National Indigenous Law Student of the Year, Jo Byrne, has just started work at a prestigious law firm in Perth – a world away from where this single mum of seven was just four years ago.
In 2013, when Jo’s son, who has an intellectual disability, had a run in with the police, Jo wasn’t willing to watch from the sidelines.
Unable to find a solicitor who would run a section 32 application — a diversionary scheme where people with mental illness or developmental disability can be diverted out of the criminal justice system into treatment – Jo took matters into her own hands.
The experience of navigating the legal system as an outsider was challenging – but empowering. Jo stopped working as a florist – a job she’d done for 16 years – and applied to study law at Southern Cross University in her hometown of Coffs Harbour, NSW.
Jo’s husband, Jaimie, was very supportive of Jo’s new career path.
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“He would take the kids out bike riding on weekends - the bigger kids would go and do their own thing - so I was able to study on the weekends,” remembers Jo.
But less than a year into her Bachelor’s degree, her family’s world was turned upside down when Jaimie died in hospital. Legal proceedings are underway to establish how Jaimie passed away.
“We thought that she should take a leave of absence so she can get herself organised and get over the loss of her husband and help the kids," says Andy Gibson, Jo’s law tutor.
"And she really wasn't that interested in it."
But everyone has their own way of getting through hard times. For Jo, study has been a productive way to channel her grief… study and music.
“Since Jamie passed on, there’s one song that I just put on when it gets really bad. It’s called Fight Song by Rachel Patten.
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"I just listen to that over and over again.”
They say if you want something done, give it to someone busy and Jo fits the bill to a tee.
“A lot of my good study time is when the kids have gone to bed. Quite often on Friday and Saturday nights I’ll pull all-nighters,” says Jo, who is about to graduate with honours.
“She is definitely a type Triple A,” says Andy. “She's up at six o'clock in the morning doing study and helping get the kids ready for school.”
The National Indigenous Law Student of the Year award recognises the achievements of Indigenous Australians who improve justice outcomes for the Indigenous community.
To that end, Jo received the honour in part due to her efforts partnering law students with students from other disciplines, such as business or psychology, to provide advice to Indigenous people struggling to navigate the legal system.
“What I want to do with my law degree is help people who don’t have access to the law. There are a lot of people who have a problem but they can’t afford the high cost of solicitors, and they don’t qualify for legal aid.”
But as the reality of her husband’s death set in for Jo and her family, she made a dramatic move. She decided to distance herself from Coffs Harbour and start afresh with a new job in a new town.
Jo bundled her kids into the family 4WD and set off for a five-day cross-country haul to Perth – leaving most of the family’s worldly possessions and much of their emotional grief behind.
“It was a good move because it broke the link between what had happened and where her future could be,” says Andy.
