Dame Roma Mitchell is remembered as Australia’s first female judge. But Queenslander May Lahey beat her to the punch when she became a judge in Los Angeles in 1928. Her lack of recognition is symptomatic of how Australia remembers expats, particularly women.
The decision reveals the striking breadth of the government’s power to deal with asylum seekers and refugees in ways that directly contravene international law.
AAP/Eoin Blackwell
The Australian government had and has the power to do things necessary to establish and maintain its immigration detention facility on Manus Island, despite detention violating PNG law.
Amid a sea of troubles – including the premature loss of their CEO and a money-laundering scandal – the CBA is facing a shareholder lawsuit.
AAP Image/Dave Hunt
A new lawsuit against the CBA puts climate change in a new legal light: a financial hazard. The case opens up fresh lines of attack on institutions that contribute to climate change.
For the ABS, even the basic task of sending out ballot papers will not be straightforward.
AAP/Alan Porritt
The key question in a legal challenge to the ‘postal plebiscite’ is whether information about Australians’ opinions on same-sex marriage constitutes ‘statistical information’.
Throughout Australian history, previous parliaments have changed the legal understanding of marriage – none needed a plebiscite.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Given the events of the past week, now is an opportune time to discuss reform of a section of the Constitution that makes dual nationals ineligible to sit in parliament.
Migration legislation does not require judicial authorisation for a person to be deprived of their freedom.
AAP/Dean Lewins
Unlike most domestic criminal law, the laws governing the behaviour of Australian armed forces apply to criminal conduct alleged to have taken place overseas.
It is obviously important to protect the institutional integrity and independence of the judiciary – but the judiciary and judicial decisions should not be immune from criticism.
Convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby is surrounded by Indonesian police on her way to being deported from Bali back to Australia.
AAP/EPA
Terrorism laws contain extra hurdles to secure a conviction, so prosecutors and police may prefer to charge offenders with murder or assault in some cases.
Australia’s extradition treaty with China was completed in 2007, but it has never been ratified.
AAP/Dan Himbrechts
The usual procedures for extradition between countries with substantial and complex bilateral relations – like those that Australia and China have – will now not be available.
In a world where educational opportunity is unjustly distributed, why should private schools be exempt from paying income tax?
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
In a world where educational opportunity is unjustly distributed, there are questions as to whether private schools should be exempt from paying income tax.
Robert Xie is escorted to prison at the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney.
AAP/Paul Miller
New South Wales law provides no clear definition of the crimes that fall into the worst possible category. This leads to inconsistent and unfair sentencing.
Giving a reference is protected, in defamation law, by the common-law defence of qualified privilege.
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In many cases, a reference will contain negative things about its subject. This is part of a reference’s design: the referee should give a full and frank assessment.
