The shifting meaning of persecution in the Australian refugee law: How much must one suffer to be deserving of asylum?

Legislative changes to the meaning of persecution in Australia in the context of refugee law - courts' approach to what constitutes persecution in conflict with Parliament's understanding - level of harm that a person must endure in order to be eligible for refugee status - narrow definition of persecution should be adopted such that only those asylum seekers whose subsistence is imperilled should qualify as refugees.

Preparing Australia's future lawyers: an exposition of changing values over time in the context of teaching about ethical dilemmas

This study investigated what values may be influential to decision making in relation to ethical behaviour for early career lawyers. It adopted a longitudinal approach to investigate how values develop or degrade over time as final year law students move into their first two years of employment or further study. To this end, the study investigated the role that tertiary education and employers fulfill in building and perpetuating ‘appropriate’ professional values? Results demonstrate that, in general, ethical behaviour was not uniformly reinforced over time in the workplace. The undertaking of pro bono work stands out here. Results suggested that certain behaviour relevant values may develop or degrade over the early years of the Australian lawyer's career. The implications of results are discussed in the contexts of ethics education in a tertiary context and the continuing education and regulation of the legal profession.

Tendering for low cost generics in Australia

An Australian federal government committee recently proposed, as a cost-saving measure, the introduction of sealed-bid competitive tendering to exclusively supply the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme with specific generic medicines. A similar plan involved an open tender to supply generic products below a government set price, also linked with a reduced patient co-payment as an incentive. These proposals represented an opportunity to encourage the price of generic pharmaceuticals to move closer to the marginal cost of production—a process that could be subsequently applied to innovative (or brand-name) patented medicines in a therapeutic class with many competitors. This article examines these tendering proposals, particularly in relation to the potential for increased involvement of generic pharmaceutical manufacturers in the Australian market.

A cross-national comparison of school drug policies in Washington State, United States, and Victoria, Australia

Using mail survey data collected from primary and secondary school administrators in Washington State, United States, and in Victoria, Australia, this study compared aspects of the school drug policy environment in the 2 states. Documented substance-use policies were prevalent in Washington and Victoria but less prevalent in primary schools, especially in Victoria. Victorian school policy-setting processes were significantly more likely to involve teachers, parents, and students than processes in Washington schools. Consistent with expectations based on their respective national drug policy frameworks, school drug policies in Washington schools were more oriented toward total abstinence and more frequently enforced with harsh punishment (such as expulsion or calling law enforcement), whereas policies in Victorian schools were more reflective of harm-minimization principles. Within both states, however, schools more regularly used harsh punishment and remediation consequences for alcohol and illicit-drug violations compared to tobacco policy violations, which were treated more leniently. (J Sch Health. 2005;75(4):134-140)

Principles of property law

This comprehensive text covers all of the materials relevant to property law in a detailed and thorough manner. The second edition examines the basic tenants of property law,as well as specific property interests such as land interests and the way in which these interests are conveyed, registered and co-ordinated.The book considers the development of native title as a legally recognised form of property in Australia and how such an interest sits within the common law and statutory infrastructure. Principles of Property Law is a vital book for students studying this complex area and is also a valuable addition to the library of academics and practitioners interested in this field.

Restitution law

Contains comprehensive extracts of the most significant cases from Australia and England. Explains the various academic views in areas where these are likely to be influential and incorporates a number of important new cases. Includes new sections dealing with practical questions such as pleading a claim in restitution.

Real property law

The aim of this book is to provide the student and/or practitioner with a straightforward outline of some of the primary elements underlying the recognition and regulation of real property.

Labour law

Second edition university text discussing the principles of labour law, first published in 1999. Provides a comprehensive discussion of such topics as the employment relationship, termination of employment, the federal system of labour regulation and legal regulation of trade unions. Revised edition has been updated to reflect recent changes in the common law and under the Workplace Relations Act 1996. Features case examples, summary questions and graded exercises for students. Includes table of cases, table of statutes and index. Author is a Barrister and Solicitor and a lecturer in the School of Law at Deakin University.

Opting out of shareholder governance rights: a new perspective on contractual freedom in Australian corporate law

One of the classic debates in corporate law relates to whether the rules of corporate law are ar should be 'mandatory', in that companies must comply, or 'enabling' - meaning a set of default rules which companies have the choice of adopting or 'opting out' of through alternative contractual arrangements. The so-called 'mandatory/enabling' debate has been especially prominent in the United States fro numerous reasons, yet has also received some attention in Australia. That said, the extent to which companies can 'opt out' of corporate law has rarely been considered as a practical issue in Australia - particularly whether Australian companies can 'opt out' of provisions under the Corporations Act ("the Act"). However, just recently, two high-profile events in Australia have made 'opting out' of corporate law a relevant issue, especially the question of whether companies are free to 'opt out' of provisions of the Corporations Act  which provide express governance rights to shareholders. These events were Boral's constitutional amendment in 2003 to restrict the ability of shreholders to propose amendments to the company's constitution, and the contemplation and introduction of so-called 'pre-nuptial' agreements- designed to by-pass the right of shreholders to vote on removing directors in public companies. In the light of these two recent events, in this article the authors revisit the mandatory/enabling debate. However, rather than going over old ground as to whether a mandatory or enabling approach to corporate regulation is desirable, the authors approach the issue from a fresh perspective: that Australian Securitiesand Investments Commission's ("ASIC") existing relief powers under the Act should be extended to provide a means for companies to opt out of provisions containing shareholder governance rights.

A theory of injustice: the flip side of the relocation coin in Australia

Problems attached to relocation cases in Australia because of geographical and cultural reasons - the best interests of the child principle inherently promotes injustice in relocation cases - operation of Part VII of the Family Law Act in the context of relocation cases - assessment of the best interests of the child principle in Australian relocation cases - responsibility of contact parents - reforming Australian law to promote an equality of interests.

The rule of law as an Australian constitutionalist promise

The author poses the question whether the rule of law is a constitutionalist promise that protects all Australians or whether it is simply a juridical principle that may be balanced against certain social factors.  Constitutionalist promises involve the limiting and supporting of state power. The author examines several instances of state power exercised in Australia and concludes that we should not rely on the rule of law as an absolute means of achieving equality, human rights, justice, freedom and even democracy.

Fixed and floating charges : the latest conflicting law and how to address the gaps

Can book debts be subject to a fixed charge? This question was considered by the House of Lords in National Westminster Bank v. Spectrum Plus Limited [2005] UKHL 41 where the full House was against the idea of a fixed charge on book debts and insisted that only a floating charge had been created. The law in this area is still vague and uncertain in Australia. This paper argues that the financiers and the companies should be given the freedom to decide how they wish to structure their charge documents. The paper sets out to argue that, in respect to the use of book debts as security for a loan, the only way for both the financiers and the companies to do business is to create a sustained workable fixed charge or even multiple fixed and floating charge on book debts. The author explains how this could be possible and how the proposed model would not deny the statutory priority rights of the preferential creditors.