There is no right not to be offended. Yet dozens of provisions on the commonwealth statute books make it unlawful or illegal to offend. There is a right to freedom of speech, and each of these...
This article first appeared in the May 2018 edition of the IPA Review. PDF available here. A recent university study found that public satisfaction with our democratic processes and public trust...
“Bill Shorten’s call for a federal corruption commission should be rejected by the government and by anyone that believes in basic legal rights,” said Simon Breheny, Director of Policy at...
This report illustrates the ongoing erosion of legal rights that persists in Australia. This has been measured by an analysis of the content of all legislation passed by the federal parliament in...
This article first appeared in the December 2017 IPA Review. The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act was passed into law by the British parliament in 1900, received royal assent, and...
“Section 18C must be included in any review of religious freedoms,” said Morgan Begg, research fellow at the free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs. The Coalition...
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...
