Campbell v Northern Territory – The Lingering Uncertainty over Comparators and Comparisons in the Racial Discrimination Act

Alan Zheng

Note: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains the names of people who have passed away.

Over the past decade, the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) (RDA) has found its place as a remedial avenue for First Nations persons and communities seeking justice against unlawful racial discrimination.

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Judicial Federalism in Australia book forum: The Hon William Gummow AC

The Hon William Gummow AC

When the Judiciary Committee of the 1891 National Australasian Convention, under the Chairmanship of Andrew Inglis Clark, prepared its report (which is reproduced in Judicial Federalism in Australia: History, Theory, Doctrine and Practice at pp 208 to 210), there were in operation in what today could be identified …

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Judicial Federalism in Australia book forum: Brendan Lim

Brendan Lim

History, theory, doctrine and practice. The subtitle of this splendid new book by Gabrielle Appleby, Anna Olijnyk, James Stellios and John Williams, Judicial Federalism in Australia: History, Theory, Doctrine and Practice (Federation Press, 2021), reminds us of the many different resources on which we can draw in …

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Judicial federalism in Australia book forum: Erin Delaney - Kable, federalism, and political constitutionalism

Erin F. Delaney

If, as A.V. Dicey once wrote, ‘federalism means legalism,’ it is particularly surprising that studies of federalism so often overlook a federal system’s judicial architecture and its operation. Exploring the ‘predominance of the judiciary in the constitution’ often begins and ends with analysis of …

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Judicial Federalism in Australia book forum: Authors' Response

Gabrielle Appleby, Anna Olijnyk, James Stellios & John Williams

This book is the result of years of collective and collaborative thinking around Chapter III of the Australian Constitution, and, to use Professor Sarah Murray’s phrase, the ‘unique form of Australian judicial federalism’ that it reflects today. We are delighted to see the book launched …

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Corruption and Human Rights Sanctions in Australia: Where Public Law Meets Foreign Policy

Anton Moiseienko

In 2020, the Australian Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (JSCFADT) held an inquiry into the potential introduction of corruption and human rights sanctions, also referred to as ‘Magnitsky’ sanctions. The inquiry culminated in a report calling on the government to ‘enact stand alone …

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Witnesses J, K – and L? Open Justice, the NSI Act and the Constitution

Kieran Pender

In the preface to a collection of criminal cases published in 1730, barrister and writer Sollom Emlyn sung the praises of the British legal system. ‘In other countries the Courts of Justice are held in secret; with us publicly and in open view,’ the Irishman …

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Statutory interpretation under section 48 of the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld): the first eighteen months

Benedict Coxon

On 1 January 2020, the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) (QHRA) entered fully into force, including the interpretive provision contained in s 48, which was modelled on s 32 of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) (Charter) and s 30 of the Human Rights …

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The ‘Ecological Limitation’: Exploring the Implications of Climate Change for the Australian Constitution

Costa Avgoustinos

The Australian climate litigation movement has recently made significant inroads into the field of negligence. In Sharma v Minister for the Environment (2021) (Sharma), the Federal Court held that the Minister for the Environment owes a duty to Australian children to take reasonable care when considering approval of a coal …

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Delays in Parole Applications at the Parole Board Queensland: An Action in False Imprisonment?

Anna Kretowicz

In March 2021, there were an estimated 2,100 undecided new applications at the Parole Board Queensland (the Board). While administrative backlogs are undesirable (one need only think of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, where a backlog of 53,000 applications in 2018 left the body in chaos), the problem here compounds with the legislative …

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Proportionality, rights and Australia’s COVID-19 response: Insights from the India travel ban

Liz Hicks & Sangeetha Pillai

The closure of international borders has been a key pillar of Australia’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. Australia’s strategy to “aggressively suppress” (in practice, eliminate) COVID-19 within its borders has relied heavily on restrictive measures, including flight caps and travel bans, to limit the importation of the …

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