by Chris Merritt | Sep 25, 2026 | Chris Merritt, Commentary, Media Article, Rule of Law Issue
For victims of crime in Victoria, next Wednesday is a date to remember: it marks the commencement of a law designed to make it harder for magistrates to order detention of dangerous young criminals. This change, contained in section 324 of the Youth Justice Act, will...
by Chris Merritt | Sep 18, 2026 | 18C, Chris Merritt, Commentary, Media Article, Rule of Law Issue
It is 10 years since Bill Leak took a stand for Indigenous children that almost certainly contributed to his death just seven months later. The great cartoonist had tried to force this country to act on the terrible plight of Indigenous children in dysfunctional...
by Chris Merritt | Aug 28, 2026 | Chris Merritt, Commentary, Human Rights, Media Article, Rule of Law Issue
Renewed moves are under way federally and in NSW to create statutory charters of rights. With luck, both schemes are destined for oblivion. They are, however, still worth examining – if only to expose their loopiness. The NSW Human Rights Bill, introduced last...
by Chris Merritt | Aug 21, 2026 | Anti-Semitism, Chris Merritt, Commentary, Media Article, Rule of Law Issue
The best judges control their rhetoric. Their judgments cover only those matters that are essential to decide the issue before them – no more and no less. This practice can be frustrating for lawyers who would dearly like to know what individual judges think on all...
by Chris Merritt | Aug 7, 2026 | All Posts, Chris Merritt, Commentary, Media Article, Rule of Law Issue
In a nation that respects the rule of all, equality before the law should be fundamental. There should be no special treatment for favoured individuals or organisations. Most people readily accept that principle. It demonstrates that fairness is a central plank of the...
by Chris Merritt | Jul 16, 2026 | Anti-Semitism, Chris Merritt, Commentary, Freedom of Speech, Human Rights, Media Article, Rule of Law Issue
When it comes to freedom of communication, Aftab Malik, the government’s special envoy on Islamophobia, has an approach that is best described as flexible. On the one hand he is all in favour of the implied constitutional freedom of political communication – the...
