Filling the heads of young students with an out-and-about view of the law … Working in groups … ABA’s expensive knees-up in Canberra … Immaculate conception of Queensland queenies … Christian Porter takes off his clothes
It provides an “immersive experience” for school students, with visits to courts, lectures by judicial officers and from the institute’s “education staff”.
A recent missive from the Judicial Commission invited judges and magistrates to participate in the program, advising that …
“The Rule of Law Institute of Australia is an independent, politically non-partisan, not-for-profit body formed to uphold the rule of law in Australia.”
While appropriating the name associated with judicial independence and the separation of powers, the institute is in fact more closely aligned with pro-business, libertarian, anti-regulatory views that accord with the interests of Speed & Stracey’s corporate and tax clients.
Robin Speed and his firm have also sponsored an astroturf lobbying outfit called the Family Office Institute Australia, which fought successfully to block legislation that would have allowed the ATO to publish how much or little tax various large privately owned corporations pay.
The claim that the RoLIA is politically non-partisan is a little hard to swallow. Speed & Stracey is the sponsor of Law Day Out, while Robin Speed himself is a conservative who emerged as an outspoken and bitter opponent of the NSW Law Society’s support for same sex marriage.
Richard Gilbert a former log-roller for the National Bank of Australia was CEO of the RoLIA, the director of corporate affairs at Speed & Stracey and a director of the Family Office Institute. This gives some idea of the way the tentacles intertwine.
Here’s the plea the Judicial Commission sent to judges and magistrates in January:
Dear xxx,
The Judicial Commission is assisting the Rule of Law Institute by seeking magistrates who may be interested in participating in the Law Day Out Program by chatting to students for approximately 30 minutes, prior to the commencement of court matters or in the morning adjournment. If you are interested in participating, please let me know by Friday, 2 February 2018. I will then pass your details onto Jackie Charles, Education Manager, at the Rule of Law Institute who will be in touch regarding further details.
The Rule of Law Institute of Australia is an independent, politically non-partisan, not-for-profit body formed to uphold the rule of law in Australia. It operates education programs and initiatives to provide school and university students with an understanding of the importance of rule of law principles and how they relate to contemporary issues.
The Institute’s Law Day Out Programs began in the Sydney CBD and have recently expanded to Parramatta and the Newcastle-Hunter region. For those in other areas, your interest may assist local schools in your area. This program allows teachers to provide an immersive experience for their students and promote a better understanding of the day to day operation of our courts and government. The experience often features visits to the Local, District, and Supreme Courts. The day can also include expert presentations and seminars on legal issues from magistrates, judges, barristers and the Rule of Law Institute education staff.
Kind regards,
Sarah
Sarah Collins | Manager, Programs
More details here:
James Hardie and the Rule of Law brigade
Remember the “working groups” that were created by the Law Society of NSW, following Speed’s threats to take legal action following the council’s support of the same sex marriage Bill?
Robin and his merry men also insisted that the then president Pauline Wright “resign immediately” and set about gathering enough members to requisition an EGM for a motion that the Law Society disassociate itself from support for marriage equality.
To head off a crazy split it was agreed that two working groups be established, one appointed by Speed and the other appointed by the president, to advise on legislative safeguards for freedom of religion, free speech, etc.
Both working groups reported and their thoughts were examined by the society’s committee on human rights and by another committee dealing with diversity & inclusion.
The upshot of this consideration was that the Law Society decided there was no need to recommend any changes to Senator Dean Smith’s same-sex marriage Bill.
All that for that.
The ABA is cashing in big time on Monday’s dinner (Feb. 5) for newly minted silks in Canberra. The knees-up in the old days used to cost around $200 a head for rubber chicken and Cold Duck.
Now it’s 400 smackers a head and if anyone wants to take a squeeze to the feast at the Great Hall of the High Court, to celebrate themselves, it will cost $800.
Of course it is assumed that the expense would be a snip for anyone who has reached this gilded status, but the extent of the grumbles indicates that things are a bit tight at the junior-senior-senior bar.
One can never be entirely sure what is going on with the Banana Benders.
On November 9 the then BAQ president C. Hughes put out a statement saying that the newly appointed QCs could not get their patent leather patents because the government was in caretaker mode and the paperwork couldn’t be stamped with suitably important looking seals and signed by the executive council.
Only in the “event of an emergency” could the executive council meet when the government was in caretaker mode, Hughes informed the rank n’ file.
The election was held on November 25, but it took till at least December 7 before the outcome was clear that the Palaszczuk government had been returned for a second term.
The government was not sworn in until December 12 yet on December 5, before there was a government in office, there was a “special” meeting of the executive council at government house.
The next day the new BAQ president, Sandy Thompson, announced seven new queen’s counsel.
Nice work if you can get it.
Dusting off our dog-eared copies of Cleo magazine we found a 1999 entry for bachelor of the year from the current attorney general Christian Porter.
Surprisingly, Cleo advised that young Christian is just the sort of person “we’d all love to court”.
One of responses revealed that Porter had a sense of wounded grievance about women who don’t see things his way:
“When you ask a girl ‘What’s wrong?’ and she says ‘Nothing’ and you say “OK’, you’re somehow being unreasonable.”
And there’s this memorable exchange:
What a mensch.