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
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.
Human Rights Commissioner Gillian Triggs said she had no doubt the seeking of her resignation and the offer of a future role were connected.
AAP/Lukas Coch
After a day-long government assault on Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs, she’s still in place.
The Abbott government’s expedited passage of national security laws in 2014 demonstrated an underlying disrespect for the legislative process.
AAP/Nikki Short
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
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
Nicolas Suzor, Queensland University of Technology dan Eleanor Angel, Queensland University of Technology
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, 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
“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
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…
Helen Westerman, The Conversation dan Emil Jeyaratnam, The Conversation
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
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…
It can be cast as cutting and running, or a belated burst of much needed pragmatism. Tony Abbott’s ditching of his ill-conceived attempt to water down the Racial Discrimination Act gets a weight off his…
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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…
Honorary (Senior Fellow) School of Culture and Communication University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne