The frustrations with a High Court which got it totally wrong in the Derek Bromley case may be countered by a novel way of securing a ‘different verdict’. Dr Bob Moles explains how fraud might be able to trump criminal law. Elsewhere in this issue, read about the shocking coronial situation exposed in the Senate, judges all over the place…and a federal Human Rights Act campaign about to be refreshed.
Parliament regularly passes laws that infringe Australians’ human rights: here’s a rundown from just one recent report. As we debate whether the Senator or the King transgressed more, experts are saying new conservative governments in the north are ‘taking our kids back to the darker ages’. A judge blames everyone but judges for a low opinion of the legal system, but examples abound of how the quality of the law is much strained, particularly in the south, by judicial shenanigans.
With a federal election only months away, the government needs to lift its game over citizens’ liberties and rights if it is to be re-elected. The ballyhooed promise of a National Commission Against Corruption is not being realised, Robodebt repercussions remain unresolved, campaigning internationally against the death penalty is moribund, and a strong parliamentary committee drive for a thorough overhaul of human rights, including a new federal Human Rights Act, languish for want of a formal government response. Maybe the newly sworn in Ministry will help, but it’s really a swift change of attitude, followed by more urgent positive action, that’s needed.
Darwin becomes the corruption capital of Australia this month as a major conference alights on fertile soil in the Top End. In the Far South, politicians are trying to solve judicial dilemmas by changing the deck chairs, when it’s the state’s culture, secrecy and establishment that lies at the core of most problems. Both jurisdictions need a Human Rights Act to help save the little people from the powers-that-will-always-be. Meanwhile, the federal HRA campaign is quiescent, but boosted by Australians realising how important Julian Assange’s rights and liberty became to most of us.