This biography concerns one of Queensland's and Australia's most distinguished lawyers and jurists, Sir Harry Gibbs. Born in Ipswich in 1917, he studied law at the University of Queensland before going onto a legal career of great accomplishment, culminating in his taking the top position in the Australian judicial system. He was Chief Justice of the Australian High Court from 1981-1987.
The Backroom Boys is the remarkable, but little known, story of how a varied group of talented intellectuals, drafted into the Australian Army in the dark days of 1942, provided high-level policy advice to Australia’s most senior soldier, General Blamey, and through him to the Government for the remainder of the war and beyond. This band of academics, lawyers and New Guinea patrol officers formed a unique military unit, the Directorate of Research and Civil Affairs, under the command of an eccentric and masterful string-puller, Alf Conlon. The Directorate has been depicted as a haven for underemployed poets or meddlesome soldier-politicians. Based on wide-ranging research, this book reveals a fuller and more fascinating picture. The fierce conflicts in the wartime bureaucracy between public servants and soldiers, in which the Directorate provided critical support to Blamey, went to the heart of military command, accountability and the profession of arms. The Directorate was a pioneer in developing approaches to military government in areas liberated by the combat troops, as demonstrated by the Australian Army in New Guinea, and Borneo in 1945-46. It is an issue of enduring importance. The Directorate established the Australian School of Pacific Administration, and had an important role in founding the Australian National University. Its influence extended into post war Australia. The Backroom Boys emphasises the personality of Colonel Alf Conlon, as well as the talented men and women he recruited. Above all, this book shows how, unexpectedly, the Australian Army fostered a group of men and women who made a lasting contribution to the development of Australia in the decades after the war.
Documents the events leading up to and following the assassination of the thirty-fifth president as revealed by the Secret Service agents who were present, in an account that also draws on letters written by Jackie Kennedy in the immediate aftermath and other previously undisclosed sources.
This book examines the Australian High Court's enormously controversial and politically explosive transformation during the 1990s. Led by Chief Justice Anthony Mason, the Court embarked on a concerted effort to recast its role within Australia's legal and political systems. The Court moved to the storm center of Australian politics as it became a catalyst for reforms that appeared unobtainable through parliamentary means, including rights for Australia's indigenous population and free speech protections. Securing unprecedented access to Australia's High Court and senior appellate judges, Pierce describes how the transformation unfolded, identifies the conditions that encouraged it, and explores how the Mason Court reforms have attenuated in recent years in the face of a hostile conservative government and in the absence of formal support structures, such as a bill of rights. The book situates the High Court's transformation in the wider context of similar changes that occurred in other common law judicial systems during recent decades, including the United States, Great Britain, and Canada. "Inside the Mason Court Revolution is the 'go to' book for a solid, accessible analysis of recent jurisprudential changes on Australia's High Court, an informative explanation of why these changes occurred, and thoughtful commentary on how permanent they may be." -- Law & Politics Book Review "Pierce intelligently analyses the reasons for the Court's activism during this period, such as the passage of the Australia Act 1986 and Australia's growing legal independence, the introduction of compulsory retirement for High Court judges, and the requirement for leave to appeal in virtually all cases. This excellent work cogently analyses the criticisms made of the Court during this period that it was too 'activist' and political' for an unelected body." -- Law Institute Journal "The book is based on more than eighty in-depth interviews with the senior judiciary in Australia in the late 1990s... Pierce quotes at length from the interviews, and it is extremely valuable to hear these judges in their own words... the quotes are enormous fun, and can be very thought provoking." -- Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal "Herein lies the book's great importance, Pierce so convincingly argues--utilising the remarks of the very echelon of the Australian profession as support--that how courts function is dependent upon a complex interplay of legal, individual, institutional and political variables that neither camp--lawyer or political scientist--can remain happily in their comfort zone." -- Federal Law Review "Against what sorts of political standards do we assess claims of the use and abuse of judicial powers? The relevance of Pierce's fascinating book is that it provides a fresh answer to this quite fundamental question... Pierce deserves many non-Australian readers." -- The American Review of Politics "Pierce has thoroughly researched his subject and, for that reason, this book is a worthwhile addition to any library." -- Precedent Magazine "[T]he judicial comments recorded in this book are in many cases both thoughtful and thought-provoking. They provide great insight into the judicial role and method from those who practise it. Both the divergences and similarities in views are instructive and this material could well prove useful for future studies on the judiciary." -- Melbourne University Law Review
This book is a comprehensive review and analysis of the reserve powers and their exercise by heads of state in countries that have Westminster systems. It addresses the powers of the Queen in the United Kingdom, those of her vice-regal representatives, and those of heads of state in the less studied realms and former colonies that are now republics. Drawing on a vast range of previously unpublished archival and primary material, The Veiled Sceptre contains fresh perspectives on old controversies. It also reveals constitutional crises in small countries, which have escaped the notice of most scholars. This book places the exercises of reserve powers within the context of constitutional principle and analyses how heads of state should act when constitutional principles conflict. Providing an unrivalled contemporary analysis of reserve powers, it will appeal to constitutional scholars worldwide and others involved in the administration of systems of responsible government.
In approaching the topic of law and religion there are several ways it could be approached. One would be a highly theoretical level, looking at the very nature of both disciplines/institutions. Second, a less theoretical and technical manner, might be to look for some essential themes that have resonance with the other discipline. Third, one could investigate the nature of the integrative approaches of the two areas. While all of these are beneficial, this is not the manner of this collection. The way used here is to examine a range of contentious issues where law adjudicates the contested boundary between an allegedly secular society and public religion. The editors have added another, looking at a creative interface between the issues, the stories and the values/virtues that sustain and may heal two central disciplines/institutions of society. Contributors include the well known Australian Jesuit activist and lawyer, Frank Brennan SJ, who examines the law and same sex marriage.
The extraordinary story of a woman who overcame living in the shadow of the holocaust to become one of Australia's most celebrated artists, told by Australia's most awarded biographer.
The High Court, the Constitution and Australian Politics is an in-depth exploration of the relationship between decisions of the High Court and broader political currents in Australia. It begins with an investigation of the patterns and effects of constitutional invalidation and dissent on the High Court over time, and their correlation with political trends and attitudes. It also examines the role of constitutional amendment in expressing popular constitutional understandings in the Australian system. Subsequent chapters focus on the eras marked by the tenure of the Court's 12 Chief Justices, examining Court's decisions in the context of the prevailing political conditions and understandings of each. Together, the chapters canvass a rich variety of accounts of the relationship between constitutional law and politics in Australia, and of how this relationship is affected by factors such as the process of appointment for High Court judges and the Court's explicit willingness to consider political and community values.
