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.
You might think that disqualification season is over. The High Court has heard and decided the cases of Rodney Culleton and Bob Day, barring both from taking up their seats in the Senate. The court has also refused an attempt by the Labor Party to disqualify Day's replacement, South Australia's new Family First senator Lucy Gichuhi.
When people think of a lawyer, they often have an image of someone who represents the rich and powerful. However, Australia has an army of lawyers who work on low wages to protect the disadvantaged and vulnerable. Many work for one of Australia's 190 non-profit community legal centres, which federal Attorney-General George Brandis announced will receive a 30 per cent funding cut from 1 July 2017.
What should Malcolm Turnbull do if he receives a call seeking our involvement in an ill-conceived foreign conflict?
Today, Australia has the only constitution in the democratic world that authorises Parliament to make laws imposing negative treatment on a group due to their race.
The legal profession is not the bastion of equality that it should be. Women are too often denied the same opportunities as men, and discrimination is common.
President Donald Trump is putting enormous strain on the institutions and rules that have made the US democracy such a success. His direct, personal attacks on judges threaten the independence and standing of the judiciary. A willingness to govern by executive order also undermines the role of Congress as the nation's primary lawmaker.
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.
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