George Williams

Human Rights

The Cameron Government has committed to repealing the UK Human Rights Act 1998. George Williams looks at the debate and the Act's significance for countries using the Westminster system of government.

Merrick Garland

US Supreme Court appointments are infected with the bitter partisanship that pervades US politics while Australian Chief Justice Robert French's impending departure has excited barely a murmur.

Campaigners for Indigenous rights

'The Forgotten People' signals the ongoing commitment by leading conservative figures to have the Australian Constitution recognise indigenous peoples, writes George Williams.

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The principle of treating someone as innocent until they are proven guilty no longer exists, writes George WIlliams.

Jacqui Lambi network

In a democracy, voters should determine who is elected to Parliament. The Senate electoral system fails this test, writes George Williams.

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The federal government is determined the non-binding vote will go ahead despite it being legally redundant, a $160 million drain on the public purse and an opportunity for people to denigrate same-sex relationships, writes George Williams.

dissent

Dissent on the bench of Australia's highest court was at a record low in 2015, according to an annual study of the High Court's decisions. 

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The High Court's comprehensive rejection of a challenge to Australia’s offshore processing regime in Nauru means our future treatment of asylum seekers will be governed by the politics of the day, writes George Williams.

democracy

An extraordinary number of Australian laws now infringe basic democratic standards, but we hardly bat an eyelid, writes George Williams.

Aboriginal flag

Australia does not recognise the sovereignty of its first nations by way of a treaty, and the effects have been devastating, writes George Williams.

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