Author Archives: James Farrell

About James Farrell

http://www.deakin.edu.au/profiles/james-farrell

Extra funding for legal assistance services should only be a start

The Productivity Commission raised a few eyebrows when it called for an additional A$200 million for legal assistance services to disadvantaged Australians, who are “more susceptible to, and less equipped to deal with, legal disputes”. In justifying its unusual call for this significant funding injection, the commission’s report, which was tabled in parliament last week, […]

High Court of Australia rejects protection of freedom of association

In the recent case of Tajjour v New South Wales [2014] HCA 35, the High Court was asked to consider whether New South Wales laws prohibiting ‘consorting’ with convicted offenders infringe the right to freedom of association, protected by an inferred right in the Australian Constitution or by the application of the International Covenant on Civil […]

'Slow, expensive, complicated' legal system must be improved

Half of all Australians will experience a legal problem this year. Most won’t get legal assistance or come into contact with our courts or other legal institutions. In part, this is because Australia’s legal system is “too slow, expensive and hard to understand”. This was a key finding of the Productivity Commission’s draft report of […]

Investing to address causes of crime, not the consequences

LAST week was a big week in Canberra. While much of the focus was on Julia Gillard’s work for the Australian Workers’ Union in the mid 1990s, the Parliament also considered laws for the national disability insurance scheme, education funding recommended by the Gonski review, pokie reform, the Murray-Darling basin plan, and recognising indigenous Australians […]

Sharp rise in youth homelessness shatters stereotypes

The number of Australians who were homeless on census night increased by 17% to 105,237 in the five years to August 2011. When adjusted for population growth, the increase the increase is still worryingly high, at around 8%. It’s clear we need a stronger commitment to address this significant social issue. The census data, released […]

How doctors and lawyers can help vulnerable patients

By James Farrell, Deakin University and Peter Noble, The Conversation Medical-legal partnerships have broken down the barriers to accessible legal services for people experiencing health issues in the United States. Such programs demonstrate the health benefits of effective legal advocacy on behalf of patients and Australia could learn from this model to improve access to […]

An insider’s guide: Studying with Coursera

The disruptive influence of massive online open courses, or ‘MOOCs’, has been well documented on The Conversation and elsewhere. The arrival of major players, edX, Udacity and Coursera create opportunities and challenges for Australian educational institutions.   My colleagues at Deakin University are playing close attention to the phenomenon; our Vice-Chancellor has written that   […]

Practical Lessons, Fair Consequences

The Victorian Department of Justice recently released a discussion paper calling for community input into the design and implementation of diversion programs for young people engaged in the criminal justice system. Unlike many jurisdictions in Australia, Victoria has not adopted a legislative, court-based diversion scheme for addressing crime committed by children and young people. The […]

Definition of homelessness changes but problems remain

According to the best estimates at the time, almost 105,000 Australians were homeless on census night in August 2006. This promoted then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to make the ambitious commitment to accommodate all people sleeping rough and halving the number of homeless in Australia by 2020. The Government committed significant resources for specialist homeless […]