Stephen Keim - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Stephen Keim
Pandora's Box ISSN: 1835-8624, 2024
The death penalty cannot be imposed by law in Australia. Nonetheless, there are many good reasons... more The death penalty cannot be imposed by law in Australia. Nonetheless, there are many good reasons to oppose the continuation of the death penalty until it exists no where in the world.
This is my story why it has been important to me to play my role in opposing the death penalty at all times and in all places.
Hearsay, 2024
Born into a family of Roman Catholic martyrs and ending up as Dean of St Pauls; the author of eng... more Born into a family of Roman Catholic martyrs and ending up as Dean of St Pauls; the author of engaging love poetry and poems of philosophical and religious complexity, John Donne is a man of many parts.
Through an exhaustive research exercise drawing on his poems and his letters and a hoard of contextual information, Rundell delves with aplomb into the mysteries of Donne's complex nature and life.
Hearsay, 2024
Mick Herron has an impressive collection of titles to his name and Slow Horses is his 2010 contri... more Mick Herron has an impressive collection of titles to his name and Slow Horses is his 2010 contribution to his Slough House series of spy novels. Slough House, the omniscient narrator points out, is not in Slough but in the Borough of Finsbury, a stone's throw from Barbican Underground Station. It is a place where spies who have failed or offended or otherwise fallen from favour with those who count at the moment are sent to perform meaningless jobs until slow reality hits them and they leave the service for meaningless jobs in private enterprise. The name comes from an obscure joke based on the concept that a banished person is so far from the corridors of power that they might as well be in Slough which is 31 kilometres west of Central London (which, in corridors of power terms, is a long way).
High Court breathes fresh life into implied right of political speech ... Robert French's cou... more High Court breathes fresh life into implied right of political speech ... Robert French's court opens intriguing new possibilities ... Stephen Keim and Mary Ayad examine Aid/Watch v Commissioner of Taxation.1 page(s
National leaders often misuse the concept of terrorism as a political tool, making it an unsatisf... more National leaders often misuse the concept of terrorism as a political tool, making it an unsatisfactory concept around which to organise models of criminal law. It is particularly unsuited to a coordinated and worldwide law enforcement campaign, which has extended to invasion of sovereign countries; removal and execution of heads of state; the use of torture and killing of civilians. Terrorism is currently defined and prosecuted under criminal law, lending itself to both politicisation and becoming the basis of propaganda. This article seeks to offer alternative organising principles for the prosecution of terrorism — those of international humanitarian law and crimes against humanity.
Precedent (Sydney, NSW), 2020
This article looks at those aspects of advocacy that are of particular relevance to criminal appe... more This article looks at those aspects of advocacy that are of particular relevance to criminal appeals. There are, of course, skills and abilities that are required in all aspects of advocacy, including the conduct of criminal appeals. There are also obstacles to being a good and effective advocate that apply across all areas of advocacy. Compared to most fields of endeavour, the art of advocacy is unique in that we have few, if any, opportunities to do rehearsals for our performances. As advocates, we are always broadcasting live. ADVOCACY: 'THE GETTING OF WISDOM' The music teacher sits her student in front of a piano and takes her through the next piece. The student goes home and practises the piece, endless times, and returns to the critical gaze of the teacher to be cajoled and corrected and critiqued before returning to the practice arena for another week. And so on until the performance of the piece is close to perfect. Along the way, the student picks up substantive knowledge: new notes and new chords and new combinations of each. The student learns new skills: finger placements, dynamics, colour, and shades of expression. And the student develops the ability to perform that piece, an ability that can be maintained over the years with a modicum of practice. In most performance activities, even the accomplished in the field continue to have coaches or teachers who help them to make adjustments and improvements to ensure that their next performance is as good as, or even better than, their last.
Precedent (Sydney, N.S.W.), Jun 1, 2020
The Proctor, 2018
In the second of two articles Stephen Keim SC concludes his examination of the risks for practiti... more In the second of two articles Stephen Keim SC concludes his examination of the risks for practitioners who opt to represent more than one client in investigations of workplace incidents.
The article focuses on Bar Rule 60 and the way in which disciplinary rules are used to assist in ... more The article focuses on Bar Rule 60 and the way in which disciplinary rules are used to assist in considering whether legal practitioners should be disciplined. It is submitted that the concept of narrow and inflexible statements as to what is appropriate behavior may not be a concept that is useful.
Chain Reaction, Dec 1, 2007
The main characteristics of the circumstances faced by Dr Mohamed Haneef, a Muslim who was wrongl... more The main characteristics of the circumstances faced by Dr Mohamed Haneef, a Muslim who was wrongly implicated as a terrorist by the Australian police are discussed. The various lessons that need to be learned from the case of Dr Mohamed Haneef are highlighted.
The Australian Year Book of International Law Online, 2008
Australian Reconciliation: a Long Way from Vergangenheitsbewaltigung, Jun 9, 2015
Reconciliation in Australia seems, from the published documents, to be about all being friends. H... more Reconciliation in Australia seems, from the published documents, to be about all being friends. However, the concept as it emerged from post WWII Germany is about wrestling with and learning to live with the past. We have the choice, ourselves, whether we pay attention to the dark parts of our history or whether we concede to those who want us to forget and remain silent. The paper also looks at the Reconciliation Plan of the Queensland Bar Association.
Justinian, Mar 27, 2015
Chief Justice Carmody was appointed to that position in a welter of controversy much of it create... more Chief Justice Carmody was appointed to that position in a welter of controversy much of it created by his own statements. Half a year later and the controversy has not abated. A retirement speech by Justice Alan Wilson has revealed how deep the issues run. This article places the present controversy in an historical context and makes suggestions as to what can be done.
Alternative Law Journal, 2016
Alternative Law Journal, 2014
In 1974, the Legal Service Bulletin commenced publication as a voice of Fitzroy Legal Service. It... more In 1974, the Legal Service Bulletin commenced publication as a voice of Fitzroy Legal Service. It quickly became a voice that went well beyond even the community legal service movement as a whole. I still had two full-time and two part-time years of my Arts/Law degree to go.
Alternative Law Journal, 2008
Pandora's Box ISSN: 1835-8624, 2024
The death penalty cannot be imposed by law in Australia. Nonetheless, there are many good reasons... more The death penalty cannot be imposed by law in Australia. Nonetheless, there are many good reasons to oppose the continuation of the death penalty until it exists no where in the world.
This is my story why it has been important to me to play my role in opposing the death penalty at all times and in all places.
Hearsay, 2024
Born into a family of Roman Catholic martyrs and ending up as Dean of St Pauls; the author of eng... more Born into a family of Roman Catholic martyrs and ending up as Dean of St Pauls; the author of engaging love poetry and poems of philosophical and religious complexity, John Donne is a man of many parts.
Through an exhaustive research exercise drawing on his poems and his letters and a hoard of contextual information, Rundell delves with aplomb into the mysteries of Donne's complex nature and life.
Hearsay, 2024
Mick Herron has an impressive collection of titles to his name and Slow Horses is his 2010 contri... more Mick Herron has an impressive collection of titles to his name and Slow Horses is his 2010 contribution to his Slough House series of spy novels. Slough House, the omniscient narrator points out, is not in Slough but in the Borough of Finsbury, a stone's throw from Barbican Underground Station. It is a place where spies who have failed or offended or otherwise fallen from favour with those who count at the moment are sent to perform meaningless jobs until slow reality hits them and they leave the service for meaningless jobs in private enterprise. The name comes from an obscure joke based on the concept that a banished person is so far from the corridors of power that they might as well be in Slough which is 31 kilometres west of Central London (which, in corridors of power terms, is a long way).
High Court breathes fresh life into implied right of political speech ... Robert French's cou... more High Court breathes fresh life into implied right of political speech ... Robert French's court opens intriguing new possibilities ... Stephen Keim and Mary Ayad examine Aid/Watch v Commissioner of Taxation.1 page(s
National leaders often misuse the concept of terrorism as a political tool, making it an unsatisf... more National leaders often misuse the concept of terrorism as a political tool, making it an unsatisfactory concept around which to organise models of criminal law. It is particularly unsuited to a coordinated and worldwide law enforcement campaign, which has extended to invasion of sovereign countries; removal and execution of heads of state; the use of torture and killing of civilians. Terrorism is currently defined and prosecuted under criminal law, lending itself to both politicisation and becoming the basis of propaganda. This article seeks to offer alternative organising principles for the prosecution of terrorism — those of international humanitarian law and crimes against humanity.
Precedent (Sydney, NSW), 2020
This article looks at those aspects of advocacy that are of particular relevance to criminal appe... more This article looks at those aspects of advocacy that are of particular relevance to criminal appeals. There are, of course, skills and abilities that are required in all aspects of advocacy, including the conduct of criminal appeals. There are also obstacles to being a good and effective advocate that apply across all areas of advocacy. Compared to most fields of endeavour, the art of advocacy is unique in that we have few, if any, opportunities to do rehearsals for our performances. As advocates, we are always broadcasting live. ADVOCACY: 'THE GETTING OF WISDOM' The music teacher sits her student in front of a piano and takes her through the next piece. The student goes home and practises the piece, endless times, and returns to the critical gaze of the teacher to be cajoled and corrected and critiqued before returning to the practice arena for another week. And so on until the performance of the piece is close to perfect. Along the way, the student picks up substantive knowledge: new notes and new chords and new combinations of each. The student learns new skills: finger placements, dynamics, colour, and shades of expression. And the student develops the ability to perform that piece, an ability that can be maintained over the years with a modicum of practice. In most performance activities, even the accomplished in the field continue to have coaches or teachers who help them to make adjustments and improvements to ensure that their next performance is as good as, or even better than, their last.
Precedent (Sydney, N.S.W.), Jun 1, 2020
The Proctor, 2018
In the second of two articles Stephen Keim SC concludes his examination of the risks for practiti... more In the second of two articles Stephen Keim SC concludes his examination of the risks for practitioners who opt to represent more than one client in investigations of workplace incidents.
The article focuses on Bar Rule 60 and the way in which disciplinary rules are used to assist in ... more The article focuses on Bar Rule 60 and the way in which disciplinary rules are used to assist in considering whether legal practitioners should be disciplined. It is submitted that the concept of narrow and inflexible statements as to what is appropriate behavior may not be a concept that is useful.
Chain Reaction, Dec 1, 2007
The main characteristics of the circumstances faced by Dr Mohamed Haneef, a Muslim who was wrongl... more The main characteristics of the circumstances faced by Dr Mohamed Haneef, a Muslim who was wrongly implicated as a terrorist by the Australian police are discussed. The various lessons that need to be learned from the case of Dr Mohamed Haneef are highlighted.
The Australian Year Book of International Law Online, 2008
Australian Reconciliation: a Long Way from Vergangenheitsbewaltigung, Jun 9, 2015
Reconciliation in Australia seems, from the published documents, to be about all being friends. H... more Reconciliation in Australia seems, from the published documents, to be about all being friends. However, the concept as it emerged from post WWII Germany is about wrestling with and learning to live with the past. We have the choice, ourselves, whether we pay attention to the dark parts of our history or whether we concede to those who want us to forget and remain silent. The paper also looks at the Reconciliation Plan of the Queensland Bar Association.
Justinian, Mar 27, 2015
Chief Justice Carmody was appointed to that position in a welter of controversy much of it create... more Chief Justice Carmody was appointed to that position in a welter of controversy much of it created by his own statements. Half a year later and the controversy has not abated. A retirement speech by Justice Alan Wilson has revealed how deep the issues run. This article places the present controversy in an historical context and makes suggestions as to what can be done.
Alternative Law Journal, 2016
Alternative Law Journal, 2014
In 1974, the Legal Service Bulletin commenced publication as a voice of Fitzroy Legal Service. It... more In 1974, the Legal Service Bulletin commenced publication as a voice of Fitzroy Legal Service. It quickly became a voice that went well beyond even the community legal service movement as a whole. I still had two full-time and two part-time years of my Arts/Law degree to go.
Alternative Law Journal, 2008
Hearsay, 2024
Viet Thanh Nguyen's account of a Viet Cong spy living undercover in the Republic of Vietnam's sec... more Viet Thanh Nguyen's account of a Viet Cong spy living undercover in the Republic of Vietnam's secret police division and, later, in the United States, itself, allows him to tell the experience of the Vietnam War from all sides.
It is a fascinating story which reflects poorly, at least in part, on all sides in the conflict.
The horrors of war which permeate the pages are moderated by the Catch 22 irony and humour which comes with the horror.
Nguyen adds completeness and reality to the Vietnam War literature which has preexisted it.
Hearsay, 2024
Accomplished Brisbane, Queensland novelist and barrister, Simon Cleary, ventures into non-fiction... more Accomplished Brisbane, Queensland novelist and barrister, Simon Cleary, ventures into non-fiction with this account of his attempts to travel (mainly walk) the mighty Brisbane River from its source to its mouth in Moreton Bay.
Nature decided to assist Cleary's desire to find a lively tale to tell by sending flood waters in the middle of his effort.
The result is a modern adventure interwoven with a compelling discussion of the geography, history, social and moral landscape of the terrain across which he traverses.
Hearsay, 2024
The opening pages of Lessons in Chemistry start in 1961. Elizabeth Zott has already resigned from... more The opening pages of Lessons in Chemistry start in 1961. Elizabeth Zott has already resigned from her research institute and her five year old daughter, Madeline, is attending school. Elizabeth appears to be a single mother. Elizabeth is already hosting Supper at Six, the television show that purports to be about cooking but which, at the same time, delivers to its viewers the eponymous "lessons in chemistry".
This review looks at Bonnie Garmus's charming novel about a woman is badly mistreated by a man's world of science and hits back through learning to row and hosting a television cooking show.
Hearsay, 2024
Matt Haig uses the conceit of a staging place between life and death to explore the what might ha... more Matt Haig uses the conceit of a staging place between life and death to explore the what might have beens that have the potential to make our lives appear to be oceans of lost opportunity. Nora Seed had plenty of talent but had made decisions that left her apparently unloved and unsuccessful.
She attempts suicide and finds herself in the Midnight Library and is offered the opportunity to parachute into some of those lives she had not lived becuse of roads not taken.
None seems quite as desirable as her regrets about her decisions might have suggested. Each time her discontent self-executes and she finds herself returned to the Library.
Nora can continue this quest exploring other of her unlived lives; can proceed beyond this limbo state to her final death; or maybe choose the life she had rejected by her own hand.
What will she choose?
Matt Haig is a sensitive and imaginative writer who explores sadness and mental health issues in his writing.
Hearsay, 2024
Melbourne writer, Jeff Sparrow's 2021 monograph, Crimes Against Nature: Capitalism and Global Hea... more Melbourne writer, Jeff Sparrow's 2021 monograph, Crimes Against Nature: Capitalism and Global Heating sorts through well-forgotten histories of marketing and technology to refute the proposition that global heating and other impending environmental catastrophes are the fault of us as opposed to the minority of extremely wealthy people who possess and have access to the vast majority of the world's resources and exercise inordinate amounts of power and influence.
It provides a timely reminder that "they" not only commit evil acts as part of their ratio d'etre but seek to blame us before, while, and afterwards.
Then they erase the record so no one remembers.
Hearsay, 2024
David Marr explains everything about Killing for Country in a note that occupies no more than one... more David Marr explains everything about Killing for Country in a note that occupies no more than one page and immediately follows the Contents page. He says: "I remember my great-grandmother. She had a crumpled face and faded away when I was too young to notice. She was a blank. Stories weren't told about her. In 2019, an ancient uncle of mine asked me to find what I could about Maud. He knew so little. I dug out some books. It wasn't long before I was looking at a photograph of her father in the uniform of the Native Police.
Killing for Country is a family story but it is also an important treatment of Australian history, documenting the way in which Indigenous people were systematically killed for thie land.
Hearsay, 2024
Law: the Way of the Ancestors (“Law”), published in 2023, is the sixth volume in the First Knowl... more Law: the Way of the Ancestors (“Law”), published in 2023, is the sixth volume in the First Knowledges series. The preceding volumes have addressed the topics of Songlines, Design, Country, Astronomy, and Plants. Three further volumes have followed it: Innovation, Medicine and Seasons.
The First Knowledges series is edited by Margo Neale, Senior Indigenous Curator and Principal Advisor to the Director at the Australian Museum. Neale, in an introduction to Law, describes the books in the series as showing how traditional knowledge, beliefs, systems and practices inform contemporary life for Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples and, indeed, for all people who have the will and knowledge to take them on, to listen and to learn. Neale adds that this kind of respectful engagement could be the path to true belonging in Australia.
The Way of the Ancestors provides a beautifully accessible guide to the way in which Indigenous law relates to all aspects of human life. It also beautifully describes the way in which all aspects of Indigenous culture: art, songs, dance, governance and family are integrated as part of the Indigenous law.
Australian Bar Review: (2024) 54 Aust Bar Rev. 115, 2024
The article reviews An Annotated Guide to the Human Rights Act 2019 (Queensland). The article con... more The article reviews An Annotated Guide to the Human Rights Act 2019 (Queensland). The article concludes that the Annotated Guide will be of great assistance to lawyers using the Queensland Act.
The Annotated Guide provides accessibility to a wealth of case law and comment from many human rights law jursidictions from around the world and within Australia.
The article makes the point that the introduction of a human rights act makes it necessary for many practitioners and decision makers who may not have, previously, required expertise in human rights law to understand it and apply it effectively.
Hearsay, 2024
The late AW Brian Simpson points out the paradox that the substantive criminal law varies very li... more The late AW Brian Simpson points out the paradox that the substantive criminal law varies very little between common law and civil law systems while the procedure by which allegations of criminal offences are determined are very different. The contrast between the adversary criminal trial of common law jurisdictions where barristers compete to present to a jury of lay people competing versions of a narrative that flows from the evidence and the inquisitorial judicial investigation of the civil system could not be more different.
Adversary Trial seeks to explain the historical origins of these differences and demonstrate the reasons why the criminal trial in England developed in the way that it did.
Hearsay, 2024
The Plant Thieves ("Plant Thieves") is one result of a project challenging the discipline boundar... more The Plant Thieves ("Plant Thieves") is one result of a project challenging the discipline boundaries within which expertise is usually exercised. The project, Exploring Botanic Gardens Herbarium's Value via Environmental Aesthetics, was a collaborative effort funded by the Australian Research Council's linkage program. As a result of her role in the project, Ms Gibson produces a fascinating text in which she discusses the importance of plants, herbariums and the way in whcih colonialism continues to impact on our appreciation of everything including plants..
Hearsay, 2023
Gunaydin's essays are of and from her experience. Gunaydin is that incredibly smart child, now in... more Gunaydin's essays are of and from her experience. Gunaydin is that incredibly smart child, now in her late twenties, with a Turkish Australian heritage who grew up in the disadvantaged suburbs of western Sydney. Her essays plumb that experience but range much more widely.
Root and Branch is a wonderful sharing of her insecurities, her family's ideosyncrasies and the insights of her incredible mind and the learning that has contributed to those insights.
Hearsay, 2023
Victor Steffensen's chance to learn about the Indigenous culture that his Stolen Generation grand... more Victor Steffensen's chance to learn about the Indigenous culture that his Stolen Generation grandparents could not teach him came on a chance fishing trip to the Atherton Tableland town of Laura.
Two elderly Indigenous men who had themselves been saved in their childhood from being removed from their traditional country by the efforts of a white grazier who, when the police came, hid them in mailbags, taught Steffensen the secrets of Indigenous fire management of country and Steffensen's life features the passing on and application of that knowledge.
Fire Country is a memoir of his life, so far, but also seeks to pass on the knowledge he has acquired and to communicate the importance of that knowledge and the benefits that traditional fire management of country can to the Australian environment.
Hearsay, 2023
The title, A Long Petal of the Sea, is a description of Chile, drawing on its long skinny shape a... more The title, A Long Petal of the Sea, is a description of Chile, drawing on its long skinny shape and its close relationship with the Pacific Ocean. It is taken from a reference in Pablo Neruda's writings which is fitting since the famous Chilean poet, diplomat and statesman features a lot in this novel.
A Long Petal of the Sea links, through the lives of its protagonists, the events of the Spanish Civil War and the Pinochet coup in Chile, both of which involved the overthrow of democratically elected progressive governments to replace them with right wing oppression.
Along with the history, Isabel Allende tells a grand love story which carries within it several love stories and the story of love's trumph.
Distinguished academics and constitutional law professors, Megan Davis and Geroge Williams, respo... more Distinguished academics and constitutional law professors, Megan Davis and Geroge Williams, respond to the duplicitous claims by activists against Australia's 2023 referendum that they do not understand the referendum proposal by spelling out the historical context, the law, the process and the content of the proposal.
While it is arguable that those who do not want to know facts they find inconvenient will shun this along with everything else written on the subject, those with genuine interest will find this a fascinating piece of work.
Even those who know a bit of Australian history and something about the Constitution will come away both entertained and informed.
Hearsay, 2023
Tim Hollo has written a modern synthesis of traditional anarchism with the ecological approach re... more Tim Hollo has written a modern synthesis of traditional anarchism with the ecological approach required by a planet living on the eve of destruction.
Hollo starts with the not unreasonable premise that no current form of being governed is the least bit interested in saving us so w must create our own living democracy.
Hollo brings together writers as diverse as Antonio Gramsci and Lyn Margulis and adds in the modern political experience of the Barcelona en Comu movement from northern Spain and the Kurdish state of Rojava surviving and thriving in in northeastern Syria.
Hollo triumphs the cause of the commons wherever they may exist against the forces of enclosure and privatisation.
Hollo makes a compelling case.
Alwaeke Emezi's novel, The Death of Vivek Oji, is a coming of age novel of a non-binary young per... more Alwaeke Emezi's novel, The Death of Vivek Oji, is a coming of age novel of a non-binary young person set in a dangerous time in Abia State, Nigeria.
It is a fascinating novel laced with both beauty and tragedy that has much to teach us about both the normal and unusual aspects of life.
Hearsay, 2022
Elaine Pearson was born in Sydney and grew up in Perth. Coming to the end of her law degree, Pear... more Elaine Pearson was born in Sydney and grew up in Perth. Coming to the end of her law degree, Pearson eschewed life in a top tier law firm and, instead, landed a job as a project officer with a small anti-human trafficking NGO in Thailand.
Pearson never looked back. She is now a respected international human rights campaigner heading up Human Rights Watch in Australia.
Chasing Rights and Wrongs is a personal memoir but, also, a study in international human rights campaigning as it follows Pearson's experiences across the globe and looks at issues in Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Africa and parts of Europe.
Of particular interest is the saving of Hakeem al-Araibi, arrested in Thailand and threatened with extradition to Qatar for a crime allegedly committed in another country while playing in a soccer game telecast on live TV. Pearson charts how the courage and energy of Australian soccer personality, Craig Foster, overcame the incompetence of the AFP who facilitated Hakeem's arrest on an interpol red notice.
Hearsay, issue 90, 2022
Ian Cobain's The History Thieves is a carefully documented and beautifully written narrative of t... more Ian Cobain's The History Thieves is a carefully documented and beautifully written narrative of the way in which the British governement has strived to keep matters of public interest secret from the British public and the rest of the world. And largely succeeded.
The secrets have included atrocities that could never have been committed if they had not been exposed to harsh glare of publicity. They include conducting a war against Vietnam's nationalist fighters, the Viet Minh using Japanese and Vichy Franch prisoners of war against whom the alies had been fighting and some of whom may well have deserved to be tried, along with their compatriots as war criminals. By preventing the Vietnamese from governing their country in a peaceful way, the UK governement and its military paved the way for the thirty years of destruction now known as the Vietnam War.
The secrets included a war on behalf of the Sultan of Oman against peasant rebels in the high country of southern Oman. And they included the commission of torture, murder and rape against Kenyan subjects of the empire in order to put down any prospect of a Kenyan rebellion.
Cobain tells the stolen histories which the government was eventually forced to reveal. But he also tells the fascinating story of the sleuthing battles that were necessary to prise those stories from an unwilling and deceitful government and their public servants and lawyers.
Hearsay, journal of the Bar Association Queensland, 2022
Terri Janke found herself studying law in Sydney in the 1990s. She dropped out of law and ended u... more Terri Janke found herself studying law in Sydney in the 1990s. She dropped out of law and ended up working for the Aboriginal Arts Board of the Australia Council for the Arts.
Janke ended up going back to law and completing her degree but her work in the field of Indigenous intellectual property led to her concentrating as a solicitor working to protect the rights of First Nations Australians in their cultural and artistic expression.
Janke developed a set of ethical principles to guide anyone wishing to work with First Nations people and their creative output and knowledge, the true tracks which give their name to the book.
The reader gains not just a lesson in ethical engagement but also a guide to First Nations achievement across many fields of endeavour including a history of the difference that following the true tracks principles makes in producing healthy and fair collaboration with First Nations artists.
Hearsay, 2022
Lanny is a beautiful novel set in a contemporary commuter villagewhich draws upon a variety of vo... more Lanny is a beautiful novel set in a contemporary commuter villagewhich draws upon a variety of voices to utilise ancient and modern wisdoms.
The past is never gone and its voices can still be heard and imagined.
Porter creates a beautiful music in telling the story of a child, Lanny, and those whom he touches with his own wisdom and ability to connevt with the deeper magic that permeates the village.
The wave of anti-terrorism legislation passed since 11 September 2001 in Australia has been appli... more The wave of anti-terrorism legislation passed since 11 September 2001 in Australia has been applied by police services arresting and charging individuals under the new legislation. Legislation reveals its nature through being applied. The charges brought under the new legislation have had varying results.
Much of the crucial parts of a criminal prosecution occur outside the formal hearing before judge and jury. Judges are called upon to make rulings about the conduct of the trial. Sometimes, prosecutions collapse or change dramatically as a result of rulings excluding evidence from being adduced. Other applications relate to the physical environment in which the trial is conducted.
The history of prosecutions under the new anti-terror legislation indicates that courts and lawyers are working hard to ensure that the fair trial endures despite challenges of sensational publicity; increased police powers; and security concerns.
In this paper, Stephen Keim outlines the work being done by Australians in Australia and around t... more In this paper, Stephen Keim outlines the work being done by Australians in Australia and around the world to oppose the death penalty and support its abolition.
Stephen outlines the work of Capital Punishment Justice Project, the Julian Wagner Memorial Fund, Australians against Capital Punishment, Parliamentarians Against the Death Penalty, the Australian government through Australia's Strategy Against the Death Penalty and Eleos Justice.
The paper invites interested readers to take up the fight to end one of the most morally challenging aspects of human conduct, the cold blooded killing of human beings by government using the law.
Hearsay, 2022
This paper reviews three amazing and important books concerning the death penalty in Australia. B... more This paper reviews three amazing and important books concerning the death penalty in Australia. Barry Jones' The Penalty is Death collects the best writings arguing against the death penalty from 400 years of western literature. Mike Richards' The Hanged Man follows the life and death of Ronald Ryan, the last person hanged in Australia and the machinery of government that brought his life to an end on the gallows.
And Rachel Franks' An Uncommon Hangman looks at the death penalty and Australian society through the eyes of "Nosey Bob Howard", the official NSW hangman over an extensive period in the second half of the 19th century.
Welcoming and Acknowledging Sister Fox to talk on "Weaponising the Law", 2021
Sister Patricia Fox is an Australian nun, a member of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, who worked... more Sister Patricia Fox is an Australian nun, a member of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, who worked for 27 years advocacting the interests of the poor and dispossessed in the Philippines before being expelled from that country on the specific orders of its, President Duterte.
The article, notes for an introduction and welcome of Sister Fox to speak to an online and in person seminar presented by Australians Against Capital Punishment and the Julian Wagner Memorial Fund Inc, summarises Sister Fox's courageous work against the forces destroying democracy and the rule of law in Indonesia.
Sister Fox's own presentation will be available in the near future at this link: https://jwmf.com.au/
The High Court of Australia in Love and Thoms v The Commonwealth [2020] held that Indigenous Aust... more The High Court of Australia in Love and Thoms v The Commonwealth [2020] held that Indigenous Australians who met the test for Aboriginality from Mabo (no 2) could not be aliens under the Australian Constitution.
The decision is another important step by which Australian jurisprudence faces the implications of its colonial origins.
International Society for the Reform of the Criminal Law Conference Proceedings , 2019
The paper sets out the experience of two women who have, despite obstacles, persisted in raising ... more The paper sets out the experience of two women who have, despite obstacles, persisted in raising with authorities their complaints of misconduct by police officers. The efforts by the women include official complaints to authorities charged with investigating complaints against police officers. These complaints have produced less than satisfactory results.
The efforts also include civil litigation. The civil litigation has been resisted by authorities.
Although the two women have had some success as a result of their efforts, the responses by state authorities have raised more questions than they have answered.
The paper delivered at the launch of a database of deaths in custody of Indigenous people in Aust... more The paper delivered at the launch of a database of deaths in custody of Indigenous people in Australia discusses the challenges of achieving reform through socially constructive legal work.
The paper also looks at the inspiration and encouragement that can be gained from understanding and knowing the work and wisdom of great campaigners for reform who have gone before us.
The paper discusses the work and writings of Charles Hamilton Houston, Bryan Stevenson, Viktor Frankl and Vaclav Havel.
Judicial review and the doctrine of natural justice can provide a very powerful way of challengin... more Judicial review and the doctrine of natural justice can provide a very powerful way of challenging unjust decisions in the employment context. The paper examines two decisions in the Supreme Court of Queensland in which breaches of natural justice were found and led to relief being granted.
It is important to remember, however, that judicial review does not solve the ultimate problem in that decision makers whose decisions have been set aside can resume the process again from the beginning.
The paper was delivered at the Family Law Practitioners Association Family Law Retreat held at Pe... more The paper was delivered at the Family Law Practitioners Association Family Law Retreat held at Peppers' Noosa Resort and Villas on 11 May 2018.
The paper addresses the importance of addressing the opportunity for advocacy in drawing grounds of appeal. The document will, on most occasions, be the appeal court's introduction to the issues in dispute and a precise identification of the errors below can create an impression that the appellant's case has much to offer.
The Human Rights Act 2019 (Queensland) protects a number of specified human rights. it defines co... more The Human Rights Act 2019 (Queensland) protects a number of specified human rights. it defines compatibility with human rights and imposes duties on government decision makers not to act in a way that is not compatible with human rights.
This raises plenty of issues for practitioners in the planning area where decisions impacting upon people's way of living are being made by local and state governments every day.
The paper looks at the emerging plethora of climate change litigation through the eyes of an admi... more The paper looks at the emerging plethora of climate change litigation through the eyes of an adminsitrative lawyer. The paper focuses on the Netherlands case of Urgenda; the supportive judicial approach shown by Pakistan courts in Leghari; and United States case of Juliana.
The paper seeks to draw lessons for Australian legal practioners concerning the contribution that administrative litigation can make in convincing governments and society to make the necessary changes to prevent further damage from climate change.
Sunny Jacobs was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in Florida in the late 1970s when she w... more Sunny Jacobs was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in Florida in the late 1970s when she was 27 years old. Sunny spent five years on death row and more than a decade in jail before she was released. During that time, her children became estranged, her husband, Jesse, who was also innocent, was executed; and her parents died in a plane crash.
When Sunny emerged from prison, she rebuilt her life and has dedicated herself to fighting the death penalty around the world and assisting other exonerees to find peace and accepotance.
International human rights instruments emerged after the Second World War and the UDHR was adopte... more International human rights instruments emerged after the Second World War and the UDHR was adopted on 10 December 1948. Since then binding human rights instruments have been developed and adapted to different areas of the human condition.
International concern about degradation of the environment commenced with the Stockholm Conference in 1972.
There is much crossover between concerns with a healthy environment and other human rights principles.
The receipt by the HRC of framework principles on human rights and the environment brings us closer to a binding human rights instrument that directly addresses the right to a healthy and sustainable environment.
We have an impact in this world by bearing witness, by remembering and by telling the stories. It... more We have an impact in this world by bearing witness, by remembering and by telling the stories.
It is most important that we do these things for the poor and the powerless.
The film "Guilty" is a powerful telling of the last 72 hours of the life of Myuran Sukumaran.
Our job is to listen, remember and retell the story in our own way so the story and the injustice is never forgotten