legal aos2

Question 1

law reform

Answer 1

a change or amendment in the law to align with modern societal needs and values

Question 2

changes in community values, beliefs, attitudes

Answer 2

-beliefs and values of society shift over time as people become more educated and are able to get the necessary information and as a result the law needs to be changed to reflect the views and values of society to maintain relevance

Question 3

changes in tech/ tech advancement

Answer 3

-tech evolves and progresses rapidly
—> increases the potential for people to be exploited and harmed through misuse:
-cyber bullying, stalking
-invasion of privacy
-scams
-defamed
parliament needs to ensure that law reforms reflect the development of tech to regulate its use and protect vulnerable victims

Question 4

need for community protection

Answer 4

-ensure social cohesion from harm eg. physical/ emotional/ economic harm
as society becomes more complex, law needs to change and be continually updated to protect people from harm

Question 5

recent law changes

Answer 5

-Crimes Legislation Amendment Act 2022= create a new statutory offence= “engaging in conduct that is grossly offensive to community standards of behaviour”= reason was because a man who used his phone to record four police officers who were dead after a collision was charged with an outdated and rarely used common law and had no set minimum penalty= aims to provide greater protection of community and setting a max of five years imprisonment
-Education and Training Reform Amendment Act 2021= to allow appropriate decision makers in schools to make orders to protect school staff and other members of their school community= reason is that aims to protect school staff and ensure schools are safe working and learning environments by allowing authorised school personnel t make orders against adults who act in a harmful, abusive way–> ban a parent from entering, remaining or being within 25 metres of the school or a school activity or approaching, calling, sending a message to staff member

Question 6

petitions

Answer 6

a document consisting of signatures from individuals demanding an action or legislative reform and is the only way an individual can directly put their concerns or complaints

Question 7

formal petition criteria

Answer 7

-the petition addresses the House in which it is being presented
-states the action being requested for legislative change and reason
-contains the details of the person/ initiator of the petition
-has at least of one signature

Question 8

e-petitions

Answer 8

–>electronic petitions= allows individuals to show support via an online platform
eg. 2022 e petition signed by over 211000 people, including 65k victorians, to increase criminal responsibility from 10 to 14

Question 9

strengths of petitions

Answer 9

-convenient and free method of collating support for action, particularly e petitions
-relevant minister is required to respond to all e petitions
-petitions with many signatures can successfully raise awareness about an issue within media and community
-petition with many signatures will be seen as a representation of the community and therefore gain the attention of parliament as it is parliaments job to represent society
-creating a petition can generate public awareness on an issue and increase support for desired legislative change

Question 10

weaknesses of petitions

Answer 10

-parliament is unlikely to respond to petitions if they don’t have that many signatures or support
-up to relevant minister to determine if the demands of a petition will be actioned or not
-need to be about legislative issues that are on the agenda for parliament to pay sufficient attention to it
-some people are reluctant to put their names etc on petitions
-petitions must adhere to certain rules eg. word limits etc
-parliament receives lots of petitions and no guarantee for reform to happen
-opposing petitions and petitions on the same matter may reduce or dilute impact of issue

Question 11

demonstrations/ protests/ rallies

Answer 11

a large gathering of individuals/ groups to protest a law or call for parliament to undertake legislative reform
features include
-coordinated and organised meeting
-occurs in public
-involves a speaker addressing the media to describe change needed
-designed to draw public attention/ cause inconvenience
-can become violent

Question 12

example of a protest

Answer 12

-2019 over 350k school students garnered support for protesting the aust govt. to later its climate policy to include a 100% reduction in emissions

Question 13

strengths of protests

Answer 13

-can cause disruption and can be an effective tool for people to have their demands met swiftly
-protests with a large number of people= good at gaining publicity
-representative nature of parliament means that they should pay attention to protests as their constituents are clearly communicating their desire for change
-peaceful demonstrations that have large numbers can signal to parliament that people want change and support it
-demonstrations can also educate members of society

Question 14

weaknesses of protests

Answer 14

-if a successful demonstration is not immediately followed up, the momentum will fall
-disruptions caused by protests can result in negative media attraction especially if issue is “extreme’
-protests are difficult to organise and are time consuming
-no. of people who attend protests may affect the ability to create law reform
-if protest causes widespread inconvenience for community eg. blocking roads, causing delays

Question 15

how do courts influence law reform

Answer 15

requirements:
-standing= party must be able to demonstrate that the legal matters in the case directly affect them
-parties have resources= time and cost
-court hearing must be able to establish a precedent and therefore a superior court
-outcome resulting from a case can be either codified or abrogated which can impact whether the precedent remains

Question 16

masson v parsons

Answer 16

-masson was the sperm donor for parsons and her partner=named the child’s birth father and financially contributed to her care hw 2014 parsons wanted to move to NZ and then in 2015= massons commenced legal proceedings in family court to prevent them moving and issue was whether or not massons would be considered a legal guardian= found in favour and then was reversed the full court family court hw high court appeal ruled in favour of massons stating that he was a recognised legal parent

Question 17

strengths of the use of courts to influence law reform

Answer 17

-courts may establish a new precedent when a case is brought before them
-parliament can codify common law
-even is matter is not successful, attention may be garnered and result in change
-if a challenge is successful, a court ruling could result in legislation being deemed ultra vires or void
-judges comments made in obiter dictum can encourage parliament to reform
-judges are politically independent and don’t have fear of not getting re-elected and can determine based on facts

Question 18

limitations of use of courts to influence law reform

Answer 18

-parties must have sufficient standing whilst also have evidence to bring case to court and win the case
-costly and time inefficient= discourage parties
-seeking to appeal a decision requires permission or leave and not automatic
-except for HC involving interpretation of constitution–> parliament is the ultimate law making authority and can abrogate common law
-judges are not elected and therefore laws they make may not be representative of the people

Question 19

traditional media

Answer 19

-comes in forms of newspapers and radio broadcast
-less interactive and tends to deliver information to users through a linear-sender-message- receiver model
-examples include= print newspapers, print, magazines, broadcast radio, television

Question 20

new media

Answer 20

-includes social media platforms, podcasts, livestreams and virtual reality= based around user interaction where users can also interact with information

Question 21

medias role in influencing law reform

Answer 21

-informing and raising awareness= providing ppl with info= allows audiences to be aware and to know about issues in society
-assessing levels of community support= media can assist parliament, government, NGO’s to gauge the level of public support towards an issue
-influencing community opinion on a change in law= media can provide audiences with diff perspectives, opinions and facts which can lead them to change their stance on an issue and support/limit of support on change

Question 22

strengths of media to influence law reform

Answer 22

-trad media operate under professional journalistic codes= undergone fact checking to ensure materials are accurate
-social media and mobile device=allow people to capture images and or videos to audience in real life time which can gain support for law reform
-because there is an interactive element for social media, allow individuals to directly address MP for law reform change
-govt is fearful of negative representation in media especially methods that are deemed reputable and will feel more pressure to reform the law if there are demands for it
-social media also gives MP to communicate directly with their constituents through comments and tags
-print and broadcast= influence community support about an issues by investigations reports etc
-television and newspaper are an accessible resource for news for millions of people

Question 23

weaknesses of media to influence law reform

Answer 23

-traditional media are heavily concentrated in ownership= 82% of ownership if print media is owned by News Corp and Nine News and can lead to bias and limited perspectives
-social media= not required to uphold a professional code of conduct when sharing information so may not be fact checked and lead to users being misinformed
-algorithms= limit peoples ability to get a range of perspectives on issues and may only show things that align with their views
-traditional media may come at a cost so less people have access to it and therefore not informed and can’t influence parliament to create change
-biased nature of traditional media= broadcasting time given to more individuals then others or stories that are chosen by editors to catch attention can change community perception or they way they vote and consequently influence type of laws that are changed

Question 24

VLRC purpose

Answer 24

-statutory and formal body
-purpose= MP’s lack time and resources to undertake thorough investigation and delegate this function to formal law reform bodies to conduct its own investigations and make recommendations for changes in law
-aim to provide parliament with impartial and independent advice and recommendation for change

Question 25

roles of VLRC

Answer 25

receive and analyse the victorian attorney generals term of reference= -examine report and provide recommendations about matters

referred to them by the general-investigate minor community legal issues=
-has power to investigate and provide recommendations to vic attorney general ab minor issues w/o terms of reference so as long it does not require a significant amount of resources= these are called community law reforms

provide educational program=
-provides educational material to the community to inform individuals about its projects= can be found online and is accessible to entire community

Question 26

vlrc steps 1-3

Answer 26

1. a project is initiated= vlrc will recieve a terms of reference from vga outlining project or they will begin their own community law reform
2. initial research and consultations= commission will research relevant and form a consultative committee that provides advice to the commission about topics
3. consultations and submissions= a consultation paper providing contextual info and q’s is published and a call for community submissions= stakeholders who have an interest/affected by the issue

Question 27

vlrc steps 4-6

Answer 27

4. report= prepares report including suggested law reform and presents it to the vga
5. tabling= vag must table report within parliament in 14 days
6. govt response and changes to law= vic govt has option to implement recommendations and make amendments hw no obligation and there is a time frame

Question 28

ability for vlrc to influence law reform strengths

Answer 28

-vlrc can independently initiate projects and investigate matters concerning minor community legal issues w/o a terms of reference= enables it to provide recommendations that are specific to the community and its need
-vlrc invites submissions from community and parties who have expertise/interest/affect the matter= and as parliament law making is centred around its representative nature= govt more likely to respond to the reform if there is concern in the community and also politicians may implement law reform in communities with high support to keep their votes
-independent of political parties and pressure and can review laws on controversial matters objectively and deliver advice
-vlrc has completed 46 inquires and 75% of its total recommendations have been implemented in part/full
–> successful in their role

Question 29

limitations on vlrc ability to influence law reform

Answer 29

-govt is not obligated to consider or implement any of these recommendations provided by the vlrc
-vlrc is limited by terms of reference=only give recommendations in areas outlined by vag and if not is very limited in their scope of matters
-vlrc inquires can be very time consuming= conducting investigations/ engaging with relevant parties/ engaging with community
-vlrc can only provide law rerform recommendations for vic law and not for matters regarding cth legislation

Question 30

juries act 2000 (vic)

Answer 30

under juries act, jurors need to be capable of
-understand facts presented during trial
-able to effectively communicate with trial judge and each other in deliberations
-pay attention to evidence presented
-follow the judges instructions

Question 31

challenges with the jury act

Answer 31

-people who are deaf, hard hearing, blind or low vision AREN’T explicitly prevented from serving on the jury however there are restrictions that prevent interpreters etc to assist these people as the common law principle of a “13th person” rules that no more than 12 people are to serve on a jury/ approx 10% of our popn have disabilities and therefore juries cannot uphold representative nature of society

Question 32

vlrc law reform on juries

Answer 32

-self initiated this reform
terms of reference consisted of:
-changes to current legislation to make juries more selective
-whether specific circumstances in which jury services should be limited
march 2020 vlrc commenced its community law reform= 14 submissions from stakeholders and 29 consultations including juries victoria, vision australia and submitted its final report in was tabled in 2023 with 53 recommendations

Question 33

recommendations from vlrc report juries

Answer 33

-making physical adjustments available in the jury process such as interpreters, support people and braille material to those who need it
-amendments to juries act 2000 (vic) so individuals can utilise adjustments to participate in jury service= amending “13th person rule” to make exceptions
-allow presiding judge to determine whether an individual can serve on jury duty after factors are considered
-interpreters etc have to undertake training to work with jurors

Question 34

royal commission

Answer 34

-the most formal inquiry process into an issue of public concern
-governor/ governor general must issue a letter of patent or terms of reference to allow the royal commission to proceed

Question 35

features of a royal commission

Answer 35

-occur on both a state and cth level
-est through the executive branch of govt
-independent of parliament
-investigatory powers=summon or compel people to attend hearings / give evidence under oath and be subject to cross examinations

Question 36

process

Answer 36

1. prepare a consultation paper=outlines the matter being investigated
2. will seek submissions/feedback/info from community to ensure that recommendation for law reform reflect the views and values of society =provide opportunities for stakeholders to share their view and info
3. conduct hearings=listen to evidence/cross examine evidence/rewrite written submissions -can also issue a summons ordering a person to appear before commission/ evidence under oath/provide penalties up to 2 years to those who fail to comply with summons or provide misleading info
4. produce a report of their findings and provide recommendations for law reform

Question 37

strengths of royal commission

Answer 37

-investigate an area of law/policy=provide insightful recommendation for law reform that accurately addresses issue at hand
-are independent of govt=not influenced by political pressure
-est by govt so may mean govt more likely to enact recommendations
-can allow govt of the day to determine the amount of public support for a contentious issue
-have coercive powers of investigation=compel witnesses to give evidence
-hearings are often public= public can indirectly influence law reform

Question 38

royal commission on disability

Answer 38

-est in 2019= in response to the community concern about widespread violence against disabled people
-investigated=preventing and better protecting people with disability from experiencing violence/ promote a more inclusive society
-over 5 year period=527.9 million dollars= made 222 recommendations to parliament including= intro of an aust disability rights act to strengthen protection of rights/ est a disability working scheme= consistent pre employment screening/ use of restrictive practice against children must be eliminated as a national priority
-prior to the recommendations, govt had already begun working steadily on amending legislation and are considering the other 222 recommendations

Question 39

limitations of royal commission

Answer 39

-highest form of inquiry=rare and exceptional circumstances
-can be very expensive bc of resources required due to staff and expert eg. robodebt commission had a budget of 30 million
-govt is not obligated to follow reforms=waste of time and money
-can be time consuming due to extensive investigation/hearings/examination of witnesses–> law reform can be slow to respond to society
-dependent on govt willingness to have issue investigated=govt of day must decide to initiate a royal commission and est its terms of ref=may limit or not intro a royal commission that could be politically damning or produce recommendations if it does not want to implement–> limiting law reform in areas a govt wants to avoid

Question 40

what are the reasons for constitutional reform

Answer 40

-reforming aust political system
-increase protection of rights
-change cth lawmaking powers
-recognise first nations people

Question 41

reform aust political system

Answer 41

-calls to abandon monarchy=1999 a referendum held asking aust citizens whether to become republic or remain in monarchy/ failed as only 15% favoured leaving
-also asked that the queen and GG be replaced by a president appointed by two thirds of a majority of the cth members=question led to failure as it made voters believe take a US approach=lacked clarity

Question 42

increase protection of rights

Answer 42

-calls to add additional express rights
-1988 referendum was held to extend the right to freedom of religion to “aust could follow their religion beliefs subject to the laws which govern us all”= failed

Question 43

to change cth powers/increase cth powers

Answer 43

-1911= proposed to extend its powers through giving it sole power over trade and commerce, control over corporations, wages and conditions of labour= failed w an overall 60% no vote
-1946= social services referendum= cth more control over a wide range of social services that fed govt could legislate over inc. unemployment/ medical benefits/ pharmaceutical= passed =yes of 54.9 majority

Question 44

recognise first nations people

Answer 44

-when const was drafted at the time=acceptable to not recognise aust fnp= no mention of fnp and not counted in census etc
-1967= aust more successful ref= removed S127 which allowed fnp tp be counted in the census and afforded them the vote
-1999=additional proposal to the rep ref for fnp to be included in const preamble
-2023 established a fnp voice to parliament=body enshrined in const that would allow fnp to provide advice to parliament on policies that directly impacted them however this failed

Question 45

referendum parliament process

Answer 45

-permission to change constitution must first be granted= requires a constitution alteration bill
process:
-a member of parliament introduces an alteration bill to either house
-bill must be passed by an absolute majority in both houses
-if absolute majority is achieved in senate within 2-6 months of bill passing through the HoR, proposal is submitted to voters
*if either house pass the bill with an absolute majority and the other rejects, after 3 months, the first house can attempt to pass bill and if not, gov general has to submit proposed change to voters

Question 46

voter requirement

Answer 46

a double majority is needed for a referendum to be successful
-the majority of aust voters including territories
-a majority of voters in states voting yes for the change= minimum of 4 states must vote yes

Question 47

strengths of the process for changing referendum

Answer 47

-voters are directly involved in aust process of constitutional amendment
-S128= gives voters in aust the power to reject changes to constitution after such changes have been approved by the cth parliament/ empowers voters to approve or reject
-yes and no format of referendum is very clear and simple to answer–> decrease in confusion= change is likely to reflect views and values of people
-requirement of a double majority ensures that smaller states, tas, wa, sa, act are protected and have an equal say even when compared to states such as vic and nsw

Question 48

limitations to the process of referendums

Answer 48

-can be extremely expensive= 1999 ref= cost 67 million–> discourages PM from wanting to hold–> may be gaps within the laws
-double majority=makes it difficult for referendums to be successful= 8/45 have been passed however 5 failed refs have passes the national majority vote not the state
-compulsory voting= people may not be voting by choice or voting misinformed= not represent views and values of people
-referendums are time consuming= approved by both houses

Question 49

factors that influence a success of referendum

Answer 49

-bipartisan support
-how informed/ educated voters are about the proposal
-nature of proposal
-willingness of voters to seek change

Question 50

bipartisan support

Answer 50

-support of the change of the referendum by both majority political parties= usually labour and liberal
-voters are typically aligned with their parties and those who don’t fully understand the issue= may need guidance from political leaders or persuaded to vote against a change if that is what opposition has campaigned for
-premiers can also campaign for/against the proposal=influence people

Question 51

how informed/ educated voters are about the proposal

Answer 51

-general public has very little knowledge about constitution due to how rare they are—> create complexities when voters are asked to change something they don’t understand
-if believe political system is working effectively and doesn’t negatively impact them= unlikely to vote for change
-success depends on the education and information that has been released and taught

Question 52

nature of proposal

Answer 52

-depend on how logical and rational change is
-voters also may not understand the complexity of questions=
-legal jargon is used
-more than one question per referendum
-appears to be limited choices
for example, the 1999 referendum 47.7% of voters believed they needed more info and only 49% of people could identify the role of the GG

Question 53

whether voters are seeking change

Answer 53

-extent to which voters want to influence society and legal change in aust will determine whether they vote for yes or no= if voters are driving change= more likely to vote yes
=1967 referendum= “peoples movement”= decades of campaigning for change for FNP against discrimination and unfair treatment= had support years leading up to referendum

Question 54

lead up to the 1967 referendum

Answer 54

-1965= freedom ride= involved a bus stopping in nsw towns to draw attention to issues of segregation and living conditions of fnp
-1966= wave hill walk off= 200 employees and families went on strike at wave hill station in NT= increasing wages and make wages fairer + land rights
-1967= all members of parliament voted in favour of constitution alteration bill (aboriginals) act 1967

Question 55

purpose/ entailment on the 1967 referendum

Answer 55

-on 27th may 1967= aust voters were asked to consider TWO changes to the constitution
-removal of section 51 (xxvi)=suggested that cth could make laws with respect to people of any other race “other than aboriginal people”
-completely removing s127= aboriginal natives are not counted in the census

Question 56

results of 1967 referendum

Answer 56

-90.77% of aust population voted yes
-all states had over 80% voting yes, with majority voting “yes”
-victoria had the most “yes” votes=94.7% and WA had least votes=80.9%

Question 57

significance of 1967 referendum

Answer 57

-changed the division of lawmaking powers= only states could legislate on FNP’s issue since Cth were expressly denied–> after referendum the power became a concurrent power and increased lawmaking powers of cth
-cth is now able to make laws and fund areas to promote equality for FNP such as social welfare
-formal inclusion of FNP in census enabled cth to make informed decisions about policies based upon the population eg. koori court in response to high incarceration rates
-allowed cth to override discriminatory policies such as those in qld in 1975 that treated FNP differently from others
-success and the fact that there was no “no”campaign did not exist during the lead up to the referendum indicated widespread support among aust for greater equality in society

Question 58

background for 2023 ref

Answer 58

-23rd-26th may 2017= convention was held at uluru to discuss fnp presence within constitution= statement declared and within document= broad objectives for a voice within our parliament= non binding rep body that advise cth parl on policies and laws that affect fnp
-2018= ref proposal was rejected by SM
-2022= labour party overtook= anthony albo promised ref

Question 59

2023 ref proposal

Answer 59

june 2023= absolute majority for constitution alteration bill was passed=
-see an additional section, S129 added to constitution=proposal—> there is a body and they can make representations to parl and executive govt relating to fnp matters + parl shall have power to make laws relating to fnp
question proposed= to alter the constitution and to recognise the first people’s of aust by est an ATSV

Question 60

what a “voice entailed”

Answer 60

-voice would provide an independent non binding advice to cth and govt about policies regarding fnp
-members would be elected by fn communities with balance of gender
- voice would be held accountable and transparent=work alongside parliamentary structures

Question 61

division in politics

Answer 61

-labour (initiated) and greens and jacqui lambie supported voice
-liberal party and nationals opposed the vote= raising legal risks due to unknown nature of the voice

Question 62

results of 2023 ref

Answer 62

unsuccessful
-national “yes” vote=39.9%–> vic had highest “yes” vote=45.85%
-cost 450 million dollars

Question 63

significance of 2023 ref

Answer 63

-lack of bipartisan support=voted were closely tied to position of the two political parties= all 8 successful refs= had bi partisan support
-constitutional recognition of fnp and addressing historical wrongs= have support hw “no” campaign may have raised concerns
-aust may have not understood what would practically and “yes” campaign may have not been clear
-suggestions of racism= impacting way ppl vote
-some have voted “no”= did not believe that the change went far enough to recognise fnp and provide them with a voice= change was “tokenistic”

Question 64

the ability of aust people to change constuituion IN FUTURE

Answer 64

-ability to vote in ref
-final say whether or not a ref will pass
-petitions and demonstrations=show support and advocate for change
-aust people can drive constit campaign

Question 65

limitations in ways aust people can change constitution IN FUTURE

Answer 65

-ref= only possible if aust govt believes they want to start one
-cost of resources=may discourage ref from happening
-nature of campaigns eg. “yes” or “no” may be weak

Question 66

for republic ref for FUTURE REF

Answer 66

-aust should have a president as head of state
-aust should be able to choose who represents them to fufil constit roles
-choices ab aust future=hands of aust
-independent country deserves to elect its own head of state

Question 67

against republic ref for FUTURE REFS

Answer 67

-aust should maintain status quo= system has certainty and stability= unlikely an alternative system can be as good/ better than monarchy
-changing aust to a republic requires 69 changes to the constit
-division among becoming a republic= diff models of what a republic entails