Articles
Twenty years of the Sex Discrimination Act: Assessing its
achievements
by Beth Gaze
Twenty years after the Sex Discrimination Act was passed, this article looks
at its impact and evaluates its effects. In prohibiting formal discrimination
in important areas such as work and education, the Act paved the way for women's
movement into the workforce in large numbers. However despite its achievements,
the Act has not been a panacea for women's disadvantage, and there are many
continuing problems on which it has had little effect. It is in need of review
and strengthening to meet the challenges of today.
Reconstructing Custom: The politics of homophobia in Vanuatu
by Anita Jowitt
This article considers how custom is used in Vanuatu as justification for
discrimination against homosexuals. It begins by considering development of
custom as a political construct, before turning to discuss the history of
same sex-sexual behaviours in Vanuatu. The interplay between Christianity
and custom and their relationship to forces of modernisation is then explored
as a possible explanation for why homosexuality is rejected as being anti-custom.
A Glimpse of the Invisible: Sex discrimination in housing
by Michele Slatter, Janet Adkins and Jo Baulderstone
In 2004 Australians were encouraged to celebrate the 20th anniversary of
the Federal Sex Discrimination Act 1984. Sex discrimination in respect
of 'accommodation' (housing) is notoriously under-reported: formally it is
invisible. To glimpse the invisible, the authors drew on the stories of women
seeking rental accommodation or repairs. This article describes the principal
themes of those stories: the impact of discrimination, the ways women manage
it and the implications their vulnerability and experiences have for future
developments of law and policy.
On not speaking: The right to silence, the gagged trial
judge and the spectre of child sexual abuse
by Katherine Biber
This article examines the right to silence in Australian superior courts,
and the manner in which those courts have sought to protect that right by
limiting the types of judicial comments and directions that may be given to
a jury. The author argues that section 20 of the Evidence Acts, which limits
judicial comments, is an abstract method of protecting fundamental rights.
Through an examination of the High Court's decision in Dyers v The Queen
(2002) 210 CLR 285, the author traces the development of a jurisprudence
which sees judicial comments as the dominant method of preserving the right
to silence, the presumption of innocence, and the criminal burden and standard
of proof. The article also questions the evolution of an entire corpus of
generally applicable evidentiary rules from the unique context of child sexual
abuse.
Community-based sanctioning of offenders: A new solution
for Indigenous justice?
by Stephanie E Hack
This article describes criminal sentencing procedures in Queensland which
enable indigenous community justice groups to have input in the sentencing
process. It also examines the growing practice of 'circle sentencing', and
assesses whether that approach is appropriate for the Queensland jurisdiction.
Reforming child support laws: Breaking the cycle
by Lisa Young
Australia's Federal Government has recently struck a Taskforce to consider
specific matters relating to child support. This article considers this move
in the context of what is argued to be a typical and cyclical pattern of family
law reform. It traces the genesis of the Taskforce and looks at how a cyclical
pattern of law reform has shaped its Terms of Reference. The author discusses
what might be driving this pattern of reform and the implications it has for
users of the family law system. Finally, the article identifies some opportunities
afforded to the Taskforce by the Terms of Reference to reconsider the direction
of child support reform.
Briefs
Security: Refugee detained for two years on false ASIO
intelligence
By Michael Head
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) was belatedly forced
to pay about $200,000 compensation to a refugee it falsely classified a national
security risk, causing him to be detained without trial for nearly two years.
The case is another reason to question the extraordinary powers that the Howard
government has given ASIO, under the pretext of combating terrorism. It also
highlights the draconian character of Australia's refugee detention regime.
Development: Redfern-Waterloo's 'shake up' call
by Rebecca Lisle
As part of a 10-year Plan for renewal of the Redfern and Waterloo communities,
the NSW Government recently established the Redfern-Waterloo Authority. The
Redfern-Waterloo Authority will be responsible for promoting and managing
sustainable development in the area, particularly with regard to infrastructure.
Although the Redfern-Waterloo Authority has the potential to drive and realise
positive change in Redfern and Waterloo, the establishment of what is essentially
a development corporation has raised real community concerns. This Brief discusses
community concerns about the Redfern-Waterloo Authority and the potential
implications for residents of Redfern and Waterloo, particularly the Indigenous
and other disadvantaged communities.
Column
Asia-Pacific: Mangroves and reefs offer lesson in tsunami
protection
By Lee Tan
The Boxing Day tsunami has wreaked havoc and tragedy for many people. In
Asia's quest to become the next tiger economy, planning regulations and environmental
protection had largely been sidelined or ignored. Amidst the disaster, data
have begun to show that natural ecosystems could have lessened the death toll
and damages.
