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Articles on George Brandis

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The most recent allegations against George Brandis stem from Gillian Triggs’ evidence to a Senate estimates hearing. AAP/Lukas Coch

Did Brandis break the law in requesting Triggs’ resignation?

Regardless of whether George Brandis’ action was illegal, it represents an attempt by the very institutions charged with protecting the rule of law to unduly influence it.
In parliament Julie Bishop flatly contradicted evidence given by a senior public servant. AAP/Mick Tsikas

When is an offer not an offer? Ask Julie Bishop

The government’s war on Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs has deepened into a major test of credibility, with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop flatly contradicting evidence given by a senior public servant.
The Abbott government’s expedited passage of national security laws in 2014 demonstrated an underlying disrespect for the legislative process. AAP/Nikki Short

‘Good government’ gets lost in the pursuit of national security

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has made two key pledges in recent weeks – to begin “good government” and to no longer give “the benefit of doubt” to people suspected of planning terrorist activities in Australia…
Family First senator Bob Day’s proposed changes to Section 18C have been given fresh prominence since the Charlie Hebdo attacks. AAP/Lukas Coch

Charlie Hebdo attacks provide a false pretext for 18C debate

Early in 2014, federal Attorney-General George Brandis released a proposal to significantly amend our law against racial vilification, Sections 18C and 18D of the Racial Discrimination Act, on the strength…
Service providers will be given more responsibility when it comes to stopping illegal downloads … but will it be a deterrent? m01229/Flickr

Forced negotiations and industry codes won’t stop illegal downloads

Attorney-General George Brandis and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced yesterday that they expect internet service providers (ISPs) to work with copyright owners to help police infringement…
George Brandis argues that it is the government’s duty to investigate and prevent serious crimes – and that metadata can help. AAP/Alan Porritt

Metadata and privacy: surveillance state or business as usual?

Metadata, previously a word limited to the tech-savvy, is now not only a hot topic of public discussion but the focus of new national security legislation. The public discussion seems split between two…
As both a word and an idea, ‘medieval’ carries centuries of connotation of a murky and brutal pre-scientific age. US Fish & Wildlife Service/Swanson Scott

So hot right now: the Middle Ages in the climate change debate

“Medieval” has become the accusation du jour in Australian domestic politics, used with equal conviction across the spectrum to discredit opponents’ views. One debate where this accusation has taken centre…
Attorney-General George Brandis has introduced laws that cast a blanket of secrecy over the use and potential abuse of sweeping national security powers. AAP/Lukas Coch

National security gags on media force us to trust state will do no wrong

It has been said that the line between good investigative reporting and inappropriate journalistic prying is never clearly drawn. Journalists usually complain long and hard when governments intervene to…
The government wants to toughen laws to prosecute and deter Australians, such as alleged Syria suicide bomber ‘Abu Asma al-Australi’, from fighting in foreign conflicts. Twitter/@AbuSiqr

Foreign fighter passports and prosecutions in government’s sights

The Abbott government will soon unveil the legislative details of its second tranche of revamped anti-terrorism measures. The government introduced the first set of reforms into the Senate in July. One…
The importance of public awareness of national security changes at the legislative stage is crucial as, once in force, these schemes are often shrouded in secrecy. AAP/Lukas Coch

National security bill gives ASIO more powers and a tighter gag

The Abbott government has unveiled the first in what is expected to be a suite of reforms aimed at strengthening Australia’s national security. The bill introduced into the Senate yesterday by attorney-general…
Until George Brandis’ comments last week, Australia’s position has been to recognise East Jerusalem as ‘occupied by Israel’. AAP/Alan Porritt

Brandis out of step with international consensus on East Jerusalem

Under questioning at a Senate estimates hearing, federal attorney-general George Brandis revealed that the Abbott government does not consider East Jerusalem to be “occupied”. Brandis later put out a statement…
Attorney General George Brandis will be expected to lead the culture change to one of open information. Stefan Postles/AAP

Transparency trade-off means FOI will get more expensive

Tony Abbott’s 2013 election platform promised to “restore accountability and improve transparency measures to be more accountable to you”. In spite of this promise the first Abbott government budget will…
Anti-piracy laws are thin on the ground in Australia at the moment, but do we really need more? Scurzuzu/Flickr

Stop the pirates? Behind Brandis’ copyright crusade

Copyright has been firmly back on the agenda in recent months. We’ve seen the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) release its report on copyright which recommended that Australia adopt a “fair use…
Attorney-General George Brandis during a debate at Parliament House in Canberra. AAP Image/Daniel Munoz

On global warming, settled science and George Brandis

The Australian Attorney General, Senator George Brandis, is no stranger to controversy. His statement in parliament that “people do have a right to be bigots” rapidly gained him notoriety, and it isn’t…
Believers in alien abduction do not have a right to be taken seriously, and nor do those who simply reject the evidence of climate change. Photobank gallery/Shutterstock

Brandis confuses right to be heard with right to be taken seriously

In a recent interview, federal attorney-general George Brandis laments that deniers of climate science are being “excluded” from the debate. On the surface this seems a justifiable complaint, but the point…
The tragic 200-year folly of the Crusades attests to the power of culture to shape and sustain strongly held ‘personal’ beliefs. Gustave Doré (1832-1883), Crusade against the Moors of Granada/Wikimedia Commons

A bigot’s ‘rights’ ignore how culture shapes our brains

There is no gene for bigotry. Bigots are not born, they are made by the people and the society around them. Our brains and minds are shaped by culture. To quote a great American linguist, Edward Sapir…
George Brandis wants to protect the ‘right to be a bigot’ in the name of free speech. But the government may seek to remove such a right in relation to corporations. AAP/Dan Himbrechts

In the government’s hierarchy of values, is free speech at the top?

The federal government has indicated that it is considering repealing an exemption in the Competition and Consumer Act that provides for boycotts of companies on environmental grounds. The government is…

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