Is it Force or farce?
A monumental stuff-up by an Australian federal department made The Japan Times recently: Australia is increasingly portrayed internationally as a pariah nation when it comes to liberties and rights. 5 Sept 2015
A monumental stuff-up by an Australian federal department made The Japan Times recently: Australia is increasingly portrayed internationally as a pariah nation when it comes to liberties and rights. 5 Sept 2015
Blue-sky boosters talk up trade agreements, but the reality is fewer jobs, less training and safety, plus loss of legal sovereignty as most battling Aussies miss out on benefits. 2 Sept 2015
So, having decided that an imaginary “fair-minded lay observer” could not reasonably find that he might be biased (by agreeing to give a talk to a Liberal lawyers’ function), Royal Commissioner John Cleese has determined that he should not step-down from his position (‘Trade Union Royal Commission: Dyson Heydon saves his own skin’, Canberra Times, 1 September 2015). Some might argue that the merits of Cleese’s decision could easily be tested by counting-up the number of accused facing our nation’s courts who would find themselves guilty, if the decision was left up to them. Others might apply the “pub test”,Continue reading
The farce of Australian Border Force-police visa raids in Melbourne streets over the weekend came to nothing, but such sweeps are not unusual, says academic expert Leanne Weber. 31 Aug 2015
Everywhere you look, liberties and rights are coming under attack from a government hell-bent on infringing personal freedoms and curtailing how the rule of law operates in Australia. 31 August 2015
If the pharmaceutical companies get their way with the TPP, the nation will pay through the nose for pills…and some Australians will miss out entirely on lifesaving drugs. 25 Aug 2015
The ACT Bar Association has publicly criticised the government for its sneaky reappointment of Jon White as the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions notwithstanding his appointment was originally for a period of seven years. The response from outgoing Attorney-General Simon Corbell that the reappointment was “in line with” a proposal yet to be considered by government to limit the appointment of the DPP to a 10-year term is a contemptuous response from a failed politician at the end of his tenure. Mr Corbell was re-elected by the skin of his teeth at the last election and has shown time andContinue reading
Nearly 15 years of political and bureaucratic extremism, ‘fighting terror’, have tilted democracy edge on, making it susceptible to toppling if a real threat develops, says Prof Roger Clarke . 24 Aug 2015
Police wanted new firearm search powers desperately to fight gun proliferation in Sydney, so why did 642 special searches not find one firearm? The Ombudsman is investigating. 21 Aug 2015
Duelling legal advice puts into question whether a proposed new citizenship law would be constitutional…but, whether yay or nay, it’s an awful piece of legislation says a leading academic. 17 Aug 2015