A huge success! Celebrating the 9th Annual Australian ADR Awards, we thank our insightful speakers and delegates for the success of Oceans Nine: Powering the Surge in Global Dispute Resolution, on 1 May 2025. It was a sensational conference of new ideas, global and local perspectives, and good old-fashioned collegiality.
Bringing together dispute resolution specialists, legal experts, current and former judiciary, First Nations leaders, and academics, we dived into evolving instruments in dispute resolution; creating a space for interdisciplinary dialogue and learning from the rapidly evolving and interconnected sectors of maritime law, climate change, Antarctica, international norms for our oceans, First Nations fishing rights and water justice.
A key differentiator of Oceans Nine was its comprehensive approach to dispute resolution in both the Australian and international contexts. Addressing an increasingly complex world of conflict and disputes, panellists addressed the growing relevance of introducing new dispute resolution mechanisms to solve generational problems, together with considering ever-more effective approaches to arbitration, mediation, and other dispute resolution processes.
Importantly, the conference further distinguished itself by embedding a strong First Nations perspective into the programme, with multiple panels speaking on how Indigenous communities assert their custodianship over maritime and freshwater resources, including the intersectionality of environment, regulation, culture and their connection to water.
Oceans Nine delivered more than just technical dialogue—it was a forum that encouraged creative and practical action to make a real-world difference. By combining dispute resolution expertise with climate foresight, innovation, and cultural awareness, Oceans Nine called for the development of culturally responsive ADR practice to confront the challenges of water governance and balance the interests of local and global communities.
In sum, Oceans Nine not only reinforced the strategic importance of Appropriate Dispute Resolution mechanisms but emphasised the tremendous opportunity of dispute resolution to make a difference in supporting climate-responsive, interest-based, and forward-looking disputes systems design.
Thank you again to all the incredible speakers and delegates!
Australian ADR Conference 2025 Gallery
Special Rapporteur 2025
Tom van der Velde
Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, and distinguished guests,
Introduction
My name is Tom van der Velde. I am an Associate in Clifford Chance’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution team based here in Sydney. It is my privilege to act as the Special Rapporteur for the 2025 edition of the Australian Disputes Centre ADR conference here on Sydney Harbour.
The Special Rapporteur’s task is to report on the day’s events and to provide insights into the topics that each of the speakers has touched on. If I may say so, I have a difficult task ahead of me. If I have counted correctly, we have heard from over 20 speakers today, all of whom are experts in their respective fields, including jurists, both past and present, legal professionals, a range of ADR practitioners, and highly respected Traditional Owners and Elders.
We have touched on a diverse range of topics which has taken us from Antarctica to Jamaica, to The Hague, to the Arabana Springs in South Australia, and all up the Australian East Coast from Narooma, New South Wales to Queensland. I think this symbolises the international ambitions of this conference, and it is heartening to see Australians tackling the biggest problems faced by humanity.
I have five to ten minutes to sum this all up, so I will try to do my best.
Acknowledgement of Country
Now before I continue, I would like to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we meet today, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. I pay my respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today.
I would particularly like to thank Uncle Mark Merriman and Mike Butler for their Welcome to Country and Introduction to Place, which set the tone for the rest of the day. Uncle Mark’s stories about growing up in Blues Point and swimming in the harbour particularly resonated with me, as this is something that I also enjoy at various places around the harbour. This is something that we are only able to enjoy thanks to the custodianship of the Gadigal people, who have taken care of the land and waters for thousands of years. The same goes for Miliwanga Wurrben and Cecelia Lake‘s mob in Arnhem Land.
Speakers
And now for the speakers.
The conference commenced this morning with a keynote by The Honourable James Allsop AC, who anchored today’s discussions with his views on Australia’s complex relationship with maritime law and the marine environment.
The key point I took away from the former Chief Justice’s speech was the concept of certainty in the law and how it acknowledges the existence of uncertainty.
Applying this to the context of dispute resolution, as practitioners, it is how we approach and manage uncertainty, which is an inherent feature of the dispute resolution process, that governs the outcomes we are able to achieve for our clients. Mr Allsop explained that a fundamental tool to address uncertainty is the ability to interpret and apply abstract principles to a factual matrix – technical skills. Equally important, however, is the ability to provide a human perspective.
I think we have seen the value of the human perspective today, and the benefits that diversity of experience and background can have on solving uncertainty in the system.
Next were Cate Martin, Nathan Eastwood, and Daniel Allman, who transported us into the future of the oceans with their session titled “Global Tides of Innovation“.
Cate Martin told us about the historic proceedings currently before the International Court of Justice and the potential impacts of the Climate Change Advisory Opinion for countries like Tonga and the Solomon Islands, corporations, and legal practitioners.
Nathan Eastwood gave us a crash course in deep-sea mining and the negotiations currently before the International Seabed Authority. His description of a vacuum cleaner, quote: “sucking up batteries off the sea floor” really stuck with me. I now consider myself an expert in deep-sea mining technology.
Following Nathan was Daniel Allman. We heard from Daniel about emerging carbon capture technologies and Australia’s involvement in the developing legislative and contractual regimes which manage the risks associated with sub-marine carbon dioxide storage – something I didn’t know was possible until today.
I thought an interesting link between Nathan and Daniel’s presentations was that both of the industries and technologies they spoke about are in their infancy, and for once we have the opportunity to design the framework to govern these industries from the start to ensure we get things right. Smart and considered system design was a key theme from today, and it was something that we kept coming back to.
From there, we heard from Traditional Owners and Elders Professor Valerie Cooms, Councillor Danny Chapman, Wally Stewart, and Yvonne Stewart on cultural fishing rights and traditions on the Australian East Coast and the interaction of native title.
They told a two-sided story.
One side told the story of the failure on the part of the authorities and those in power to listen to rich cultural perspectives and views, and the impact that this has had on First Nations communities. The other was a story of the benefits that simply listening to the other side’s story and seeking to cooperate can have on delivering outcomes which can change people’s lives.
Next was The Honourable Chief Justice Chris Kourakis, who spoke about the transformative power of ADR in enhancing the efficiency and accessibility of our justice systems.
He had me worried there for a moment when he sought to draw the long bow between quantum mechanics, Newtonian physics, mediation, and adjudication, including with an explanation of Schrödinger’s Cat, but thankfully I can say he stuck the landing. It is also very good to know that if you do ever appear before the Chief Justice in the South Australian Supreme Court, you’d better make sure that you have first attempted mediation.
From North Terrace, we were transported to the Gorgon Gas Fields by Gordon Smith and Fiji by Pratarp Singh. Their insights into project structuring, and mediation and arbitration strategies were invaluable for those of us dealing with these complexities in our daily practice. I know I can speak for my fellow arbitrators in the room, that Gordon had our undivided attention when he said that he delivered an award in just 18 days. That is one way to bring in new appointments.
Dr Samantha Hardy, Ippei Okazaki, and Deborah Lockhart followed with their insights into the flexibility that mediation can offer as a dispute resolution mechanism.
For Dr Hardy, this was the flexibility that mediation can offer neurodivergent clients. The approach “In your own time, in your own place” really stuck with me, and it not only applies to dispute resolution, but it is something that we can implement in our daily lives.
It was great to hear from Ippei on his experiences in the outback and his work enabling communities to have a voice. It really was that simple: giving people a voice and the tools to speak up.
The afternoon brought us to a dynamic debate on the legal personhood of the Murray and Darling Rivers. Thank you to both the affirmative and negative teams, and all of our speakers, and particularly Douglas Murphy KC for his attempts at advocacy by poetry.
It was the negative team who came out on top, but you can’t shake the feeling that the teams were a bit lopsided – the negative team was comprised entirely of members of the bar – including two silks. Perhaps there was some favouritism from our judge The Honourable John Eric Middleton AM KC sprinkled in there too.
Our exploration of science and diplomacy in Antarctica, led by Dr Annebelle Davis and Graeme Ayres, provided a fascinating look into one of the world’s most enduring joint problem-solving partnerships between scientists and diplomats.
And our final talk of the day brought us poignant reflections from Traditional Owners Miliwanga Wurrben and Cecelia Lake. Their advocacy for the Roper River exemplifies the critical role of traditional knowledge in shaping sustainable and equitable resource management strategies in the Northern Territory. That generational knowledge is something that only a select few people will ever have and fully comprehend, and we thank Miliwanga and Cecelia for taking the time to share just some of it with us today.
Conclusion
In closing, I would like to thank the ADC for organising today’s event. To Deborah Lockhart, the directors, today’s facilitators, and to the team of associates and interns that made it possible. Please put your hands together.
On behalf of the ADC, I would also like to thank all of you for attending today. It is your time, effort, and contribution that has equally made this event a success. Again, please put your hands together.
Thank you.
