Daily wrap
ASIC loses TerraCom case, Wal King exonerated [The Australian paywall]
A mining scandal that engulfed listed company TerraCom has come to an end with a Federal Court judge rejecting ASIC’s case against the company’s four directors entirely.
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The simple secrets to this law firm’s gender parity [AFR paywall]
The 120-partner Moray & Agnew has more than doubled the number of women in its partnership.
Once touted as a potential prime minister, the former federal attorney-general has quietly built a new life.
Wilkommen, Bar Revue, Welcome! Bar Revue is back and it’s brassier than ever!
A David Lynch enthusiast presides over a chaotic courtroom; a mysterious diva helps a suburban solicitor sashay out of his professional doldrums; the ADR Committee is faced with a scandal of Dynastic proportions; and the Court of Fashion is taking no prisoners.
The Constitution on its face allows either House to initiate a referendum, by passing a proposed constitutional amendment twice, within a certain time frame, even though the other House rejects it. But on the one occasion when the Senate did this, in 1914, the Governor-General declined to put it to the people. He accepted the advice of his Ministers not to put the proposed amendments to a referendum.
Since then, it has been assumed that this was a precedent for the proposition that the Governor-General has no discretion and must act on the advice of his or her ministers on the question of whether to put a bill to a referendum.
But a fresh look at the Governor-General's correspondence shows that he actually exercised a personal discretion and refused the Senate's request for a number of reasons. He did not accept that he was obliged to act on ministerial advice either in relation to the grant of a double dissolution under section 57 of the Constitution or in relation to the submission of a referendum to the people under section 128.
This video explains the history of how this mechanism for resolving conflicts between the Houses on constitutional reform was inserted in the Constitution, the reason for it and commentary on it prior to the 1914 precedent. It then reveals the details of the 1914 precedent, showing that it does not in fact amount to the precedent that it has been taken to be.
After more than four decades in public life, there isn't much prosecutor, judge and corruption fighter John McKechnie hasn't seen.
“The Jury Experience” is a gripping live courtroom drama that puts you in the role of a juror. It’s just like jury duty but minus the inconvenience. Participants can choose the case that speaks to them the most — a product liability case about self-automated cars, or a highly publicised robbery case. You’ll hear witness testimonies, different cross examination strategies and the lawyers’ closing statements interpreted by professional actors to determine the end all question—guilty or not guilty?
Presentation by Prof. Felix Steffek (University of Cambridge) at the NAIL Research Seminar on Monday, 2 June 2025.
An update on this case!
The parties will be back in court on Wednesday
If it’s live streamed I’ll share the link
— #Vaxatious Litigant 💉⚖️👨⚖️ (#@ExposingNV)
9:40 AM • Jul 4, 2025
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