High Court of Australia comes a cropper

The High Court of Australia has decided, to its legal satisfaction, that there was a sexual harasser in its midst, former judge Dyson Heydon. But the court was apparently reluctant to act (it took 15 months). And has it learned the real lesson of this sorry affair, that it is judicial hubris at the High Court in general that’s the problem, not just one randy old judge. The High Court should take a long, hard look at itself…and so should the rest of Australia examine the performance, competence and protocols of one of the three arms of national governance.

Read full article

How Parliament’s fences lock people in to danger

Camouflage green fences exude precisely the wrong symbolism for a parliament building purpose-designed to be an accessible People’s House. From one angle, the most prestigious building in the National Capital looks like a jail, with slum attached. Are we keeping the prime inmates protected, or locked away behind our own ‘Berlin Wall’? Gates and upward-rising bollards – which have hoisted Commonwealth cars skywards – are further barriers to openness, security expert Dr Tony Murney says.

Read full article

Militarised guards create potential firezone with children as collateral damage

Assault-style weapons proliferate throughout the external parliamentary precinct: armed guards patrol the ricochet-rich foyer. Into this potential bullet-riddled firezone Australia’s politicians invite subsidised schoolchildren in their hundreds every day the Parliament sits. With schools and embassies (including that of China) in nearby over-shoot range, even an accidental discharge could create personal tragedy or international incident.

Read full article

Porter can lift us out of these ‘sad times’

The secret trials and sentencing currently running in the Witness K and Bernard Collaery matter could – and should – be stopped instantly by the Attorney-General withdrawing his permission to prosecute. If he doesn’t the injustice of it all will forever be on his head. He has the perfect excuse: he’s too busy crafting a national integrity commission, and also getting the nation back on its commercial feet after Covid-19.
Read full article

Bike helmet fines are enough to do your head in

Australia was first to mandate wearing bike helmets to enhance safety for bicyclists. But the fines have gone crazy, police abuse propensity is huge and, as usual, the poor suffer more than others. A bike fine can even follow you into later life, and cost you a job. The fines are examples of Executive regulatory regimes gone feral, two academics say.
Read full article

Trust is the issue when politicians want people to act

As the federal government seeks to influence people to download the C19 virus tracing app, it starts a long way behind square in being trusted. The problems are that Minister Stuart Robert announced the app using untrue statements, and the government has an awful record of being incompetent in safeguarding people’s data and privacy. 
Read full article