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the law
National affairs
On political donations, Queensland sets the pace
Graeme Orr
13 March 2017
Urged on by an independent MP, Annastacia Palaszczuk’s government has shown how real-time disclosure can work
Essays & reportage
The president versus the attorney-general
Gabrielle Appleby & Joe McIntyre
10 February 2017
Donald Trump’s sacking of Sally Yates raises broader questions about how best to respond to the new administration
Books & arts
The truth about torture
Tom Hyland
26 January 2017
From the archive
| Outside TV drama, “enhanced interrogation” fails the evidence test, writes
Tom Hyland
in this review first published in June 2016
Books & arts
Speaking freely
Jock Given
19 January 2017
Books
| How can we protect free speech in a global village that’s more like a vast multicultural city?
Essays & reportage
The fabrication of Aboriginal voting
Brian Galligan
22 December 2016
Keith Windschuttle has assembled a highly selective case against recognition of Indigenous Australians in the Constitution
Essays & reportage
Where were the Aborigines?
Hal Wootten
19 December 2016
The 1966 equal pay case was a product of the silence at the heart of Indigenous policy, writes one of the lawyers briefed in the case
Essays & reportage
Susan Kiefel and the politics of judicial diversity
Kcasey McLoughlin
30 November 2016
The appointment of the new chief justice is a reminder that diversity and merit are not mutually exclusive
National affairs
Restoring the independence of the solicitor-general
Gabrielle Appleby
15 November 2016
George Brandis’s backdown is only the first step in clarifying and protecting the role of this key legal officer
National affairs
Another Day in court
Tony Blackshield
3 November 2016
The composition of the Senate could rest on the complex issues raised by the cases of Bob Day and Rodney Culleton. And in the background is attorney-general George Brandis’s…
National affairs
As the Pacific Solution unravels, Bali provides a lead
Sam Tyrer
2 November 2016
The Bali Process on forced migration made progress this year, but will governments implement its recommendations?
National affairs
Falling on swords
Jane Goodall
14 October 2016
The government senators who grilled the solicitor-general might have done themselves, and George Brandis, more harm than they realise
National affairs
Uncluttering ex-MPs’ entitlements
Tony Blackshield
13 October 2016
A tangle of legislation lay behind the case taken by former parliamentarians to protect their superannuation and travel concessions
National affairs
A fragile relationship
Gabrielle Appleby
5 October 2016
From the archive
| Relations between the attorney-general and the solicitor-general play a key role in the rule of law in Australia
. So what explains George…
National affairs
The plebiscite problem
Peter Brent
13 September 2016
Among the real risks of the marriage equality vote is the possibility it might fail, says
Peter Brent
Books & arts
Wrong place, wrong time
Paul Rodan
9 September 2016
Books
| Energy and ambition fuelled the rise and fall of a remarkable but flawed Labor leader, writes
Paul Rodan
Essays & reportage
“None of us have hearts of stone”: refugees and the necessity of morality
Peter Mares
22 August 2016
The Coalition and Labor both say their offshore processing policies are driven by realism, writes
Peter Mares
. But a practical approach must engage with moral questions as well
National affairs
In the matter of Rodney Culleton
Tony Blackshield
3 August 2016
If the would-be senator for Western Australia is “incapable of being chosen,” he won’t necessarily be replaced by another One Nation senator, writes
Tony
…
National affairs
A quarter of century later, how much have we learned?
Patrick Sullivan
1 August 2016
If governments are serious about the royal commission into child protection, they should pledge in advance to honour its recommendations, says
Patrick Sullivan
National affairs
Worlds apart
Klaus Neumann
29 July 2016
The leaders of Australia and Germany responded differently to recent terrorist attacks.
Klaus Neumann
looks at why
International
The political imperative for a legal war
Gabrielle Appleby
13 July 2016
Britain’s highest legal officer was under enormous pressure to give the legal okay for the war in Iraq, writes
Gabrielle Appleby
. Australia can learn from the fallout
Books & arts
Contradictory counsel
Tony Blackshield
1 July 2016
Books
| A new biography of Sydney lawyer and sometime politician Tom Hughes details a remarkable career, writes
Tony Blackshield
National affairs
Reputations in the courtroom
Sally McCausland
10 June 2016
Two recent defamation decisions illustrate how the law can be bad for both sides when cases go to court, writes
Sally McCausland
National affairs
A Day in court
Tony Blackshield
20 May 2016
Senator Bob Day’s attempt to stymie the government’s Senate voting laws was doomed from the start, writes
Tony Blackshield
. But the High Court proceedings may…
National affairs
Robes rally for fairer courts
Peter Mares
18 May 2016
Barristers and solicitors have taken the unprecedented step of rallying to demand an increase in legal aid funding. Will it come to wigs on the picket lines, asks
Peter Mares
The spies who came out of the dark
David Hayes
14 December 2015
The allure of the secret service in the British imagination is also the entry code to citizens’ data, writes
David Hayes
in London
Essays & reportage
Life in the goldfish bowl
Gavin J.D. Smith
2 December 2015
Why have watershed data retention laws failed to excite more opposition? Three factors might help explain our acquiescence, writes
Gavin J.D. Smith
National affairs
Seeing a problem and passing a law
Jessie Blackbourn
22 October 2015
George Brandis’s latest anti-terror laws will be presented to parliament next month, writes
Jessie Blackbourn.
How well do they balance civil liberties and security?
National affairs
The TPP’s one-way ratchet
John Quiggin
6 October 2015
Australia gained some last-minute concessions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, writes
John Quiggin
. But this is still the wrong way to manage our…
National affairs
Unhappy little Vegemites
Amanda Scardamaglia
18 September 2015
When the Ramsey family took on Dick Smith, Australia’s trade mark protection system swung into action, writes
Amanda Scardamaglia
National affairs
A rocky road for unwary royal commissioners
Janet Ransley
31 August 2015
Judges take a risk when they step outside the courtroom to play the role of royal commissioner
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