UNIT 4 AOS2 DOT POINTS 6-13

Question 1

List the reasons for law reform

Answer 1

• changes in beliefs, values and attitudes
• changes in societal, economic and political conditions
• advances in technology
• greater need for the protection of the community
• greater awareness of the need to protect rights
• improved access to the law
• encourage change in society values

Question 2

How does changes in societal beliefs, values and attitudes effect law reform?

Answer 2

rapid change in the communities values, beliefs and attitudes,usually results in the existing laws not reflecting societies current morals, therefor law must change with these values to remain relevant and accepted. values can change for many reasons such as increased knowledge or awareness

Question 3

How does advances in technology effect law reform?

Answer 3

technological advancements can render the law ineffective when new technology is introduced. therefor as technology continues to evolve so does the law, so new technology can be regulated. human genome project

Question 4

How does the need to improve access to effect law reform?

Answer 4

as individuals are becoming more aware of their rights the law has continued to develop to provide more options for dispute resolution. VCAT and Koori court

Question 5

How does generating changing values in society effect law reform?

Answer 5

Sometimes the law needs to be progressive to move society forward and encourage society’s values to progress, such as promoting tolerance and respect for diversity

Question 6

What does media include and what is its role?

Answer 6

media includes multiple forms including Newspapers, TV, radio and social media. Media forms can be biased since space and time can be focused on issue that are consistent with the owner of the organisations. Therefor it can influence the public by printing certaIn media

Question 7

What forms of Social media are there and what role do they have on law reform?

Answer 7

social media includes blogs and other platforms people and groups can use to communicate with a large audience quickly. the public can contact politicians directly through Facebook/twitter accounts

Question 8

The significance of Social media on law reform

Answer 8

through platforms, sites and blogs. people and groups can communicate very quickly with. large audiences. millions of users visit these sites millions of times monthly, therefor it can be particularly useful to share views on law reform

Question 9

What is an example where law reform was affected through media?

Answer 9

-chasing asylum documentary, which used both traditional and social media to highlight key messages. when it was shown in cinema it gained support of a website, Facebook and twitter accounts. it facilitates direct interactions with members of parliament through social media accounts

Question 10

How can bias be shown in traditional media?

Answer 10

• stories about things such as demonstrations, or press conferences can be edited to manipulate messages sent to viewers and listener.
• ownership of Australias traditional medias are concentrated. this provides significant influence to large media organisations

Question 11

Affect of organisations such as ABC,News Corp and Fairfax media?

Answer 11

-these organisations are generally perceived as more sympathetic to particular political parties and philosophies, therefore they have the ability to directly affects the message they deliver on topics such as the need for law reform. they can also influence law reform by publishing selected opinions, through emails, letters and opinion pieces

Question 12

Why does the Australian government need the Victorian Law reform commission?

Answer 12

-members of allayment sometimes lack the time or resources to investigate issues, therefor parliament may refer the investigation to the VLRC, which will investigate and make recommendations

Question 13

What is the role of the VLRC?

Answer 13

The VLRC was establishes in 2001 to investigate the need for change in laws and provide the government with impartial advice and recommendations for change. while it is funded by the Vic government, it is independent and not involved in political pressures

Question 14

List the specific roles the VLRC?

Answer 14

• inquiry
• investigation
• monitoring
• education

Question 15

Describe the role of the VLRC in inquiring?

Answer 15

it examines matters referred to them by the Attorney general and makes recommendations for law reform.includes conducting research, consulting with the community and reporting on law reform

Question 16

Describe the role of the VLRC in investigating ?

Answer 16

it can investigate minor areas of law reform without referral from the attorney general and make recommendations for suggested law reform

Question 17

Describe the role of the VLRC in monitoring?

Answer 17

the VLRC monitors and coordinates law reform activity in Victoria. through this activity the VLRC may sometimes suggest to the attorney general that a particular law reform issue be referred to the VLRC for investigation

Question 18

Describe the role of the VLRC in education?

Answer 18

the VLRC runs educational programs to help inform the community about its work and about law reform in Victoria

Question 19

What process does the VLRC go through after receiving a reference from the attorney general?

Answer 19

1. undertakes initial research and consultation to identify the key issues
2. publishes a consolation paper explaining the key issues and inviting community consideration about the issues
3. receives submissions from and holds discussions with interested parties, may conduct survey or collect other data
4. may seek expert opinion of key aspects of relevant issues
5. publishes a report with recommended changes in law and presents the report to the attorney general who must table it in vic parliament

Question 20

Strengths of the VLRC

Answer 20

• as the government has referred the issue to VLRc it is more likely that the VLRC’s recommendations will be acted upon
• the VLRC is independent of the government and can get input directly from the community and therefor reflect the communities views in its recommendations
• the VLRC can investigate minor law reforms without a referral
• the VLRC can complete comprehensive investigations of issues and access expert opinion

Question 21

Weaknesses of the VLRC

Answer 21

• the VLRC can only investigate major areas of law reform after receiving a referral from the attorney general
• while the VLRC’s recommendations must be tabled in parliament, government is not obliged to implement any of them
• the VLRC’s ability to investigate is limited by resources
• investigations can be time consuming and expensive

Question 22

What are royal commissions ?

Answer 22

royal commissions are major public enquiries established by the government to investigate a topic of importance.RC’s can be established by the Queens representatives on the advice of government ministers at both state and federal levels

Question 23

Where is the power to establish a royal commission derived from?

Answer 23

legislation

Question 24

How are RC’s initiated?

Answer 24

issues by a letters patent which specifies the terms of reference, who will chair the RC and the date by which the RC needs to complete its report.

Question 25

After the royal commission has been establishes and letters patent has been issued what occurs?

Answer 25

-commission conducts extensive research of the matter of public interests by undertaking a range of tasks

Question 26

What extensive investigation tasks may the commission undertake ?

Answer 26

• prepare an issue or paper
• conduct consultation sessions
• hold public meetings
• prepare a written report

Question 27

Describe the process of preparing an issue or paper

Answer 27

this explains the issues and seeks and provided guidance for those who wish to are written submissions to the RC.

Question 28

Describe the process of conducting consultation sessions?

Answer 28

these allow the RC to access the views and opinions of interested individuals and organisations for example the VIC RC into family violence held 94 group consultations with 850 people

Question 29

Describe the process of holding public meetings or private sessions

Answer 29

to gather evidence RC’s have coercive powers meaning they can compel people to attend hearings and give evidence and face cross-examination

Question 30

Describe the process of preparing a written

Answer 30

after all evidence has been considered the RC reports their findings. these could include recommendations on law reform or that individuals can be prosecuted for unlawful conduct
. theses are only recommendations and do not have to be acted upon by government or the director of public prosecution

Question 31

Outline an example of the Royal Commission

Answer 31

• the vic royal commission was commenced in 2015 and was required to research and make recommendations regarding change to government policies to reduce family violence
• received around 1000 submissions from individuals and organisations in a year
• issued a final report containing 226 recommendations including better funded support services for victims

Question 32

What are some of the recommendations made by the Royal commission for family violence ?

Answer 32

• provisions of support and safety homes in local communities
• establishment of more family violence courts to allow the legal system to better handle relevant case

Question 33

Strengths of the Royal Commission

Answer 33

• as government establishes RC they are more likely to act upon RC’s recommendations
• RC’s can receive public input by holding public meetings and receiving submissions and can raise public awareness of issue
• RC’s can complete comprehensive investigations and compel people to attend and give evidence

Question 34

Weaknesses of the Royal commission

Answer 34

• parliament is not obliged to adopt any of the RC’s recommendations
• RC’s can be used for political purposes by focusing on matters that create issues for political opponents
• Rc’s can be time consuming and expensive 2-4yrs and millions of dollars

Question 35

Strengths of the parliament to respond to the need for law reform

Answer 35

• parliament is elected by the people and is the supreme law making body with power to make or change any law within their jurisdiction
• parliament can make or change law so that it reflects the views and values of society
• parlament can change whole areas of law and get input from experts and the public to help guide it through changing the law
• parliament can abrogate judge made law to ensure the common law reflects community views and values
• dont have to wait for case to be brought

Question 36

Weaknesses of the parliament to responds to the need for law reform

Answer 36

• parliament can be slow to change controversial laws for fear or voter backlashes. it can only change laws within its law making powers
• financial or budgeting restrictions can sometimes mean parliament is constrained in its ability to change laws
• investigation into law reform be time consuming and resource intensive. the legislative process is complete and is also normally quite slow
• parliament could abrogate sound common law to gain political advantage

Question 37

Why did the law regarding the use of medical cannabis need to change?

Answer 37

• cannabis is illegal throughout Australia, but it has shown significant improvements on individuals health when used to treat serious health conditions
• this forced people who needed it medically to obtain it illegally, exposing them to arrest and criminal charges

Question 38

What were the key issues of the medical cannabis law reform?

Answer 38

• who should be eligible
• the cultivation and production of cannabis
• collaboration between victorian and commonwealth law as narcotics are regulated in commonwealth

Question 39

What was the governments response to the final report of medical cannabis?

Answer 39

• October 6 2015 the report was tabled in parliament.
• accepted 40 recommendations and accepted two in principle
• announced intention ti make medicine cannabis in 2017