• Judge • QC • DPP •
ICAC Changes: Why the Greens Are Wrong The Greens have published their rationale for voting in favour of changes to the ICAC. In a glossy, colourful release complete with photographs of no less than 27 carefree, happy, smiling faces we are told that all is well and that despite the changes, the ICAC is as strong as ...
Once again the grandiose banner of “Your Right To Know” has been trotted out to justify a newspaper’s dishonourable exercise of self-interest. Under the populist guise of doing a public service, the press repeats the fallacious argument that the fact that an individual has been charged with a sexual offence is “hidden” from the public. The ...
The appalling Ristevski sentence highlights a real problem in our criminal justice system and serious consideration should be given to amending aspects of our criminal procedure. A person accused of a crime who pleads guilty, is often given the benefit of a reduction in sentence as consideration for his guilty plea. It is dependent upon ...
The Catholic church is fast becoming a global pariah. In an extraordinarily self-righteous pronouncement, the church announced that is going to ignore the findings of the Royal Commission and will flaunt the laws in SA requiring the reporting of any admissions of child sexual abuse. Presumably they already adopt the same attitude in relation to those ...
It is a well entrenched principle of sentencing in the criminal law that certain features of a case may be regarded as mitigatory in their effect on punishment. Such features might include a plea of guilty, a demonstration of remorse, forgiveness by the victim or assistance given to the investigating authorities. The absence of these features does ...
For better or worse the involvement of the British Empire in the settling of Australia has left us with many of the trappings of British, and particularly English, life. We have benefited as a nation from a heritage of parliamentary democracy, our legal system and, of course, cricket. However we have had good cause to question the ...
Criticism has been made of the approach taken by a District Court judge in sentencing a man convicted of dangerous driving causing death. In his article headed - “SA Judge Paul Muscat says it is ‘disheartening’ for courts to pass harsh mandatory sentences on killer drivers who are of good character” Mr Sean Fewster criticized the judge for ...
The operation of our parole system is an issue that incites heated debate. The legal issues involved are complex and touch upon community views on punishment, safety and the dependability of our criminal justice system. Unfortunately, parole has always been more than a simple legal issue. It has been the plaything of politicians at least since ...
Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews is leading the way in seeking to make that State the first in Australia to put humanity before either politics or religion! Will other States have the courage to follow?
The ability to drive a car on a public road is a privilege not a right. It is a conditional liberty granted to those who comply with certain conditions. Failure to comply with those conditions - that is obeying the road rules - will generally have some consequences upon the person’s ability to drive. Road ...