Michael Bradley
Michael Bradley is the managing partner of Sydney law firm Marque Lawyers, and he writes a weekly column for The Drum. He tweets at @marquelawyers.
Why simply calling Hanson racist doesn't help Opinion
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Calling Pauline Hanson racist or treating her like a circus freak guarantees one outcome only: that her beliefs will be reinforced. Instead, point out the issues and explain why she is wrong.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, federal-election
Billed as conservative, but Brexit is radicalism writ large Opinion
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Ignorant, fear-inflamed stupidity will always exist. The question we are obliged to ask is why, for the first time since the 1930s, is it in the ascendancy?
Topics: world-politics, federal-elections, race-relations
Explained: The Liberal Party's Parakeelia rort Opinion
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The manner in which Parakeelia has buried its beak in the national feed tray is, once the legal chicanery is stripped away, as brutally simple as laundering drug money through a casino.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, federal-election
Orlando massacre a symptom of the Age of Rage Opinion
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The Orlando shooting was another random outburst of the madness that is resulting from the progressive breakdown of social cohesion and its replacement by dissociated rage.
Topics: community-and-society, foreign-affairs, government-and-politics
Lessons from the electoral bribery allegations Opinion
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From a public policy perspective, it's obvious enough why we've made electoral bribery a crime. So what can we learn from allegations that two candidates in the upcoming election may have fallen foul of the law?
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, federal-election, bribery
Act 1: Lord Turnbull, Mr Shorten and the courting of Miss Australia Opinion
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The scene: At the country manor of press baron Count Rupert, Lord Turnbull chats to Mr Shorten about who will win the hand of Miss Australia. Suddenly, a letter arrives...
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, federal-election
We should be worried by how the AFP wields its power Opinion
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The Australian Federal Police is relying on an old and flawed law to reach into some disturbing new places. From the NBN raids to investigating a doctor who spoke out about asylum seeker care, it's looking decidedly anti-democratic.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, police, law-crime-and-justice
Why voters are sceptical of the AFP raids on Labor Opinion (video)
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The AFP's decision to raid a Labor office in the middle of an election campaign may be pure coincidence. But there's enough about this story to feed a narrative that it was more about politics than law enforcement.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, law-crime-and-justice, federal-election
The dangers of discrimination are clear - even if we don't see them Opinion
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When Waleed Aly raised the spectre of unconscious bias in his Logies speech, it struck a chord. It's an issue my workplace has been exploring in a very practical way, and the results of our experiment have been illuminating.
Topics: discrimination, community-and-society, work, television
We're being sold the trickle-down economics con Opinion
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Kelly O'Dwyer's considered response on Q&A to questions about the rich v poor divide neatly illustrates what this election, in economic terms, is really all about.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, business-economics-and-finance, budget
No one burns themselves to change their address Opinion
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At some point it just gets too hard to maintain the story that we're pushing some asylum seekers to burn themselves so that others won't drown themselves (it only sounds so stupid because it is, but that is the logic of our policy).
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, immigration
Manus Island detention: Court ruling gives us hope Opinion
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The PNG court's ruling on the Manus Island detention centre won't bring Australia's disgraceful offshore detention program to an end, but it is a solid blow and offers hope of further change.
Topics: government-and-politics, immigration, law-crime-and-justice
Thought 'death cult' lawmaking ended with Abbott? Think again Opinion
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A shadowy entity is deciding the fate of Australian citizenship, while NSW lawmakers want the power to punish those found not guilty of crimes. The erosion of our rights is continuing, just without the fanfare.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, law-crime-and-justice, terrorism
There's a real arrogance to resisting transgenderism Opinion
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The resistance to transgenderism and unisex toilets - both from Germaine Greer here and with North Carolina lawmakers - reveals a paternalistic arrogance and threatens to deny physical reality and human dignity.
Topics: government-and-politics, law-crime-and-justice, gays-and-lesbians, community-and-society
Waleed Aly, Lee Lin Chin, and the sad 'jokes' about the Gold Logie Opinion
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You might think the comments on Waleed Aly and Lee Lin Chin's Gold Logie nominations were funny, or perhaps a critique of the nomination process. But it's hard not to come to a simpler conclusion: it was racist.
Topics: media, industry, arts-and-entertainment, television, race-relations
Career politicians and the slippery ideological slope Opinion
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I have a real fear that the modern crop of professional politicians like Tim Wilson have bought into a flawed adherence to capitalism that could harm our society.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, business-economics-and-finance
The problem with evoking Marxism in the Safe Schools debate Opinion
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As it dawns on our anti-Safe Schools crusaders that Marxism isn't exactly a powerful totem of evil in 2016, their language will shift in a less specific direction. But their fear will be no less.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, gays-and-lesbians, community-and-society
Casinos, lock-out laws, and the unravelling of Mike Baird Opinion
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As the lock-out law debate heats up in NSW, the usually straight-talking premier Mike Baird is having a tough time explaining why casinos are getting special treatment. But we all know why they are, don't we.
Topics: government-and-politics, business-economics-and-finance, alcohol, gambling, community-and-society, law-crime-and-justice
What Trump does and doesn't have in common with Hitler Opinion
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Commentators who have persistently misunderstood everything about the Trump phenomenon have concluded that fascism is once again nigh. But the comparison with Nazi Germany doesn't hold up.
Topics: us-elections, world-politics
Marriage equality is being attacked on two fronts Opinion
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First we have the wrecking balls like Cory Bernardi, whose contribution to the same-sex marriage debate is shock and outrage. But then there are those like Lyle Shelton, whose faux-rational and civil offensiveness attacks equality in a whole new way.
Topics: gays-and-lesbians, community-and-society, marriage, family-and-children, government-and-politics
Baby Asha: Balancing the law with civil disobedience Opinion
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If Asha were in your safekeeping and you had to make the personal choice between complying with a law which would place her in harm's way, and defying that law, what would you do?
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, immigration, law-crime-and-justice
Why Pell and the Church are the target of so much rage Opinion
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Two questions arise from the history of child abuse in the church, and the fact that they don't have any good answer is the best explanation for the outpouring of rage. First, how did this happen? Second, why the stony face?
Topics: religion-and-beliefs, child-abuse, royal-commissions, law-crime-and-justice
Asylum policies and the problem of a 'higher purpose' Opinion
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The real problem with our asylum policies is not that supporters have a cold-blooded indifference to the plight of others. It's that they make a conscious decision to follow a harsh approach in pursuit of a supposedly higher purpose.
Topics: government-and-politics, immigration
Here's a security law change we can cheer for Opinion
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The Government has agreed to amend one of its more contentious national security laws and possibly turn it into something sensible and proportionate. Finally, a win for due process and oversight.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, defence-and-national-security, law-crime-and-justice
A tragic day for both asylum seekers and the law Opinion
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What Australia designed on Nauru is a sophisticated work-around: a way to wash its hands of responsibility for these asylum seekers. Today, the High Court backed the Federal Government's cleverness.
Topics: courts-and-trials, refugees, immigration
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