Alternative Law Journal

DUAO - 2014 - Vol 39(3)

Developments around the country

DownUnderAllOver is a round-up of legal news from both State and federal jurisdictions, and contains topical articles and short pieces from Alternative Law Journal committees around the country.

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Neglect, abuse and detention at sea

Tania Penovic

Federal

Children in immigration detention

The Australian Human Rights Commission has conducted a series of public hearings as part of its inquiry into children in closed immigration detention. For those who recall the Commission’s report on the same topic, published 10 years ago, it may be surprising how little has changed. That report found the immigration detention regime as then applied to children was fundamentally inconsistent with human rights, and that long term detention placed children at high risk of serious mental harm. The environment of closed detention was revealed to be one in which self-harm was so prevalent that children could not avoid witnessing such acts, and children as young as 14 were engaging in self-harm and hunger strikes. Upon tabling its report, the Commission called for an end to the immigration detention of children and weeks later, the Howard government announced that it would release all children and their families from closed facilities.

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(2014) 39(3) AltLJ 194

Category: DUAO - 2014 - Vol 39(3)

Welcome to Team Australia… We don’t say words like that here

Natalie Wade

Federal

On 6 August 2014, Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced ‘Team Australia’. Team Australia is playing the game of counter terrorism. The strategies to win the game include: monitoring terrorist activity within Australia, having the tech-heads at telecommunication companies decipher ‘metadata’ and conducting community consultation that will specifically include Muslim Australians. Attorney-General, Senator George Brandis will shortly be drafting the rules of the game in the form of new legislation.

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(2014) 39(3) AltLJ 195

Category: DUAO - 2014 - Vol 39(3)

National security law update

Andrew Zammit

Federal

Australian citizens continue to join proscribed terrorist organisations in Syria and Iraq. This has gone from being a neglected security concern to becoming the Australian government’s ‘number one national security priority’.

The result is that three sets of new national security legislation are being introduced in quick succession, which carries great risks for human rights and effective counter-terrorism.

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(2014) 39(3) AltLJ 195

Category: DUAO - 2014 - Vol 39(3)

ACT land and building contracts assessment of duty

Roberta McRae

ACT

On 1 August 2014, the Property Law Committee of the ACT Law Society alerted practitioners to a communication from the ACT Revenue Office (‘ARO’) about the treatment of land and building contracts and the assessment of duty. Specifically they said: ‘where the purchaser buys land in one contract and in a separate contract arranges for a house to be built on the land, duty is payable on the land only’.

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(2014) 39(3) AltLJ 196

Category: DUAO - 2014 - Vol 39(3)

Review of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (ACT)

Deb Pippen

ACT

On 25 July 2014 the ACT government announced the review of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (ACT) (the ‘RTA’). This piece of legislation regulates the relationship between people renting their homes and those who own the properties. Unlike many jurisdictions, this coverage is much broader than just tenants and landlords. Since 2005, the RTA has covered ‘occupancy agreements’. This encompasses most other rental agreements including boarding, lodging, caravan parks and student accommodation.

Cite as

(2014) 39(3) AltLJ 196

Category: DUAO - 2014 - Vol 39(3)