By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim The last fortnight has seen the most senior Morrison government ministers waving about the rule of law as if this principle, underpinning our nation’s legal system, is a kind of cure-all that instantly counters any suggestions of illegal or corrupt behaviour on their part. Queensland University professor Geoffrey Walker… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Prior to the unfolding of the colonial project in Australia, the British legal system enacted laws to govern the working poor. This framework consisted of vagrancy laws, master and servant laws, which upheld the power of employers, and poor laws that provided state charity. According to Swinburne University lecturer… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim The Berejiklian government launched the NSW Road Safety Plan 2021 in early 2018. It aims to reduce the road fatality rate in this state to 30 percent below the levels seen in 2008 through to 2010. A number of bills have been passed since the launch of the program… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim In February 2018, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and then state roads minister Melinda Pavey launched the NSW Road Safety Plan 2021. It consists of a series of road safety goals with the aim of reducing driving risks and, in turn, road trauma. The state priority target is to reduce… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim A Ponzi scheme is a type of fraud whereby a person who claims to be a successful investor lures victims into providing their funds for false business ventures. As the original investors spread the word about their above-market returns, they attract new investors whose funds are then used to… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim NSW government ministers are required to “pursue and be seen to pursue the best interests of the people” of this state to “the exclusion of any other interest”, the preamble to the NSW Ministerial Code of Conduct asserts in its first paragraph. The current code was enacted in September… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Long gone are the days when the public was expected to blindly trust institutions. Over recent years, there has been a marked decline in trust especially in public organisations. And this has gotten to the point where these entities need to question how they can build trust in the… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim In 1996, Mr D’Orta-Ekenaike was charged with rape. So, the Melbourne man sought legal assistance from Victoria Legal Aid, which subsequently retained the services of a barrister. And despite the accused claiming innocence, this barrister advised him to plead guilty, as he had no defence. D’Orta-Ekenaike then pleaded guilty… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Evidence-in-chief involves a witness being questioned in court by the party that called them to appear. Also referred to as examination-in-chief, this initial questioning establishes the foundation of either a defence or prosecution case, and it occurs prior to cross-examination. There are limitations to the type of questions a… Read more »
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim At 10.22 am on 10 August 2017, ten NSW police officers conducted a raid of the Grime2Shine carwash in the western Sydney suburb of Blacktown. The business was co-owned by the brothers Danny and Ranny Shaitly, who’d both fallen short of the law in the past. On a second… Read more »
