The role of witness anonymity

08/05/21 • 54 min

Witnesses giving evidence in court and during inquests from behind a screen and under pseudonym names. Sometimes there are highly sensitive investigative techniques involved, or undercover assets who could be put at risk. But Law Professor Leslie Thomas says it’s too often simply to spare state agents from embarrassment. And that’s not a good enough reason for the families and a treat to open justice.

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‘Doc’ Evatt’s great dissenting judgement

What does a dissenting judgement, from High Court in the 1930’s, tell us about a brilliant, but polarising, Australian. HV Evatt, better known as Doc, was an internationally recognised jurist, and a leading politician. Evatt was Australia's youngest ever High Court judge, but remains best known for taking Labor into the political wilderness during the Menzies years. A new, The Brilliant Boy, seeks to set the record straight.

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Better economics and the duty to rescue

What economic strategy creates the most jobs? What economic theory is best for society? Economist Tim Thornton says that outdated economics is holding us back, and we must make way for a better theory to re-imagine what our economy and society could look like. AND – the duty to rescue another person in an emergency. The legal responsibility varies enormously from country to county. Where does Australia sit?