Alternative Law Journal

Media Release

7 September 1998

Money Matters

The August edition of the Alternative Law Journal seeks to liberate the tax debate from rhetoric of the election campaign. Before the 1998 election campaign began, the Howard-Costello Government nominated taxation reform as its preferred election issue. Not surprisingly, the Labor opposition now seeks to draw attention to the minutiae of the Liberal's proposed Goods and Services Tax to remind the electorate that `the devil is always in the detail.' Our lead article, by Miranda Stewart, canvasses the issues surrounding the need to reform the Australian taxation system.

Taxation reform is not the only financial issue addressed by the August edition of the Alternative Law Journal. Esther Stern and John Mountbatten make timely observations about the waterfront dispute and Julian Blanchard examines companies' social and environmental reporting practices. Peter Tsingos shows how to use the language of economic reform to promote plain English, and Peace Decle suggests the tort of intentionally inflicting emotional distress might yield a means to compensate the stolen generation.

The Federal Courts are being used to hear the dispute over the mining at Jabiluka. Rebecca La Forgia illustrates the limits of contemporary economic analysis to suggest the Mirrar people should be assisted by international human rights law in her article `When Money doesn't Matter.'

Finally, Senator Andrew Murray outlines the Democrats' model for the appointment of High Court Judges.