Patricia (Pat) June O'Shane (born 19 June 1941) is a magistrate of the Local Court of New South Wales living in Sydney, Australia.[1][2] A former head of the New South Wales Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, and Aboriginal herself, O'Shane was appointed a magistrate in 1986.[1] She normally sits at the Downing Centre Local Court.
She was elected to the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998 which considered the issue of Australia becoming a republic. She advocated strongly for an Australian republic. In her opening address expressed a desire for change based on what she perceived as historical injustice and present inadequacies within the Australian Constitution:[3]
| “ | That modern Australia, the Australia that has developed since 26 January 1788 as distinct from the Australia of my ancestors, has a constitutional monarchy is a direct unambiguous consequence of our origins as a colony of Britain — a penal colony at that. As such, it was underwritten with the values of power, privilege, elitism, oppression and dispossession. It was blatantly exclusionary. It is no wonder then that the Australian Constitution, designed to institute a constitutional monarchy as the system of government in this country, is such an inadequate and uncertain instrument as it is. | ” |
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Rob Robertson-Cuninghame |
Chancellor of the University of New England 1994-2003 |
Succeeded by John Cassidy |