News and Events from the Bailiwick Team

News & Events

The festive season is upon us, and I wanted to take the time to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I hope those that are farming have had a safe and successful harvest, and for those in the tourism industry that are preparing for a busy summer, I wish you all the best.

It has been an eventful and busy year here at Bailiwick Legal. Just in the last month we have expanded our Regional Legal Hotdesk to Bridgetown in the Southwest, celebrated National Ag Day and recognised the Award winners of the Perth Airport Western Australia Tourism Awards, which you can read more about below.

I recognise that 2023 has been a challenging year for many of you in regional and rural areas, starting with the extensive flooding that occurred in the Kimberley in January, then there were the changes to WA’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage law, as well as the introduction of new rules for west coast demersal fishing which I know affected and continues to affect many of you today.

Although there have been challenges, 2023 has also presented new opportunities. This year, the Bailiwick Legal team expanded our Regional Legal Hotdesk initiative so that we could provide our services to more regional towns. We delivered our first succession planning workshops to members of the Facey Group and the Liebe Group, along with accountants from RSM and Byfields. We also joined WAFarmers at their Keep Farmers Farming Forum in Katanning in July and coordinated a number of Farming Forums across the Southwest to address some of the key legislative changes that are or will soon affect landowners and primary producers in WA.

It has been a big year and I wanted to say thank you to my team at Bailiwick Legal, our clients and the industry groups we work with for the year that was. I am looking forward to, what already appears to be an exciting and eventful new year.

Please note our office will be closed from 21 December 2023 until 4 January 2024. Until next year!

Thank you

Phil Brunner

We are excited to announce our upcoming dates for Hot Desks in 2024! We will be starting the year with:

Dalwallinu 5 February
Moora 6 February
Cunderdin 7 February
Merredin 27 February
Beverly 28 February and
Bridgetown 28 February to 1 March.

More dates will be added for other locations through the year. Please visit our website at bailiwicklegal.com.au/regional-hot-desk for the latest updates and to confirm dates for a location near you. We are looking forward to meeting you in country towns next year!

Check our upcoming Hot Desk

Bailiwick Legal proudly extends its services to Bridgetown, specialising in Agribusiness and Tourism law. This step is about being closer to our valued clients in these sectors and reaffirming our local commitment. Notably, Bridgetown holds significance as both Phil and Matilda's hometown. Our new location reflects our dedication to support local farmers, agribusinesses, and tourism professionals in this vibrant region. Offering a broad range of legal services from land agreements to employment matters, we aim to cater to diverse legal needs.

We're passionate about community involvement which is why we chose to launch the Southwest Hot Desk at this year's Annual Royal Agricultural Show in Bridgetown. This expansion aligns with our ongoing mission to provide accessible legal support across regional Western Australia. We're excited about this new venture and look forward to serving the Bridgetown community. Be sure to check the website for 2024 dates.

Perth Airport Western Australian Tourism Awards

The team attended the annual Perth Airport Western Australian Tourism Awards at Crown Ballrooms. We were proud to again sponsor the Award for best Tourism wineries, distilleries and breweries, and to celebrate with this year’s winner Singlefile Wines. We wish to congratulate all the winners and wish them best of luck at the national tourism awards next year.

National Agriculture Day

To celebrate this year’s National Ag Day, our team joined WAFarmers and their members for a wine tour in the Swan Valley. The theme of the day was #keepfarmersfarming, a campaign launched by the National Farmers Federation which focuses on the key issues affecting Australia farmers, such as water buybacks in the Murray Darling Basin; the proposed ban of live sheep exports to the Middle East; worker shortages on farms and in the food supply chain; environment laws; transmission lines and competition policy.

#Keepfarmersfarming

Bridgetown Ag Show

On 25^th November we officially launched our new Hot desk at the 134^th Bridgetown Agricultural Show. As of next year, we will have a regular Hot desk in Bridgetown at the Community Resource Centre and be offering a wide range of legal services including legal counsel on land access agreements, regulatory compliance, employment, contract negotiations, waivers and T&Cs, dispute resolution, property, wills & estates and more. We are excited about the expansion and look forward to strengthening our ties within the local community of Bridgetown.

Lunch with Danielle Alvarez

Women in Tourism and Hospitality WA (WITHWA) hosted an exclusive lunch with Petition Kitchen in the State Buildings, to launch Danielle Alvarez’s new cookbook and celebrate her recent appointment as culinary director at the Sydney Opera House. We were joined by Georgia Moore, Director of the WA Good Food Guide, who hosted the Q&A session with Danielle. The event was our last WITHWA event for the 2023 and fantastic way to recognise and celebrate the remarkable women we have in tourism and hospitality.

Networking at the Caravan Industry Association of Western Australia

The Caravan Industry Association of WA held their annual AGM and networking night in November. Following the AGM we had the opportunity to network with fellow sponsor and members of the association. Congratulations to John Gibbs from Spinifex Brewing Co. who was successful in a competition to win a jar of Bailiwick Bees honey. We look forward to working with the Caravan Industry Association of WA and providing further support to its members in 2024.

Welcome Back, Danielle!

Danielle is back! And will be back on the hot desks in the new year too.

As she steps back into her role, Danielle looks forward to collaborating with the whole team, contributing to the success of Bailiwick Legal in the coming year.

Legal Insight: Wind Farm Projects and the Paperwork – get (the right) advice!

We know of many landowners who have been approached by wind farm proponents with licence and lease agreements which seek to allow the proponent to access some if not all the landowner’s land for the purpose of carrying out wind monitoring testing in the hope they will be able to establish a wind farm on the property. In our experience the agreements that are being put before landowners always favour the proponent and their interests rather than the interests of the landowners and their farming enterprises.

If you or a fellow landowner is approached by a wind farm proponent, it is crucial that you seek legal advice so that you understand the implications of entering these agreements and can make an informed decision about whether or not you want a wind farm on your land.

An honest, impartial, and professional forum for advice. Very experienced representation and guidance in legal challenges and court presentations.

- Tony

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