The High Court’s decision last month to disqualify five federal parliamentarians for being dual citizens represents the worst excesses of judicial activism in Australia. In deciding that deputy PM...
A few days ago, Attorney-General George Brandis got a bit confused. He said that the debate about the citizenship status of politicians was becoming a “witch hunt” and “this is...
A recent decision of the Turnbull Coalition government has affirmed the bedrock principles of Australia as a proud liberal democracy. The decision of the federal government to reject the proposal...
While seemingly a win for freedom of speech, the High Court’s decision highlights why we shouldn’t rely on the judiciary to resolve contentious public policy questions. Two weeks ago the court...
Simon Breheny explains why yesterday’s development on Indigenous Recognition is such an important step for equality.
“Since when did a conservative government become more socialist than the ALP? What does a conservative government stand for if it wants to regulate the employment conditions of leaders in...
“The Coalition government’s decision to reject the divisive indigenous-only ‘voice to parliament’ is a win for equality and liberal democracy,” said Simon Breheny...
This IPA Parliamentary Research Brief seeks to explain the problems with this law. Our research demonstrates that the Marriage Law Survey (Additional Safeguards) Act 2017 is bad law because it...
When the legal affairs editor of this paper, Chris Merritt, sent a carefully worded reply on March 9 to an email he had received two days earlier, that should have been the end of a matter...
The Andrews government’s proposed changes to Victorian donations law are undemocratic and a threat to freedom of speech, according to free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs...
Free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs has today criticised the government’s emergency plebiscite vilification law as another attack on freedom of speech. “This vague legislation...
The (thankfully) former president of the Australian Human Rights Commission Gillian Triggs suggested recently that the same-sex marriage debate was taking place in a ‘post-truth’ climate and...
After this country’s politicians eventually work out who is and isn’t entitled to sit in Parliament, hopefully they’ll turn their attention back to more important things –...
Our new research brief is on the Four Reasons why the Referendum Council’s recommendations for Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples should be rejected. The...
“The radical attempt to divide Australians in our national constitution is wrong and it will be rejected by the Australian people,” says Simon Breheny, Director of Policy at the free...
Australia’s legal system was born just months after the First Fleet arrived when two convicts sued a ship’s captain and won, writes Dr Bella d’Abrera. When the First Fleet set sail from...
Since 2013, the federal judiciary has been substantially reshaped, with four appointments to the High Court, along with 30 other appointments to other federal courts. In January 2017, for...
“It is disappointing that the human rights committee has today failed to recommend the complete repeal of 18C as an option for reform in its freedom of speech inquiry report tabled...
