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Articles on Constitution

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Australia is the only Western democracy without some form of charter of rights legislated by parliament or entrenched in the constitution. Lukas Coch/AAP

Why an Australian charter of rights is a matter of national urgency

We have a serious deficit in legal protection for human rights in Australia, rights that have been in regression for 20 years. We need a legislated charter setting out the rights we care about.
Police officers loyal to the Houthi rebels march during a military parade in Sanaa, Yemen in July 2017. The placards read: ‘Allah is the greatest. Death to America, death to Israel, a curse on the Jews, victory to Islam.’ REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

Congressional action on Yemen may be the first salvo against presidential war powers

Political fallout from the Vietnam War gave Congress more power to control foreign affairs, but they have been reluctant to use it.
Morrison operates a minority government and Tuesday’s loss underscored that he can’t. automatically get his way. Lukas Coch/AAP

View from the Hill: Shorten’s victory will bring dangerous counter strikes from a desperate government

The government will turn up the dial by announcing “contingency plans” against fresh arrivals. Morrison is already moving on to the claim that Shorten couldn’t be trusted to be strong on turnbacks.
Supreme Court justices stood with Brett Kavanaugh, his wife Ashley, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump on the day of Kavanaugh’s investiture. AP/Supreme Court provided

Kavanaugh’s impact on the Supreme Court and the country may not be as profound as predicted

With Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, many predict that the court will move to the right on issues from abortion to gun rights. But Supreme Court rulings are often not the last word on a matter.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh used baseball to explain his judicial philosophy during his Senate confirmation hearing. Reuters/Alex Wroblewski

Kavanaugh’s ‘judge as umpire’ metaphor sounds neutral but it’s deeply conservative

Kavanaugh thinks judges ‘must be an umpire – a neutral and impartial arbiter.’ So does Chief Justice Roberts. But more liberal jurists believe that the application of the law is inherently subjective.

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