George Williams AO is one of Australia’s leading constitutional lawyers, having worked for many years as an academic and as a barrister. He is the Dean, the Anthony Mason Professor and a Scientia Professor at the Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales.
At 10:15am on Monday morning, Susan Kiefel will be sworn in as chief justice of the High Court. She will be the 13th person, and first woman, to hold Australia's most senior judicial office. Her appointment came as no surprise. She is the longest serving member of the Court, and has a record of incisive legal reasoning, hard work and integrity.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of when Australians last voted to change the Constitution. That was on May 21,1977, when the people voted Yes to three proposals, including setting a retirement age of 70 for federal judges. This remains the most successful referendum day in the nation's history.
The 2016 federal election has given rise to many reform ideas. Electronic voting has been supported by Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten, while others have called for a radical overhaul of political donations. Another persistent idea is that every Australian should be entitled to vote, even if they live overseas. Other countries permit this, and we should follow their lead.
Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act has received an extraordinary amount of attention over the past five years. Indeed, the debate has transcended what the section actually does. The provision has become an icon for those concerned rightly about the erosion of freedom of speech in Australia. It has also become a central argument in the culture wars for those who feel that political correctness and progressive thinking have gone too far.
With the Senate's composition thrown into doubt there is a chance of court delays prolonging the political controversy.
If Justin Gleeson could not form an effective working relationship with the George Brandis, it begs the question of how another person can do so?
The plebiscite is dead, so what now? For same-sex marriage, the answer is almost certainly a stalemate. Instead of reform, expect further rounds of politicians blaming each other for not delivering an outcome favoured by most of the community and most of our elected representatives.
Parliament is not able to properly hold its own members to account.
The poor fit between the plebiscite question and legal change could be a significant problem.
Australia sets a double standard when it comes to foreign influence.
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