal Service, Mr Laing became one of the first Indigenous graduates of the Bachelor of Laws and Indigenous Australian Law degrees offered by the University of Technology, Sydney. He served as a Member of the Sentencing Council from 2006 to August 2009.

Mr John Laycock APM
Mr Laycock was a member of the New South Wales Police Force for over 35 years and attained the rank of Assistant Commissioner. He has extensive expertise in criminal investigation and law enforcement as well as command roles at many levels. His position preceding retirement was Commander of Special Investigations reporting to the Deputy Commissioner (Operations). He served as a Member of the Sentencing Council from 2003 to March 2005.

Ms Laura Wells (Director, Criminal Law Review Division, NSW Attorney General’s Department)
Ms Laura Wells was admitted as a Solicitor in NSW in 1995 and as a Barrister in 1996, and appointed as a Crown Prosecutor in 1996. She has been Director of the Criminal Law Review Division, NSW Attorney General’s Department since January 2006, and was appointed to the Sentencing Council in 2007.

The Hon Judge Peter Zahra SC (former Senior Public Defender)
Peter Zahra SC, former Senior Public Defender in New South Wales, resigned from the Sentencing Council in 2007 after being appointed as a Judge of the District Court.