Tsigereda (Ziggy) Lovegrove’s 30 year Lovegrove and Cotton Anniversary Event Speech

1 Aug 2023

Tonight’s event is as much for you as it is for us. You are our firm’s valued clients, friends, and associates.

Lovegrove and Cotton stands apart in terms of it’s contributions and achievements towards the improvement of building practices, reform and safety not only in Australia, but globally, and that which is dear to me hailing from Ethiopia, emerging economies.

The National Model Building Act

Our founder headed up a team in the early 1990’s that developed the National Model Building Act, which was the blueprint for modern building regulations in some Australian jurisdictions. These reforms changed the path of legislative building philosophies, and many of these contributions such as proportionate liability, 10 year liability capping, mandatory insurance requirements are still integral foundations in the current Victorian building legislation.

There are those within the firm that have also contributed to the development of best practice building regulatory reform in far away lands.

Our founder has a prominent law reform reputation which has resulted in senior law reform retainers with the World Bank in areas such as China and Africa. Kim was also deployed on two occasions by the Japanese government to participate in think tanks that influenced reforms to Japanese building legislation.

Kim attending a conference as a law reform consultant to the World Bank in 2019 in Beijing hosted by the World Bank and the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China, where he provided an address on best practice approaches to building control.

We have had strong relations with Ethiopia, my country of birth. Our legal practice sponsored the Ethiopian Consulate to Victoria, which was located within it’s offices and run by Lovegrove and Cotton staff. For this bond, the firm’s founder Adjunct Professor Kim Lovegrove was made the Ethiopian Honorary Consul to Victoria, while I assisted as the Consular attaché whilst studying law. This could not have happened without the support of Harry Stamoulis providing the consulate premises two years rent free. Kim was also awarded Ethiopian Honours for humanitarian services to Ethiopia by Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie, the grandson of the late Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie.

Seated here in traditional Ethiopian “get-up” at the Consular launch.

The firm for the last four years has supported the establishment and resourcing of the International Building Quality Centre. This organisation is a collection of accomplished and internationally renown thought leaders, who commit their time, free of charge towards the improvement of the tremendous challenges of building regulation, to deliver safety and security expected from the public.

The Governor-General received representatives of International Building Quality Centre, University of Canberra, including: Professor Paddy Nixon FRSN, Vice Chancellor; Adjunct Professor Kim Lovegrove MSE RML, Chair; Adjunct Professor Dr Harry Triguboff AO and Mrs Rhonda Triguboff; and Adjunct Professor Bob Whittaker AM, Deputy Chair. See the Governor General’s program for the 17 July 2023 here.

The relationship between the firm’s construction law excellence in Melbourne and it’s altruistic commitments to building safety globally is symbiotic.

The advocacy of fairness and safety construction practices globally has been reflected with the values of the firm. Since the firm’s inception, inclusion and diversity of our team has always been a vital component. I can bear testimony to that. When I first came to Australia in 2009 I had a rudimentary grasp of how to read and write English, as my native language is Amharic. Lovegrove and Cotton became my employer and whilst working at the practice I studied law. I now work as a construction and planning lawyer, and manage the practice. We encourage all staff members to actively engage and contribute, and advocate for a diverse working environment.

The future is set for the firm, which will continue to build upon it’s established reputation and legacy as a preeminent construction and planning law firm.

To our loyal clients and colleagues, thank you. You have helped this firm realise this achievement – 30 years is a substantial corporate milestone. We look forward the next 30.

To access a full photo collage of the event, click here