Chris Sumner

Christopher John Sumner AM (born 17 April 1943) is an Australian lawyer and former politician who is the longest serving Attorney-General in the State of South Australia. He was for 19 years a member of the South Australian Legislative Council for the Australian Labor Party and led the party in that House in government and opposition. He served at times as acting Premier.

As Attorney-General, Sumner was credited with a number of reforms, notably the development of policies on victims of crime that later were adopted nationally.

In 1985 he was the lead spokesperson for the Australian delegation and rapporteur at the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in Milan. This conference established the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 29 November 1985.

Sumner was a Member of the World Society of Victimology for a decade, and President from 1991 to 1994. He chaired the Organising Committee for the 8th International Symposium on Victimology, held in Adelaide, and co-edited the proceedings.

After leaving politics, Sumner spent 17 years as a member of Australia's National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT), the last 12 as Deputy President. The Tribunal was established by the Australian Parliament, in the wake of the "Mabo case" (Mabo v Queensland (No 2)), to “achieve consensual resolution of native title determination applications, where possible”.

Sumner retired from the NNTT in April 2012 but continued to practise law and conduct mediations.

In 2001 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia and received the Centenary Medal.