Outrage over a federal government decision to put religious chaplains in government schools made headlines at the time for being a fight over the separation of church and state. But the real High Court case was about much more - and it has the potential to upend the way the entire federal government functions.

Court cases: 

- Williams v Commonwealth of Australia [2012] HCA 23 (20 June 2012) http://www6.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/HCA/2012/23.html

- Williams v Commonwealth of Australia [2014] HCA 23 (19 June 2014) http://www6.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/HCA/2014/23.html

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1968 seems a lifetime ago. It was a defining year of the 20th century. 1968 is also the year that a Japanese professional boxer was sentenced to death for murder. Remarkably, he remains on death row to this day. The case of Iwao Hakamada has exposed questionable police practices, a forced confession and a bombshell claim from one of the judges who sentenced him.

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A newly-elected Australian government is concerned about a growing Communist influence in Australia. The scene is set for a major High Court case. 

Court case: 

Australian Communist Party v Commonwealth ("Communist Party case") [1951] HCA 5; (1951) 83 CLR 1 (9 March 1951)

Read judgment: 

http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/HCA/1951/5.html

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How does Australian law protect the beliefs and religious practices of witches, conjurers and fortune-tellers? A High Court case from the 1930s could provide the answers. 

There’s a big debate about religious freedom in Australia after the federal government announced plans to introduce new federal religious discrimination laws. Most of the coverage of the religious freedom debate focuses on protecting the major religions, most notably Christianity.  

But there’s some religious groups that don’t get any coverage at all. What if you’re a witch or a Wiccan? A Druid or Shaman? How does Australian law protect your beliefs and religious practices? How has the law treated you over the years if you’re a conjurer or a psychic? 

Today JUST CASES rewinds to a 1930 case which went all the way to the High Court of Australia. 

Music- Lee Rosevere 'Last Call'- Lee Rosevere 'Introducing the Pre-Roll'

Court case- Hansen v Archdall and Smith [1930] HCA 16 44 CLR 265

http://eresources.hcourt.gov.au/showbyHandle/1/13142

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“There’s a saying in law that hard cases make bad law,” says Dr Colin Campbell. “Judges will sometimes do what they think is right in a particular case, but in doing that they will muck up the law." 

Numerous inquiries have uncovered widespread discrimination and exclusion against children at government schools around Australia. While state-run education departments are tasked with the responsibility of fixing this problem, there’s another institution in our society that has a major role to play: our courts. 

But the leading court case that dictates how the courts play this role - and which judges around Australia are obliged to follow - is seriously flawed.

SHOW NOTES

All music by Lee Rosevere

- 'Introducing the Pre-roll'

- '17 - Awkward Silences version b' 

http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/

Storyteller

 - Dr Colin Campbell, Faculty of Law, Monash University

Hosts

 - Dr Melissa Castan & James Pattison

Further reading

- Purvis v New South Wales (Department of Education and Training) [2003] HCA 62: http://eresources.hcourt.gov.au/showCase/2003/HCA/62- 

'Improving Educational Outcomes for Children with Disability in Victoria: Final Report' (June 2018), E Jenkin, C Spivakovsky, S Joseph, M Smith, Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Monash University: https://www.justcasespodcast.com/s/Castan-Centre-Improving-Educational-Outcomes-for-Students-with-Disability.pdf

Victorian students with disabilities turned away from schools, report finds (ABC News, 29 June 2018): https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-29/students-with-disabilities-victorian-government-schools-report/9923274

- Campbell, Colin D, "A Hard Case Making Bad Law: Purvis v New South Wales and the Role of the Comparator Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)" [2007] FedLawRw 4; (2007) 35(1) Federal Law Review 111: http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/FedLawRw/2007/4.html

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Earlier this year the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced it had shut down a long-running investigation into corruption at Rolls-Royce. What did the UK authorities have to trade in exchange for Rolls-Royce’s money and cooperation? 

Between 1999 to 2013, the SFO and a joint BBC/The Guardian investigation revealed that Rolls-Royce - which manufactures aircraft engines and defence systems, as well as their famed luxury cars - engaged in systemic criminal activity on a global scale. 

In 2017, Rolls-Royce came to an agreement with the SFO, in which the company agreed to pay £671 million in return for avoiding prosecution on bribery and corruption charges. 

This type of agreement - referred to as a deferred prosecution agreement (or DPA) - is gaining popularity. 

What exactly are DPAs? Do they pull the teeth out of the criminal justice system, which already struggles to convict people for white collar crime?

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How does the law balance the rights of women to access safe and legal abortions with the right to free speech and protest? 

For over twenty years anti-abortion protesters have picketed abortion clinics around Australia. To combat this targeted harassment of women seeking safe and legal abortions, state governments have passed ‘safe access zone’ laws which create an exclusion zone around abortion clinics which protestors cannot enter. 

Anti-abortionists argue these laws limit their free speech. Supporters of safe access zones argue these laws are vital to ensure the safety of women seeking health care. 

When this law was challenged by anti-abortion protesters who had breached the exclusion zones, the High Court was faced with a major balancing act.

 Storytellers

- Dr Tania Penovic, Faculty of Law, Monash University

- Dr Caroline Henckels, Faculty of Law, Monash University

Hosts

- Dr Melissa Castan & James Pattison

Further reading

- Explainer: what are abortion clinic safe-access zones and where do they exist in Australia? (https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-are-abortion-clinic-safe-access-zones-and-where-do-they-exist-in-australia-98175)

- High Court delivers landmark ruling validating abortion clinic ‘safe access zones’ (https://theconversation.com/high-court-delivers-landmark-ruling-validating-abortion-clinic-safe-access-zones-115062)

Music in this episode:

- Lee Rosevere - ‘Start the Day’

- Lee Rosevere - ‘Waiting For the Moment That Never Comes’

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A fight over a new toilet block at a Catholic school in 1962 turns into a major constitutional and ideological war, the effects of which last until today. 

Australians traditionally sees themselves as pretty secular compared to the rest of the world. But how Australians choose to fund their children’s education paints a very different picture. 

For every dollar the Federal Government spends per student in a private or independent school, public schools receive only around 75 cents per student. 

In 2017, Catholic schools received $8.4 billion in government funding, despite also being funded by fee-paying families. The Catholic Church in Australia is estimated to be worth between $20 billion to $30 billion. 

How can a secular government, in a country which espouses the separation of church and state, be allowed to fund religious schools? And when it comes to school funding, is our government playing favourites with religion?

Storyteller: 

Dr Luke Beck, Associate Professor, Monash Law School.

Hosts: 

Dr Melissa Castan & James Pattison

Extra material:

Attorney-General (Vic); Ex Rel Black v Commonwealth ("DOGS case") [1981] HCA 2; (1981) 146 CLR 559 (2 February 1981) http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/HCA/1981/2.html

Music in this episode:

Nathaniel Wyvern - ‘Sanctuary of the Sky Gods’

Mid-Air Machine - ‘Breathing Out’

John Bartman - ‘Pepper the Pig’

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Issues affecting transgender people are much more prominent in the public consciousness than they’ve ever been. This episode of JUST CASES explores one important legal issue: can children access hormone therapy or surgery in Australia? 

We speak to the judge who decided this important case and learn what it’s like to make such life-changing decisions. 

WARNING: This episode contains some difficult subject matter. There’s mentions of suicide, gender-identity issues, family violence and graphic content. If that’s difficult for you please find another episode of Just Cases to listen to. 

If anything in this episode brings up some difficult feelings for you please contact Lifeline or Beyond Blue, or similar support services in your community.

Lifeline 13 11 14 / www.lifeline.org.au

Beyond Blue 1300 22 46 36 / www.beyondblue.org.au

Storyteller: The Honourable Nahum Mushin AM, former Judge of the Family Court of Australia and Professor of Law at Monash University. 

Hosts: Dr Melissa Castan & James Pattison

Music in this episode:

- 'Hot Pink' by Chad Crouch

- 'Backwater' by Chad Crouch

- 'Cross Stitch' by Chad Crouch

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