Alternative Law Journal

Media Release

8 March 1999

The February issue of the Alternative Law Journal brings you several rigorous articles examining matters of concern about the law and the way it affects people in Australia.

Yorta Yorta decision

Damming the tide of history The Federal Court decision in the Yorta Yorta case is exposed to a detailed criticism that demonstrates how unpersuasive and unsatisfactory the decision is. The authors, Valerie Kerruish and Colin Perin endorse the view of one commentator that the decision, in effect, finds that the Yorta Yorta were ‘not native but nobody’.

Macquarie massacre

End of the rule of law at, of all places, a law school Recent events at Macquarie University that saw the dismemberment of its Law School have serious implications for the application of the rule of law within universities and raise serious concerns about the legal education provided to future Australian lawyers. Two articles, by Macquarie or ex-Macquarie staff, set out the facts of the matter and discuss their implications for universities.

Doctors’ and patients’ rights

Where the stakes are high Ian Freckelton discusses in detail the current balance between doctors and patients in terms of the duty to warn a patient about the potential risk associated with treatment.

The constitution and social services

At a time when Australians are being asked to think about a revised preamble for their Constitution, Marie Leech highlights the fact the Constitution limits the way the federal government can intervene to provide social services to families, the elderly, children, and Aboriginal people.

Sentencing laws around Australia

Louis Schetzer examines current sentencing laws in NSW, Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. In a climate of supposed increased crime, Schetzer shows how legislative responses to crime threaten judicial independence and impinge on the basic human rights of all Australians.