George Brandis’ house of horrors … Loopholes on display at Supreme Court … Roddy Meagher’s old floral shirt for sale … Wither Vixit … Fusion of privacy and information functions … Bursting into song at the Federal Court
NOVEMBER 7 has come and gone, so by now Justin Gleeson is no longer solicitor general of the Commonwealth. Tom Howe from the AGS is the acting SG and advertisements have been placed to lure a suitable permanent replacement.
The senate standing committee on legal and constitutional affairs reported on Tuesday (Nov. 8), the majority of senators finding that First Law Officer Gorgeous George Brandis misled the parliament when he claimed to have consulted Gleeson on the mandatory (dog on a lead) legal services direction.
They further recommend that the legal service direction be disallowed, that Flo promptly explain himself to the senate and that he be censured.
The Coalition members (Macdonald, O’Sullivan and Reynolds) thought the attorney had behaved impeccably and that Gleeson’s position was untenable.
Last year Brandis was censured by the senate over his threats to and attacks on Triggs.
Brick by brick George is steadily building his house of horrors.
His ministerial track record is littered with catastrophic instances of control freakery, including: stripping over $100 million from the Australia Council so that he could direct arts funding; trying to sack Gillian Triggs because she reported on children in immigration detention; concerted attempts to destroy the office of the Information Commissioner; a desperate desire to unleash bigots; snooping an all citizens by capturing and retaining their private metadata; and a campaign of bastardry against the office of the solicitor general culminating in an unlawful legal services direction.
That doesn’t mean that George is without his cheer-squad, particularly at The Australian which acts as his personal PR machine.
During Brandis’ stand-off with Justin Gleeson, one of the newspaper’s scribblers, Chris Kenny, a former valet and bag-carrier for foreign minister Lord Downer, opined that Brandis legal service direction was a victory for “democratic accountability”.
Gleeson told the parliamentary committee that his ultimate duty was to the Commonwealth of Australia and its people.
Kenny’s implication is that the job of the solicitor general is to do what the government wants.
Applications for the job remain open.
Leading advocates, judges and passing strangers are puzzled by the display of toilet seats in the foyer on the NSW Supremes.
Or are they loopholes?
It may be part of an art display trying to explain the law to the outside world.
Possibly it’s a big tease arranged by Roddy Meagher from his tomb.
Coincidentally, one of Roddy’s old vestments is up for auction at Lawsons.
Get in quickly with an early bid for this chasuble, a sleeveless outer garment favoured by Catholic priests when performing mass and other medieval rituals.
It is lot 17 of the David H. Tribe collection which is going under the hammer on November 17 and the auctioneer is looking for between $300-$500.
A priest probably had it before Roddy acquired the item to wear at BBQs and around his Southern Highlands property.
Tribe seems to have have little in common with Meagher, apart from owning the dead judge’s floral smock. He was a journalist, PR man, sketch artist, humanist, secularist, rationalist, and a committee member of the National (British) Council for Civil Liberties. He was born in Australia, but lived most of his adult life in the UK.
He returned to Australia and pumped $300,000 into creating the University of Sydney’s Tribe Awards for fiction, poetry, philosophy, sculpture and symphony.
Boris Anastassiou’s bold plan for Vic’s Bar ‘n’ Grill to Leave the Law Council of Australia has gone nowhere.
Late last month Boris said that the bar council has unanimously adopted the executive’s recommendation that the Leave campaign be deferred for consideration by the next bar council.
Council elections are underway now. Boris is not standing for office and nor is senior VP David (Doc) O’Callaghan.
It looks like junior vice, Jennifer Batrouney, third in the pecking order, will be rapidly shot to the top of the greasy pole.
The bar commissioned Ray Finkelstein to do a report on whether to Remain or Leave, but no clear recommendation emerged.
Boris told the rank n’ file that, “The bar looks forward to continuing dialogue with the LCA about this important issue”.
That is shorthand for, “we’re staying”.
After starving the agencies responsible for privacy, information and FOI of funds, and failing to appoint suitable replacements, Flo Brandis has succeeded in merging the three commissions into one person.
Timothy Pilgrim is now the Commonwealth Information Commissioner, Privacy Commissioner and (acting) FOI Commissioner.
Never mind if there are any conflicts in wearing three hats, even though the legislation intends that the jobs with different functions be done by different people.
In NSW the Privacy Commissioner, Dr Elizabeth Coombs, in her just released annual report to parliament, complains that she is subject to a steady impairment of her functions.
The NSW Information and Privacy Commission is one body with two parts. The Information Commissioner is Elizabeth Tydd, a former executive director of the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing. She is the chief executive responsible for the budget and management of staff at the I & P Commission.
What has been happening is that information is trumping privacy. Coombs, who was previously assistant director general of the Premier’s Department, writes in her latest report that the Privacy Commissioner’s role has effectively been reduced to an advisory function within the commission.
“Such an arrangement contradicts parliament’s intent, ignores legislative provisions and fails to adequately serve the needs of the public and the government. Basically, the Information and Privacy Commission model has a structural deficit at its core.
There can be no guarantee of equality for privacy protection work in the commission when the Privacy Commissioner is dependent for resourcing upon the Information Commissioner who as CEO controls the commission’s resources …”
Doc Coombs’ term comes to an end early next year and there has been no efforts to find a replacement.
It looks like the conflicted Brandis model is being adopted in NSW. Two hats, one commissioner.
Alan Cameron, from the NSW Law Reform Commission, gave a talk about the history of law reform, from the Codex Justinianus to the present day. In response Blackshield, who taught constitutional law at numerous universities, sang a song about the Constitution’s division of powers, Chapters 1, 11 and 111.
It goes to the tune of the 1954 Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn song, Three Coins in the Fountain, sung by Frank Sinatra in the film of the same name. Here’s Blackshield’s version:
“Three branches of power
That’s how the system’s meant to run.
So, first, legislation
Is dealt with at length in Chapter One.
Executive power –
That’s all confined to Chapter Two.
Chapter Three is judicial;
That gets assigned to you-know-who.
Which one occupies the throne?
Which one strictly stands alone?
The first kinds of power
In practice tend to intertwine.
Which one’s strict independence
Bears out the draftsman’s true design?
Make it mine!
Make it mine!
Make it mine!”
Just for completeness, the original went like this …