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Upcoming Social Justice Seminars

The NT Intervention: Coercion vs. Cooperation (Presented in Conjunction with Engineers Without Borders)

The Hon Ron Merkel QC, former Judge of the Federal Court of Australia.

6:30pm–8:30pm, Monday 5th October 2009
Room G08, Melbourne Law School, 185 Pelham St, Carlton Vic 3053

In 2007, the Howard government launched the Northern Territory Intervention, following the NT government’s publication of Little Children Are Sacred, a report that concluded that the sexual abuse of children in Indigenous communities in the NT had reached a level of crisis. The $587 million package consisted of 9 measures which related to issues of welfare, law enforcement and land tenure. 

The NT intervention has been criticised by various parties as untimely, inappropriate and unconstitutional. In 2007-2009, the Hon Ron Merkel QC represented traditional owner Reggie Wurridjal and Joy Garlbin of the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation in the High Court, challenging the legality of several aspects of the NT Intervention. More recently, he has represented Barb Shaw in challenging the take-over of town camps in and around Alice Springs, in the Federal Court.

Mr Merkel will share and reflect upon these experiences in this free public lecture.

Finger food and refreshments provided.

THIS SEMINAR IS NOW FULL. A recording will be available after the lecture at <http://harangue.lecture.unimelb.edu.au/lectopia/lectopia.lasso?ut=650&id=78591>.

The Prospects for Gay Marriage in Australia

Rodney Croome AM of Croome v Tasmania, Board Member of the International Lesbian and Gay Law Association, the Australian Coalition for Equality and Australian Marriage Equality.

Semester 2 date and location to be announced.

Copenhagen: Negotiating the Kyoto Protocol’s Successor

Semester 2 date and location to be announced.

Previous Social Justice Seminars

Using International Treaties for Local Change: Shadow Reporting under Human Rights Conventions

1:00pm–2:00pm, Wednesday 6 May 2009
Room 223, Melbourne Law School, 185 Pelham St, Carlton Vic 3053

Under several important international human rights treaties, Australia accepts an obligation to send regular reports about its compliance to the United Nations. Non-government organisations can also submit Shadow Reports, giving an independent, alternative and critical view about Australia’s compliance.

Emily Chew of YWCA Australia is one of the project coordinators of Australia’s 2009 NGO Shadow Report under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Rachel Ball of the Human Rights Law Resource Centre has recently returned from New York, where she was part an the NGO delegation to brief the UN’s Human Rights Committee’s Review on Australia and present a major Shadow Report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) endorsed by over 250 Australian NGOs.

Together, they will discuss some of the findings of the Shadow Reports, the lifecycle of a shadow report, and the broader mechanics and merits of the international treaty reporting system, both as a method for auditing domestic human rights protections and advancement and as an instrument for encouraging international scrutiny. They’ll also outline ways to get involved with future shadow reporting processes.

An Australian Human Rights Act: Dispelling the Myths

The Hon Catherine Branson QC, President of the Australian Human Rights Commission.

6:00pm–7:00pm, Tuesday 19 May 2009
Room G08, Melbourne Law School, 185 Pelham St, Carlton Vic 3053

In December 2008, the Australian Government announced a National Human Rights Consultation. The Consultation is being conducted by an independent committee during the first half of 2009, and is asking all Australians for their views on the protection and promotion of human rights.

In this context, the Hon Catherine Branson QC, President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, will offer her reflections on the state of human rights protection in Australia. Ms Branson will explain the Australian Human Rights Commission’s position in favour of an Australian Human Rights Act and will address the most common arguments raised in opposition. Ms Branson will also discuss how to make a submission to the Consultation Committee.

Ms Branson commenced her five-year term as President of the Australian Human Rights Commission in October 2008. At the time of her appointment, she was a judge of the Federal Court of Australia, where she was the inaugural convenor of the Federal Court’s Equality and the Law Committee and the inaugural convenor of the Court’s Human Rights Panel for New South Wales. Ms Branson has previously served as President of the Australian Institute for Judicial Administration, Crown Solicitor of South Australia and CEO of the South Australian Attorney-General’s Department.

About the Social Justice Portfolio

As Social Justice officers, we’re here to get Melbourne Law School students thinking about how they can help build a society where people feel free and in control of their lives, connected to those around them, and hopeful for the future.

As in previous years, the flagship Social Justice activity will be the series of regular discussions on a variety of social justice themes. 2009 is looking to be a big year, and there are a diversity of topical issues that will pop up, including the national consultations around an Australian human rights charter, Australia’s shadow report for NGOs under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), same-sex marriage, an Australian republic, and international negotiations around a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.

Naturally, these discussions will revolve around law students—but we’re also really keen to involve community practitioners, as well as academics from the Law School. We’ll focus not merely on gaining an understanding of the issues, but also on actually changing our communities for the better. And you’ll be glad to know that we’ll be working closely with the other officers in the LSS Equality portfolio in order to improve the coordination and coherence of our offerings, so that you’ll always be able to easily find out what’s on, and what new ideas you can expect to take away.

In addition to the newsletter covering social justice news and opportunities, this year the Social Justice officers will also be helping out in a more significant way with the Beyond Collins St programme—there’ll not only be the regular seminars, but also a more detailed accompanying guide to non-corporate legal careers. This will provide real, useful advice from professionals who’ve done it before, working in areas such as public interest law, the foreign service, international governmental organisations, the Australian parliament and ministerial offices, unions and advocacy organisations, think tanks and research institutes and community NGOs. We’ll discuss which skills and expertise are required, what the career pathways leading up to and after the job are like, the working conditions and pay you can expect, and where you can get more information.

Lastly, we’re working to establish a new community legal scholarship, which will enable a community-minded student with a demonstrated commitment to social justice to work in a community legal centre in return for a paralegal wage.

We think these programmes will provide some real benefit for students and help provide a fuller picture what our legal skills can be used for, and we’re really looking forward to delivering them. In the meantime, if you’ve got ideas or suggestions, please get in contact via lss-socialjustice@unimelb.edu.au.

We’d love to hear from you!

See you ’round!

Alan Wu & Katia Sanderson, Social Justice Officers 2009.