Category Archives: Law (Australia)

Parliament resumes as Victoria reports one new Covid case and NSW five – politics live

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Budget estimates continue with Australia’s coronavirus response on the agenda. Victoria’s hotel quarantine inquiry will reconvene for an extraordinary session while in NSW testing rates drop below 7,000. Follow all the latest updates

Keith Pitt, bless him, attempts a dixer on the Queensland resources industry which LNP candidates in central and north Queensland can cut up and put on their facebook page for three people to look at, but the dixer isn’t the right question, so he can’t use his zinger, or get his time back.

Neither can we.

Steve Burt, he is a typical driller, he is big, he’s bearded, he is rough as hessian underwear to be honest

Catherine King to Michael McCormack:

The Australian audit office told Senate estimates last night that it provided AFP on 10 July potential evidence about potential defrauding of the Commonwealth.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Whilst I appreciate this is the subject of many inquiries being made by Senate estimates, as you would expect, this is an inquiry, the Australian Federal Police are looking into it and the ANAO has referred this matter to the AFP, as has the Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure.

And, of course, an independent investigation is also going into the matter, being conducted by the Commonwealth Ombudsman Dr Thomas, the former Inspector-general of the Commonwealth Ombudsman, Dr Vivienne Thom.

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Coronavirus Australia live: Victoria reports 15 new Covid cases as NSW on high alert

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Victorian bar owner lodges legal challenge to the constitutionality of the state’s lockdown as fears in NSW grow over number of locally transmitted cases. Follow all the latest updates

Australian scientists have discovered that the virus that causes Covid-19 can survive for up to 28 days on surfaces such as the glass on mobile phones, stainless steel, vinyl and paper banknotes.

The virus survived longer on paper banknotes than on plastic banknotes and lasted longer on smooth surfaces rather than porous surfaces such as cotton.

Related: Virus that causes Covid-19 can survive up to 28 days on surfaces, scientists find

Today is the first day in more than two months that Victoria's statewide 14 day average has increased

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Bradley Robert Edwards found guilty of two murders in Claremont serial killings

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Judge says the former Telstra technician is guilty of the murders of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon but acquitted him of the murder of Sarah Spiers

Bradley Robert Edwards, a 51-year-old former Telstra technician from Western Australia, has been found guilty of the murders of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon but acquitted of the murder of Sarah Spiers in the Claremont serial killings case, Australia’s longest-running and most expensive criminal investigation.

The Claremont serial killings refer to the deaths of Rimmer, 23, Glennon, 27, and Spiers, 18, between 1996 and 1997. All three women went missing after a night out at the Claremont entertainment district in Perth’s eponymous western suburb.

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Journalists charged with breaching George Pell suppression order to face trial in November

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Twenty-one separate publications, six corporate groups and 19 individual journalists charged

Twenty-one separate publications, six corporate groups and 19 individual journalists charged with breaching a suppression order during the George Pell trial in 2018 will face a single, but complex, trial in November.

Pell was acquitted of all charges by the high court on appeal in April.

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Witness K is in the dock but institutions vital to Australia’s democracy are on trial | Ian Cunliffe

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Some people seem to be above the law. Those people do not include the whistleblower and his lawyer, Bernard Collaery

Timor-Leste only achieved independence in 2002. It was Asia’s poorest country and desperately needed revenue. Revenue from massive gas resources in the Timor Sea was its big hope. But it needed to negotiate a treaty with Australia on their carve-up. Australia ruthlessly exploited that fact: delays from the Australian side in negotiating a treaty for the carve-up of those resources, and repeated threats of more delays, were a constant theme of the negotiations. In November 2002 the former Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer told Timor-Leste’s prime minister, Mari Alkatiri: “We don’t have to exploit the resources. They can stay there for 20, 40, 50 years.” In late 2003 Timor-Leste requested monthly discussions. Australia claimed it could only afford two rounds a year. Poor Timor-Leste offered to fund rich Australia’s expenses. Australia didn’t accept.

Related: Witness K and the 'outrageous' spy scandal that failed to shame Australia

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Australia’s state by state coronavirus lockdown rules and restrictions explained

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What are the restrictions within Victoria and the border closures with NSW and Queensland? How far can I travel, and how many people can I have over at my house? Untangle Australia’s Covid-19 laws and guidelines with our guide

Australians had been slowly emerging from Covid-19 lockdowns since the federal government announced a three-stage plan in May to ease restrictions across the country, but from 8 July the Melbourne metropolitan area and Mitchell shire immediately to the north returned to a stage three lockdown for six weeks.

After consistently high case numbers despite the lockdown, the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, announced further restrictions for the state. From 2 August, metropolitan Melbourne entered a six-week stage four lockdown, while a stage three lockdown took effect across regional Victoria and Mitchell shire from 6 August.

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Dreamworld parent company Ardent Leisure charged over ride deaths in 2016

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Queensland’s work health and safety prosecutor files three charges over the deaths of four people in the Thunder River Rapids ride tragedy

More than three-and-a-half years after four holidaymakers were killed on a Dreamworld ride, charges have been laid against the company behind the iconic Gold Coast theme park.

Ardent Leisure was charged with three counts of failing to comply with health and safety legislation and exposing individuals to a risk of serious injury or death.

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Australian car buyers launch class action against Westpac over alleged secret dealer commissions

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Hundreds of thousands of buyers allegedly paid as much as three times the normal bank interest rate when arranging finance through a car dealer

Law firm Maurice Blackburn has launched a class action lawsuit against Westpac on behalf of hundreds of thousands of car buyers who were sold vehicle loans under a deal that allegedly allowed dealers to secretly pocket vast commission payments.

Dealers were able to maximise commissions Westpac and its subsidiary, St George, paid them for selling the loans by charging some customers as much as three times the bank’s going interest rate, it is claimed.

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Abortion drugs remain inaccessible, unsafe and unaffordable for many Australian women | Gina Rushton

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A dearth of political leadership means abortion drugs remain inaccessible, unsafe and unaffordable for many women

It has been 24 years since the federal government chose the partial privatisation of Telstra over the rights of Australian women to safely terminate a pregnancy with abortion drugs. In 1996, anti-abortion independent Brian Harradine, who held the balance of power in the Senate, agreed to support John Howard’s one-third float of the telecommunications company if the government amended legislation to give the health minister veto to prohibit the import, manufacture or use of abortion drug RU486 (mifepristone).

A perpetual dearth of political leadership in the subsequent quarter century has meant the drugs remain inaccessible, unaffordable and at times unsafe for many women in Australia outside of a certain income or major city.

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Australia’s Covid-19 restrictions and coronavirus lockdown rules explained: how far can I travel, and can I have people over?

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How far can you drive and what are the travel restrictions in NSW, Queensland and Victoria? How many people can you have over at your house in Tasmania, ACT, SA, WA or NT? Untangle Australia’s Covid-19 laws and guidelines with our guide

Australians have been slowly emerging from Covid-19 lockdowns since the federal government announced a three-stage plan in May to ease restrictions across the country.

It is up to each state and territory to decide when and how far they will relax restrictions.

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NSW court blocks refugee rally after police accuse protesters of ‘Russian roulette’

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The rally, which was scheduled for Saturday afternoon, has been declared a prohibited public gathering

Refugee activists have vowed to push ahead with a planned protest this weekend despite the supreme court prohibiting the event amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Justice Michael Walton on Thursday night granted a NSW police application for the rally to be declared a prohibited public gathering.

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BHP to destroy at least 40 Aboriginal sites, up to 15,000 years old, to expand Pilbara mine

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Exclusive: WA minister gave consent to BHP plan just three days after Juukan Gorge site was blown up by Rio Tinto in a move that has horrified the public

Mining giant BHP Billiton is poised to destroy at least 40 – and possibly as many as 86 – significant Aboriginal sites in the central Pilbara to expand its $4.5bn South Flank iron ore mining operation, even though its own reports show it is aware that the traditional owners are deeply opposed to the move.

In documents seen by Guardian Australia, a BHP archaeological survey identified rock shelters that were occupied between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago and noted that evidence in the broader area showed “occupation of the surrounding landscape has been ongoing for approximately 40,000 years”.

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Palace letters: high court rules Queen’s secret correspondence in lead-up to Whitlam dismissal are commonwealth records

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Historian Jenny Hocking wins landmark case after campaigning for release of secret letters between monarch and then Australian governor general Sir John Kerr

The historian Jenny Hocking has won a landmark high court case in her bid to secure sensitive correspondence between the Queen and former Australian governor general Sir John Kerr about the dismissal of Gough Whitlam.

The high court on Friday ruled that the commonwealth was wrong to withhold the so-called “palace letters”, a series of more than 200 exchanges between the Queen, her private secretary and Kerr, the then-governor general, in the lead-up to the 1975 dismissal of Whitlam, the then-Australian prime minister.

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Frydenberg’s changes to shareholder class actions smack of ‘cronyism’, lawyers say

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The move has been made using emergency Covid-19 powers and favours company directors, they say

A surprise move by treasurer Josh Frydenberg to make shareholder class actions harder has been slammed by lawyers as cronyism that gives company directors the green light to hide bad information from investors.

“If bad directors take advantage of this change to lie to shareholders and people whose savings are in superannuation, the treasurer will share responsibility,” Jacob Varghese, the chief executive of law firm Maurice Blackburn, told Guardian Australia.

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Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case postponed over Covid-19 and national security concerns

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Victoria Cross recipient’s suit against Nine newspapers can’t be held until in-person hearings resume after coronavirus

The highly anticipated defamation trial brought by Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith against the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald will not go ahead next month after the federal court ruled a remote hearing under Covid-19 rules may breach national security.

The delay in the case came as justice Anthony Besanko said he had to consider whether to delay the trial despite a submission that Roberts-Smith and his family are suffering from the ongoing publication of articles by the Nine newspapers.

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Labor wants secrecy in Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case to be examined by watchdog

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Shadow attorney general says use of national security law in defamation case is a first as the Coalition denies any sort of secret trial

Labor wants the national security watchdog to examine the government’s use of powers to enforce secrecy on the defamation proceedings involving Ben Roberts-Smith.

The government confirmed this week it had invoked the National Security Information Act in a civil case brought by Roberts-Smith, a special forces veteran who says stories published by the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald defamed him by suggesting he was a war criminal. Nine Entertainment, which owns the newspapers, is defending the allegation.

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Australia’s coronavirus social distancing rules explained: state by state guidelines

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Scott Morrison has tightened physical distancing restrictions, but how they are applied will be determined by each state. Find out what’s illegal, and what happens if you break the law

Since the pandemic was declared all Australian states have gone into various levels of lockdown.

Now that the country is cautiously optimistic that the curve has been flattened, the big question is how and when we will come out of isolation?

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Child sexual abuse victims should not be put off by George Pell decision, experts say

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It would be ‘legally wrong’ to conclude that the high court ruling undermined the point of bringing cases to trial, professor says

Victims of child sexual abuse should not be dissuaded from coming forward and reporting perpetrators as a result of the jury conviction of Cardinal George Pell being overturned by the high court, a barrister and professor of law at La Trobe University in Melbourne says.

Prof Gideon Boas said he was concerned by those questioning the merit of future cases brought in the criminal or civil jurisdiction based on the Pell ruling.

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George Pell’s accuser issues rallying cry to sexual abuse survivors in wake of verdict

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Witness J says he is glad the legal process is over, but the saga does not define him

The man at the heart of the failed case against Cardinal George Pell has issued a rallying cry to sexual abuse survivors.

He said he would hate to think that anyone might not report to the police because of his outcome.

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George Pell: Australian cardinal released from jail after high court quashes child sexual abuse conviction

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Pell freed immediately after the high court’s decision that his appeal should be upheld, as there was ‘a significant possibility that an innocent person has been convicted’

Cardinal George Pell, the former financial controller of the Vatican and the most senior Catholic in the world to have been found guilty of historical child sexual abuse, has been freed from prison and had his convictions overturned following a two-year legal battle.

The bench of the high court in Brisbane, Australia, on Tuesday granted leave for Pell to appeal, ordering his immediate release and quashing the conviction.

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