William and Lonsdale - Lives in the Law
Jul 15, 2026 · 1 hr 34 min · 20 segments
This week we welcome Peter Gordon, one of Australia’s most prominent class action lawyers. Peter’s worldview was profoundly shaped by growing up in Melbourne’s west. It informed both his politics and…
You know, we went to the local Catholic primary school, and we went to church at Christ the King Braybrook every Sunday.
My parents were too shy to mix with the rest of the people, so we used to come in a couple of minutes late and sit in the back pews.
But they were very good Catholics and DLP supporters until the election of the Whitlam government in nineteen seventy-two, and then like a lot of lapsed, uh, Labor supporters, they reconverted to the Labor Party by nineteen seventy-five, and so did my sister Karen and I, and, um, yeah, that's, that's my background.
And, and what about school? I mean, one of the things that comes through in, in our discussions about Lions in the Law is the role that mentors play and the influence people have, and there was one particular teacher who was a great influence upon you.
The differences in culture, um, and, and politics and everything between the two environments couldn't be more stark.
I, uh, he came there when I was in year nine or form three, as we called it back then, and I thought of him as older, but he was twenty-three.
I mean, he was a youngster by, by today's standard, and he t- he took a decision, having qualified in law, to go out to one of the poorest neighborhoods in Melbourne and teach legal studies.
My aspirations at that stage were to be a public servant at the Tottenham RAAF Base like my dad was.
But for me and for Rob, Rowan was an enormous influence in terms of stretching our horizons and telling us what we could do.
I mean, I, I remember my parents going along to a parent-teacher night and him saying to them, you know, "Your kid can actually do things that he doesn't currently imagine are within his bandwidth, and he should." So yeah, I'm forever grateful to him, and I know Robbie is too.
And so because of the influence of Rowan McIndoe and, and others, I, I guess, and your mum and dad particularly, you go to year twelve, you get a good year twelve, and you then go on to university.
You know, we went to the local Catholic primary school, and we went to church at Christ the King Braybrook every Sunday.
My parents were too shy to mix with the rest of the people, so we used to come in a couple of minutes late and sit in the back pews.
But they were very good Catholics and DLP supporters until the election of the Whitlam government in nineteen seventy-two, and then like a lot of lapsed, uh, Labor supporters, they reconverted to the Labor Party by nineteen seventy-five, and so did my sister Karen and I, and, um, yeah, that's, that's my background.
And, and what about school? I mean, one of the things that comes through in, in our discussions about Lions in the Law is the role that mentors play and the influence people have, and there was one particular teacher who was a great influence upon you.
The differences in culture, um, and, and politics and everything between the two environments couldn't be more stark.
I, uh, he came there when I was in year nine or form three, as we called it back then, and I thought of him as older, but he was twenty-three.
I mean, he was a youngster by, by today's standard, and he t- he took a decision, having qualified in law, to go out to one of the poorest neighborhoods in Melbourne and teach legal studies.
My aspirations at that stage were to be a public servant at the Tottenham RAAF Base like my dad was.
But for me and for Rob, Rowan was an enormous influence in terms of stretching our horizons and telling us what we could do.
I mean, I, I remember my parents going along to a parent-teacher night and him saying to them, you know, "Your kid can actually do things that he doesn't currently imagine are within his bandwidth, and he should." So yeah, I'm forever grateful to him, and I know Robbie is too.
And so because of the influence of Rowan McIndoe and, and others, I, I guess, and your mum and dad particularly, you go to year twelve, you get a good year twelve, and you then go on to university.
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