CLArion April 2022: Parliament powerless over Covid-19 rules
Australia’s governance system allows Ministers to impose over-the-top rules and regulations without Parliament able to have a say. The system should be changed, CLA says. In this issue, we report on the new ‘Right To Appeal’ laws in three states – they have not opened any floodgates: many wrongfully convicted people still languish in our jails. And we note that lawyer David McBride, the alleged whistleblower, is the only person so far charged over alleged murders and assaults on Afghan nationals by members of the ADF's SAS, despite four years of initial investigation and now a further 18-month (and counting) second internal inquiry.
Australia needs a Criminal Cases Review Commission system. Proven over 25 years in Britain, a CCRC can correct wrongful convictions like those of the Guildford 4 and the Birmingham 6 (Photo: two of those victims, with Australian wrongful conviction guru Estelle Blackburn). With an Australian CCRC system, the cases of Sue Neill-Fraser and Derek Bromley – now before the High Court – would have evaluated for their possible erroneous forensics earlier than 13 and 37 years ago, respectively.