Peter Jopling, AM, KC, holds a nuanced view when it comes to his relationship with art. The term “art collector” doesn’t quite sit right with him, and he expresses this sentiment with a visible grimace during a lunch at the esteemed Di Stasio Citta in Melbourne’s CBD. “I hate the concept of a collector,” he states firmly. His journey with art began early, acquiring his first painting at the tender age of 17, a small Fred Williams piece purchased with funds gifted by his grandmother specifically for that purpose. This initial acquisition remains a cherished possession.
Jopling’s professional life has been equally distinguished. He was a prominent commercial silk at the Victorian Bar, spearheaded the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s successful cartel action against Visy, and was involved in high-profile cases concerning figures like Christopher Skase, Alan Bond, and Simon Holmes à Court. Yet, his profound passion lies in the realm of art. He currently chairs the Melbourne Art Foundation, the organisation behind the annual Melbourne Art Fair held each February. His commitment to the arts also extends to his past roles as chair of the Potter Museum of Art, the Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Foundation, and the dance company Lucy Guerin Inc. While he estimates his personal art holdings to be in the hundreds, the label “collector” remains something he actively avoids.
“I watched my parents buy art, I watched my uncle buy art. It was just something ingrained in me, something that I did,” Jopling explains. “It made my world more beautiful, more interesting, more engaged, more challenging, more reflective.” His choice of Di Stasio Citta for their lunch is no accident; he admires owner Ronnie Di Stasio’s dedication to supporting the arts.
The restaurant itself serves as a canvas, with a video installation by artist Shaun Gladwell projected on a large white wall, looping continuously. “Who else would put this in a restaurant?” Jopling remarks with evident admiration, gesturing upwards.
As if by design, Shaun Gladwell himself is present at the restaurant, working on a new installation. He approaches Jopling, and the two engage in conversation about future plans, including a potential meeting in Milan. They also discuss Gladwell’s video portrait of Allan Myers, KC, destined for the Bar’s portrait gallery – an initiative championed by Jopling. Reflecting on the process, Jopling notes the ego challenges faced by some subjects, contrasting it with Allan Myers’ straightforward approach: “He said, ‘Go for it’.”
While perusing the menu, an appetiser arrives from Di Stasio – small triangles of bread topped with a creamy ricotta and crushed pea mixture. Jopling savours a bite, sighing contentedly, “How good are peas?”
Early Life and Legal Career
Jopling’s formative years were spent in Ballarat, attending what is now Ballarat Clarendon College. At the age of 11, he relocated to Melbourne and enrolled at Camberwell Grammar School. His tertiary education led him to study law at the University of Melbourne. His uncle, a barrister, served as an inspiration for Jopling’s chosen profession, alongside a personal admission that “I couldn’t do maths and science.”
He briefly worked as a solicitor, completing his articles before transitioning to a role as a judge’s associate for Sir Keith Aickin at the High Court and subsequently for Sir Ninian Stephen. “I was lucky to have two High Court judges that I worked for and formed great friendships with, and [they] had a great influence, really, on my life and my working practices because I saw how hard a High Court judge worked,” he reflects.
This commitment to hard work permeated his 45-year career at the Bar, where he specialised in commercial litigation. He acknowledges the early days of his career: “In the beginning, you took whatever you could get. You couldn’t be that fussy and that was good because you got good training. I got work in the Children’s Court, and it’s tough, but I learnt to cross-examine.”
Jopling finds the rigour and meticulous preparation involved in cross-examination particularly appealing. “You only ask questions you know the answer to,” he explains. “There are a lot of people who are loose with the truth, and so it’s sort of almost the thrill of the chase in uncovering, getting to the core of the real story that they don’t really want to communicate.”
When questioned about his most memorable cases, Jopling steers clear of mentioning Visy, Skase, or Bond. He alludes to them indirectly, stating, “There are some that I’ll probably be remembered for, but it’s probably best not to talk about.” This likely refers to his role as a court-appointed “contradictor” tasked with scrutinising the substantial fees paid to former silk Norman O’Bryan in the Banksia Securities class action.
He offers a general observation on the adversarial nature of litigation: “A friend of mine who is a judge on the Federal Court says it is the only activity in the world where everyone’s sort of against you. If you’re in surgery and you’re trying to save someone’s life, everybody is working with you. The anaesthetist, the cardiac nurses or the surgical nurses, they’re all working with you to achieve a positive outcome. But in the courtroom, your opponents want to destroy you.” This challenging environment, however, is precisely what Jopling finds “exciting and invigorating.”
Views on the Judiciary and Social Issues
Jopling expresses no regret about not pursuing a career on the bench, stating, “I loved being a barrister.” He remains tight-lipped when asked if he was ever considered for a judicial appointment. He holds immense respect for judges, remarking, “I really admire the men and women who do; they give extraordinary service. I don’t think the public properly understand the service that they do give. I don’t think they’re properly valued. Politicians have no idea.”
He is particularly vocal about the trend of appointing solicitors as judges, describing it as “by and large, a failure.” Jopling contends that judicial appointments should exclusively be drawn from the Bar, thereby ensuring candidates possess essential trial experience. He criticises governments for prioritising tokenistic appointments over merit: “Governments love to be able to say, ‘Oh, I’ve appointed the first of this, and the first of that.’ I don’t think the public really care. The public want the brightest and most efficient person.”
Another area where Jopling has been a vocal advocate is for the admission of women to the historically men-only Australia Club. “We’re not meant to talk about that in public, but it’s just ridiculous that they’re not members,” he asserts. He questions the relevance of such exclusionary practices in a diverse city like Melbourne: “If you’re going to have a club in a city of 5 million people, and you’re going to exclude one group on the basis of gender, I just don’t think that’s in touch with contemporary thinking.” While this stance led to some members leaving the club, Jopling notes that many simply moved to the equally exclusive Melbourne Club, indicating a lack of broader change.
Jopling believes in fostering change from within. He recently celebrated his 70th birthday at the Australia Club, an event attended by a significant number of women without any issues. “It’ll happen in time,” he expresses hope. “I hope it happens in my lifetime. But we’ve got men from all backgrounds and all races and all sexual persuasions. So why can’t we have women as well?”
Culinary Delights and Artistic Pursuits
As their main courses arrive – Jopling opts for thin slices of veal saltimbocca with crisp roast potatoes, while the journalist chooses linguine inspired by its description of “prawns, parsley, lemon and sunshine” – the conversation shifts back to Jopling’s lifelong connection with art.
His mother instilled in him a love for art, taking him to galleries and encouraging discussions about artists. This early exposure, coupled with his parents’ emphasis on community contribution, shaped his dedication to the arts. “My parents, who ‘always told me that you have an obligation to give back’,” he credits for his commitment to serving on arts boards.
Beyond a sense of duty, Jopling finds immense personal enrichment through his involvement in the art world. “The joy of it is I then started meeting people who weren’t lawyers,” he shares. “The law is a very insular world, and you know, probably it has to be. But I enjoy meeting people from other disciplines and broadening my horizons and my sense of understanding how the world operates.”
Currently, Jopling’s focus is on the upcoming Melbourne Art Fair, scheduled to open on February 19th. He anticipates it will be “even bigger and better,” featuring a new segment called Futureobjekt. This initiative aims to “showcasing talented men and women who are craft-makers and place-makers.” Jopling hopes this category will “really strengthen and grow and become something of substance so that these people can see that there’s a commercial future for adaptation of what they’re making.”
The Melbourne Art Fair’s core mission, as Jopling articulates, is twofold: to facilitate art sales and to educate the public about Australian artists. He strongly advocates for the fair’s commercial orientation: “You’ve got to sell product. People have to earn money, people have got to pay rent, buy food, educate children, and they’ve got to live, so you’ve got to have a commercial proposition.”
While the fair receives government funding, Jopling highlights the board’s success in securing corporate sponsorships from brands like Loewe, Bollinger, and Rationale, a skincare business owned by Jopling’s husband, Richard Parker.
During their lunch, Jopling opts for sparkling water, abstaining from alcohol except for an occasional glass of champagne. “I’m now on trend,” he jokes, adding that this has been his preference for decades. His indulgence, however, is chocolate. A small, chocolate-coated ice cream ball, a courtesy from Di Stasio, is quickly devoured. “I have an absolute sweet tooth,” he confesses.
Looking ahead, Jopling’s “new project” involves bequeathing his art collection to the Potter Museum of Art and the University of Melbourne. His intention is to cease acquiring art and instead provide annual financial contributions to the Potter Museum for acquisitions.
Despite these future plans, Jopling remains engaged with the present. “I love meeting artists,” he says. “I love watching how they observe the world because I think that’s part of their native genius… their ability to observe a world that we’re too busy rushing around to stop and properly observe. They enable us to take stock of that world and to better understand and to better appreciate.”
The Melbourne Art Fair is scheduled to run from February 19-22, 2026.
