Helen Gilbert
Margaret Robins
We didn’t start the fire – it was Margaret Robins!
Back in 2000, Marg came up with both the name and the idea for the Auckland District Law Society (as The Law Association was then known) to host an annual employment law conference.
The concept was simple: those interested in employment law (small in numbers but large in wit and insight) would meet to discuss topical issues that were also a bit controversial. These issues needed to be burning – indeed, “scalding hot”.
The meeting was somewhat secretive, where “hot coals of contention” were tossed around. Camaraderie, collegiality and frankness were key.
Former Chief Judge Graeme Colgan
Former Chief Judge Graeme Colgan recalls Burning Issues was innovative and regarded as somewhat radical. He vividly remembers the many bad jokes and ‘burning’ puns, including Marg’s suggestion that he would be donning his fireproof pants. This, however, was a step too far as he thought he might be “hauled over the coals” for it – hence this quip never made it to print.
The intention was to show that lawyers could have fun. It was not meant to be just another conference.
What went in the fire, stayed in the fire
Chatham House Rules were essential from the outset. One could repeat the ideas, insights and arguments but they could not be attributed to any named person. No one experienced any problems, including the former Chief Judge who recalls that he often spoke at Burning Issues, but nobody ever repeated back to him the comments he made in this forum.
Over the years, Burning Issues has enjoyed strong judicial support, and in its early days the former Chief of the Employment Relations Authority, Alastair Dumbleton, was also a committed contributor.
The Ellen Melville Centre in Auckland was the venue for the first Burning Issues event in 2000. About 50 people attended. There was no air con, so the windows had to be kept open and the doors creaked – all of which made it difficult to hear the speakers.
The former Chief Judge recalls controversial contributions from excellent presenters such as Bill Hodge, retired Professor of Law at Auckland University. His views were frankly stated but not always popular. Strong opinions were expressed from both sides, but the purpose was always to “get people to think about the criticisms”.
A key component of the event was food and wine. “The thing I wanted was to have drinks – drinks were as important as the issues,” says Marg, and it is good to see that some things never change. Crates of beer were donated by the Auckland District Law Society (by then called ADLS) in the early days, which seems like an excellent precedent to follow.
Garry Pollak
During the conference’s formative years, Garry Pollak was a regular attendee. He noted it was the main forum for practitioners to be updated on latest court developments and it drew a strong following.
He observed that 25 years ago, employment law was not really recognised as a distinct Bar or area of legal practice, having long been dominated by unions and employers, with solicitors excluded from award and collective bargaining.
That changed with the Employment Contracts Act 1991 and later the Employment Relations Act 2000, which caused a continual evolution of employment law and now the Bar has just exploded.
In its infancy, a speaker would sometimes be AWOL. Marg (who went on to become a long-standing convenor of the ADLS Employment Law Committee) recalls on one such occasion she hauled in Garry without warning and convinced him to do a speech about “any case he was involved in” at the time. Garry, being an extraordinarily good sport, obligingly complied. He distinctly recalls making the most the moment by including a few controversial comments along the lines of lawyers “pricing themselves out of the market”.
Three people, speaking for 30 minutes each, was the initial plan, followed by an hour of drinks. The event was held in Auckland, but the committee always tried to recruit people from around the country as presenters. Peter Cranney was an early participant and often added dry wit and controversy to the discussions.
In 2013, Simpson Grierson volunteered its premises for the annual Burning Issues event, which was a significant venue upgrade. Chatham House Rules remained, as did the food and wine, now generously supplied by Simpson Grierson.
“Red-hot topics presented by a scorching line-up of employment lawyers” – that was the ad for the 2016 event.
Topics included the “fiery implications of the new employment reforms”, “the searing issue of workplace bullying” and “the conflagration that is directors’ liabilities”.
The topics were a mixture of theoretical and practical legal issues. One had to be “ready to engage with blazingly brilliant minds” and “incendiary questions from audience arsonists” were welcomed.
Chief Judge Christina Inglis has regularly added fuel to the fire over the years, providing insightful and humorous contributions which are always greatly appreciated.
Twenty-five years on
We have now exploded into Burning Issues’ first successful debut in 2025 as a full day conference, with 182 attendees in person and online.
Catherine Stewart
“It has gone from strength to strength,” says Catherine Stewart (current convenor of TLANZ’s Employment Law Committee), who has chaired this event since 2013. She sees Burning Issues as one of the Employment Law Committee’s flagship events – a unique forum that does not shy away from robust debate, differing views and occasional controversy. She believes these thought-provoking ideas sow the seeds for subsequent legal arguments.
There were 18 presenters at the 2025 event, including the Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Brooke van Velden, Chief Judge Inglis, Riki Jamieson-Smyth from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, Tim Gray from MBIE, Independent Investigators from Woven and senior Australian employment lawyer Chris Bell.
True to form, Catherine advised attendees that the topics would be a bubbling inferno of the hottest employment law topics under the sun in 2025.
Fittingly, the Chief Judge kicked off the conference with her paper marking 25 years of the Employment Relations Act, which is well worth a read. She offered thoughtful “then and now” reflections and forecasted possible evolutions in the lexicon associated with employment law; a thought that might equally inspire Burning Issues pundits determined to keep the metaphors aflame.
As for the coming 25 years, the Chief Judge considered these would be extremely interesting, while noting that she would be there for only nine of them (one hopes she is just referencing a judicial limitation).
The 2025 Burning Issues conference still ensured the topics were hot, with an incredible line up of contributors, and Marg still got her wine.
The only noticeable absentee was the Chatham House rules, which seem to have been burnt to the ground. Undoubtedly this was for a good cause, but perhaps from time to time, we could resurrect that old house, while raising a glass to the next 25 years.
The 2026 Burning Issues conference will be held on 15 October. Get the date into your diaries now!
Helen Gilbert is the principal at Helen Gilbert Employment Lawyers and a member of TLANZ Employment Law Committee
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