The digital revolution is counter-intuitive to copyright. Technological change is moving too fast for adequate laws to be implemented – and for affected industries to keep pace.The bottom is…
Apathy towards rights protections. An underdeveloped rights culture. Opposition to the equal sharing of rights. All these things undermine Australia’s (otherwise good) record on human rights…
Apathy towards rights protections. An underdeveloped rights culture. Opposition to the equal sharing of rights. All these things undermine Australia’s (otherwise good) record on human rights…
A co-presentation with Melbourne Conversations.(M)an has not grown less cruel with the passage of that illusory thing called time;though in many parts of the world he has become a far greater…
Visiting from the United States for the Rationalist Society of Australia, Sean Faircloth speaks to the issues raised in his book Attack of the Theocrats: How the Religious Right Harms Us All – and…
Adam Zwar directs a reading of the classic American film, presented in a distinctly Australian accent.Twelve actors will inhabit the roles of twelve unnamed jurors (a cross-section of society…
The Oz obscenity trial. Defending Julian Assange and Salman Rushdie. Establishing journalists’ right to protect sources. Defining ‘terrorism’ for the first time. Calling for the Vatican to be…
The courtroom: the ultimate arena for dramatising issues of justice and morality, and a stage where the most admirable and most despicable elements of human nature are performed in equal measure…
Death is the most personal of matters, but it’s also a political hot potato.Most of us don’t choose (or even expect) the way in which we die, but for the terminally ill, death is a looming certainty …
What is ‘forced people movement’, or ‘mixed flow migration’ – and where do refugees fit? We use many terms for those people who feel compelled to leave their home country and relocate.Forced…
What is ‘forced people movement’, or ‘mixed flow migration’ – and where do refugees fit? We use many terms for those people who feel compelled to leave their home country and relocate.Forced…
When Michael Kirby retired from the High Court in 2009, he was Australia’s longest-serving judge. But it’s not his time on the bench that makes him so beloved; rather it’s his long record of human…
When Michael Kirby retired from the High Court in 2009, he was Australia’s longest-serving judge. But it’s not his time on the bench that makes him so beloved; rather it’s his long record of human…
Michael H. Shuman argues that there are a number of initiatives communities must take to support local economies and small business – and that the knock-on effects of local investment are vast…
Sexual violence against civilians is a common feature in modern wars. The impact on survivors, primarily women and girls, and their communities is devastating. There have been strong moves by the…
Judge John Smallwood is currently the Judge in charge of the County Koori Court which sits in the regional area of the Latrobe Valley. In this presentation, he discusses the concept of the court…
Judge John Smallwood is currently the Judge in charge of the County Koori Court which sits in the regional area of the Latrobe Valley. Today he discusses the concept of the court, how it has worked t…
How does the relationship between Australia and Indonesia work? In the past week Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced that three Indonesian nationals accused of people smuggling – who claimed to…
Walkley-award-winning investigative journalist Nick McKenzie has been to the frontline of Australia’s real-life assault on organised crime, reporting for Fairfax and ABC’s Four Corners. The Sting
Join Lizzie O'Shea, Greg Barns, Bernard Keane, Scott Ludlam and Suelette Dreyfus for a discussion about the facts of the case against Julian Assange – founder of WikiLeaks – the role of media and…
Today, lazy music writers and smartphone-toting trivia cheats can commiserate over a common problem: Wikipedia has blackened the English-language version of its encyclopaedia for 24 hours.The action …
Earlier this week, anti-porn activist Melinda Tankard Reist sought legal advice from a defamation lawyer after a blogger labelled her a “fundamentalist Christian”, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. …
Stuart Littlemore and PM Newton both have serious form, as a lawyer and police officer respectively. Now they’ve traded that for the world of fiction. Far from the glamorous world of private eyes…
Opium dens, illegal brothels, and men with names as colourful as their pasts: our panel uncovers Melbourne’s criminal record.Melbourne’s history is neck-deep with skullduggery, from our city origins …
Opium dens, illegal brothels, and men with names as colourful as their pasts: our panel uncovers Melbourne’s criminal record. Featuring Shane Maloney, LM Robinson, Andrew May and Jeff Sparrow.Melbour…
Andrew Rule and John Silvester, authors and creators of the Underbelly phenomenon, discuss the truths of true crime. Andrew Rule and John Silvester co-wrote The Age’s ‘Naked City’ column for many…
Andrew Rule and Tom Noble discuss the truths of true crime. Andrew Rule co-wrote The Age’s ‘Naked City’ (with John Silvester) column for many years and, again with Silvester, co-wrote (and…
Despite their differences, both of our major parties profess to share a common approach to illegal boat arrivals: lock them up and send them somewhere – anywhere – else. But, after years of…
Despite their differences, both of our major parties profess to share a common approach to illegal boat arrivals: lock them up and send them somewhere – anywhere – else. But, after years of…
To coincide with the screening of the screen adaptation of Christos Tsiolkas' novel The Slap, the first episode of which aired on the ABC last week, we’re republishing a piece by Kris Mrksa. It was…
Michael Kirby is one of Australia’s most admired public figures. When he retired from the High Court of Australia in February 2009, Kirby was Australia’s longest serving judge. In addition to his…
Michael Kirby is one of Australia’s most admired public figures. When he retired from the High Court of Australia in February 2009, Kirby was Australia’s longest serving judge. Joined by Peter…
Fantasy master Terry Pratchett has come under fire in the UK for his involvement in a television documentary screened on Monday night advocated assisted suicide. In the documentary, which was…
BHL on DSK
Dailies · Mon, 23 May 2011
After former IMF chief and ex-presidential hopeful Dominique Strauss-Kahn was accused of rape at the beginning of last week, the most public of France’s public intellectuals sprang to his aid.
Are the bold aims of human rights discourse too idealistic for the legal system to sustain in practice? How difficult is it to develop and enforce laws that promote a rights-based culture? What…
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. Martin Luther King’s sentiment still underpins many of the key legal documents set up to promote human rights in Victoria and beyond. But are t…
The Federal Court action against columnist Andrew Bolt has sparked a heated debate between those who believe that his comments contravene the Racial Discrimination Act and those who argue that the…
