ANALYSIS: Fair trial and the right to legal representation
Although often taken for granted, the right to legal representation is a relatively new right in Australia.
top of page
LATEST NEWS
The latest headlines, stories you won't see anywhere else and plenty more - covering Australia and the world
Common(wealth) Knowledge #47: The Statute of Westminster
The history of how Australia achieved true independence from the U.K.
The Franklin Dam controversy: When politics meets the law
How Australia’s treaty obligations can change Australian law.
Common(wealth) Knowledge #46: Australian law and the best interests of children
International treaties signed by the Australian government can influence Australian law.
Common(wealth) Knowledge #42: Why Australia can't ban political parties
More than 8 decades on from Menzies first attempting to ban the Communist Party of Australia.
Common(wealth) Knowledge #39: Overriding the Human Rights Act and supremacy of Parliament
A look at human rights protections in Australia and the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty.
Common(wealth) Knowledge #37: The right to protest versus public health
What a new judgment from a Victorian court means.
Musical chairs in parliament: Does Lidia Thorpe's senate seat belong to her or The Greens?
The now-independent will be in the senate until her term expires in 2028.
Common(wealth) Knowledge #35: A public healthcare debate 80 years in the making
Today, Australians take government-subsidised healthcare for granted - but that was not always the case.
Common(wealth) Knowledge #31: New year, new court
What we could see in the High Court in 2023.
Common(wealth) Knowledge #28: Immigration Detention in the 1990s
3 decades on from a major constitutional law case.
Common(wealth) Knowledge #26: Child Privacy and Political Communication
The implied freedom of political communication revisited in the context of child privacy.
Common(wealth) Knowledge #25: Behind the scenes
A look at how this series is created every single week.
Common(wealth) Knowledge #24: Trade deals with China
Anthony Albanese this week met with Xi Jinping.
Common(wealth) Knowledge #23: Can the Governor-General dismiss Prime Ministers?
47 years on from the 1975 constitutional crisis, a look at what the Whitlam Dismissal can tell us about constitutional conventions.
Common(wealth) Knowledge #21: The Constitution and corflutes
A look at how the Australian Constitution protects political advertising.
Common(wealth) Knowledge #20: National security vs natural justice
What national security can teach us about administrative law.
Common(wealth) Knowledge #19: A new era for the High Court
Australia will become the first common law country with a majority female bench.
Common(wealth) Knowledge #18: Australia and international law - a nuclear history
Why international law means Australia doesn’t have nukes, but other countries do.
bottom of page