The Law Archives - Page 7 of 46

R v Bayden Flash – rough justice in the deep north

To ensure the adversarial system works as well as it can, the accused must have counsel at least on par with that of the Crown. Mismatches of lawyers at trial is the stuff of Deep South murder trials in the USA. There some accused, unable to afford sufficiently experienced lawyers in an environment of little or token legal aid, can be represented by law students or destitute lawyers willing to appear for all in fees of a thousand bucks to defend an alleged killer heading to the electric chair.

By Bob Gosford|2019-07-18T20:45:46+09:30July 20th, 2018|Australian politics, Crime, Northern Territory politics, Some places I've been, The Law, The Northern Myth|2 Comments

Jo Best on the public realm, an energy ponzi scheme and resilience at Resilient Darwin

Cultural recognition & sensitivity, jobs, affordable housing (including during occupation), tourism opportunities, environmental protection, identity, community, and the much touted “liveable city”. We live in a town that is being moulded by traffic engineers instead of strategic thinkers like urban designers, demographers and economists.

By Bob Gosford|2018-06-10T04:27:39+09:30June 10th, 2018|Art, Australian politics, Fun stuff, Northern development, Northern Territory politics, NT local government, Some places I've been, The Arts, The Law, The Northern Myth|2 Comments

Fracking in the NT: can cement provide more than a temporary “triumph of expertise over nature”?

The everyday materiality of cement raises everyday questions: what about the effects of corrosion, seismic activity, moisture, design flaws and age on cement’s presumed durability? Harkness writes that concrete’s “guileful ruse is to offer us a permanent fix, once and for all”. Cement’s claim of permanence is deceptive, particularly when compared with the resource that is to be extracted.

By Bob Gosford|2018-04-30T05:48:25+09:30April 30th, 2018|Australian politics, Indigenous land management, Northern development, Northern Territory politics, NT local government, Some places I've been, The Law, The Northern Myth|2 Comments

Doing the Darwin Shuffle Part Two. The Northern Territory as a tax haven: 1982 to 1986

Senator WALSH — I was aware of the fact that the Northern Territory is heavily dependent upon Commonwealth revenue [and] I have noted from time to time that nobody has a more voracious appetite for Commonwealth money than the present Northern Territory Chief Minister, although incongruously nobody is a more vocal critic of the Commonwealth taxes which raise the revenue which he so voraciously consumes. Senator Peter Walsh, Hansard, May 1983.

By Bob Gosford|2023-07-01T21:35:53+09:30April 15th, 2018|Australian politics, Northern Territory politics, The Law, The Northern Myth|1 Comment

Doing the Darwin Shuffle. The Northern Territory as a tax haven. Part One: 1971 to 1982

Graeme Lewis was part éminence grise, part bagman and part trouble-maker—as often within as without—for the NT's Country Liberal Party for more than forty years. Lewis passed away in early April while speaking from the floor of the 2018 annual conference of his beloved CLP. For all his apparent successes and failings—I'll leave the hagiography and excoriation for others—Graeme Lewis never held publicly elected office but nonetheless deserves respect as the Northern Territory's long-term political player par excellence. Lewis was also a prominent player in the Darwin Shuffle, the avoidance scheme that operated in the NT from at least the early 1970s through to the 1980s.

By Bob Gosford|2023-07-01T21:35:42+09:30April 15th, 2018|Australian politics, Crime, Fun stuff, Northern development, Northern Territory politics, The Law, The Northern Myth|0 Comments

“A species of contempt heretofore unknown to the law”: Registrar of the Supreme Court (NT) v Nationwide News and Craig Dunlop

The lessons for Court administrators? If you are going to bring contempt charges against a journalist and their publisher then you must conduct a proper investigation of the circumstances of publication, in particular who published what, when and on whose authority. While it is unstated in Chief Justice Grant's reasons for judgment—for fairly obvious reasons—the real problems in this case lie with the conduct of the Registrar's case and the apparent lack of any investigation sufficiently thorough enough to gather evidence to meet the standard of proof required by the Court.

By Bob Gosford|2020-06-01T21:48:06+09:30April 3rd, 2018|Australian politics, Media, Northern Territory politics, Some places I've been, The Law, The Northern Myth, Writing and writers|0 Comments

Essential documents from Aboriginal Australia: 7 – the 2008 Yuendumu Petition

Supporti-ki karlipa wangkami, tala manu nyiya kanti-kanti yungungurlu ngalpa yinyi nyampurla ngurungka. Nyampurla Yurntumu-rla panu karlipa madarni nyiya-ningki-jarra ngula karliparla yulkami. Madarni karlipa jana Mt Theo program, kurdu kurdu kurlangu, Warlpiri-rli ngulpa karlipa jana tiji-mani, PAW, Mampumaninja-Kurlangu jarlu patu ku, WarlukurIangu arts centre, manu yangka ngula kalu jana mardarni wiri-wiri-rli kurdu-kurdu. Ngulalparlipa mangu pungkalayi, Yungurlu ngalpa nyanyi nguru kari wardingki-rli pirrdiji ngula karlipa mardarni.

By Bob Gosford|2024-02-16T16:59:50+09:30March 4th, 2018|Australian politics, Essential Documents, Northern development, Northern Territory politics, NT Police, Some places I've been, The Law, The Northern Myth, The NT Intervention, Yuendumu|0 Comments

Chief Justice Michael Grant speaks on the controversy concerning the conduct of the youth justice jurisdiction in Alice Springs

From time to time there may be instances of inappropriate judicial conduct falling short of misconduct warranting removal. Sometimes these are matters which may be addressed and remedied by way of appeal. In such cases the appellate court will generally make comment designed to prevent, so far as possible, any repetition of the inappropriate conduct.

By Bob Gosford|2018-02-04T18:56:16+09:30February 4th, 2018|Australian politics, Crime, Northern Territory politics, Some places I've been, The Arts, The Law, The Northern Myth|0 Comments

“We’re all eccentrics here!” Andrew McMillan on getting shickered in Larrimah, NT

But, hey, this is Larrimah. One expects things to go twirly. A decade ago, the blokes behind the "Highest bar in the Territory" were Graham Doyle and Syd Worrell. Syd had a French girlfriend, Jacquie, who liked a drink, cooked when she damned well felt like it and had such an aversion to the heat she'd shower fully clothed and return to the bar wringing wet. She and Syd were married at the pub in a ceremony the celebrant will never forget. The bride wore black and had to be assisted down the aisle. The best man, Mad Mick from Maryfield, was so shickered he couldn't find the ring.

By Bob Gosford|2023-11-11T20:09:53+09:30February 2nd, 2018|Camp Dog of the week, Crime, Fun stuff, Some places I've been, Stupidity, The Law, The Northern Myth, Writing and writers|1 Comment

Lawyers, beer and busted boats – Stewart O’Connell remembers the Katherine floods of 1998

A tinnie, chockas with evacuees, stalled in Giles street in the flow of the fourth street river. The force of the river smashed it into a light pole. The light fell just missing the occupants. When the dinghy flipped and everyone went under the festive mood immediately evaporated.

By Bob Gosford|2023-07-02T14:38:23+09:30January 28th, 2018|Crime, Fun stuff, Mississippi, Northern Territory politics, Some places I've been, The Law, The Northern Myth|0 Comments