‘Yes’ for marriage equality, ‘Yes’ for religious freedom panel
Following the successful ‘yes’ vote, the Law Council is advocating for the swift passing of Senator Dean Smith’s Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill with minimal amendment. We believe this bill strikes the right balance between the protection of religious freedom and the protection from discrimination. Read more here.
‘Game-changing’ recommendation to raise age of criminal responsibility needs urgent adoption
The Law Council called for the immediate adoption of two key recommendations in the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory final report – including that the age of criminal responsibility be raised from 10 to at least 12, which would be an Australian-first and in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC). The Law Council also strongly supports the Commission’s recommendation that no child under 14 should be sentenced to detention, except in the most serious cases. Read more here.
Driving cultural change in the legal profession
The reporting period for adoptees of the Equitable Briefing Policy is now closed for data relating the last financial year. The Law Council can now begin to analyse the confidential reports submitted by adoptees, regarding briefing practices and measures taken to implement the policy. A final report of figures will be published, where all data will be aggregated and published information will not disclose identifying information. Read more here. Canberra SpringOUT Pride Festival for LGBTIQA
On 8 November 2017, Law Council staff attended the Out for Australia in ACT event “LGBTIQA+?” which was held as part of the Canberra SpringOUT Pride Festival. Law Council staff heard from an L, a G, a B, a T, an I, a Q, and an A representative about some of the challenges which continue to face LGBTIQA+ identifying people in the workplace. The Canberra SpringOUT Pride Festival is the official pride festival of Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory, and is promoted and coordinated by Canberra SpringOUT Organisation – a not-for-profit, volunteer and community-based organisation. For more information about this organisation see here. The Law Council plans to release an LGBTIQA+ webpage in the coming months including information and resources for the legal profession, and welcomes any contributions from Constituent Bodies and other stakeholders. Submission on the Law of Contempt
The Law Council lodged a submission with the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee as part of its inquiry into the Law of Contempt on 13 November 2017. The submission addressed the adequacy of existing common law contempt measures, with a focus on recommendations of previous law reform reports to codify contempt laws. The submission, guided by the inquiry’s terms of reference, had particular regard to the laws of contempt by publication and sub-judice contempt.
Submission to IP Australia’s public consultation process
On 17 November 2017, the Law Council provided a composite submission to IP Australia in response to its public consultation into a range of intellectual property reform proposals. The submission put forward the views of the Business Law Section’s Intellectual Property Committee, as well as the Queensland Law Society on a number of reform proposals arising out of IP Australia’s ongoing implementation of the Government’s response to the Productivity Commission’s 2016 report on Australia’s IP arrangements. Concluding observations on the sixth periodic report of Australia
The Law Council noted the release of the Concluding Observations of the UN Human Rights Committee on Australia’s implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. While recognising Australia’s commitment to human rights, the report also noted a number of concerns including regarding counter-terrorism measures, offshore processing and detention of asylum seekers, and the over representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in prisons. The Law Council has
previously raised similar concerns regarding a number of these issues. Through its Human Rights Policy, the Law Council is committed to promoting the domestic implementation of international human rights in Australia. Administrative Appeals Tribunal
From Monday 27 November, Registry services in Melbourne will be available from Level 4, 15 William Street. The office at Level 10, 120 Spencer Street will close at 5.00pm on Friday 24 November 2017. The offices at Level 11, 565 Bourke Street and Level 16 HWT Tower, 40 City Road, Southbank will close at 5.00pm, Friday 8 December 2017. The AAT is writing to parties with applications currently before the Tribunal to provide information about these changes. To confirm the AAT’s contact details, visit the AAT website.
2018 John Koowarta Scholarship
Applications for the John Koowarta Scholarship closing soon 8 December 2017. To find out more about the Scholarship, read more here.
AdvocacyCurrent inquiries and consultations - as of 17 November 2017.
Media release: Key Coverage:
National Indigenous Legal Conference The 12th National Indigenous Legal Conference 2017 - Aboriginal Lives Matter: 50 years on from the 1967 Referendum, Restoring, Reclaiming and Revitalising our Rights in Law was held in South Australia on November 16-17. Inaugural National Indigenous Legal Professional of the Year Award recipient and Co-Chair of the Law Council’s Indigenous Legal Issues Committee, Tony McAvoy SC, recognised the outstanding achievements of this year’s National Indigenous Law Awards (NILA) recipients at the Conference Gala Dinner on Friday evening. Read more here.
Caption: National Indigenous Legal Professional of the Year Award recipient Joshua Creamer and National Indigenous Law Student of the Year Prize winner Michelle Rabbidge
Event wrap up: 2017 World Masters Attendees to the World Masters event in Sydney heard key note speaker Heidi K. Gardner, PhD, discuss smart collaboration within the legal profession. The World Masters event, held on 15 November 2017, was hosted by the Australian Legal Management Group, Legal Practice Section. Ms Gardner is a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School and her key note messages were well received by World Master’s attendees, many of whom thought the information was valuable. The Australian Legal Management Group would like to thank those who attended the event.
Caption: Heidi K. Gardner, PhD, a Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School and event attendees.
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