In Conversation with the PLN

In partnership with the Deakin Law Alternative, the PLN presented our monthly ‘book club' where we connected via an online forum to discuss and examine progressive law topics with leading experts.

For our third ‘Book’ Club, 'The Legality of Baby Markets', we delved into the legal, moral and human rights issues surrounding commercial surrogacy and the contracts formed in these surrogacy agreements. We were joined by: Dr Dominique Martin, an Associate Professor in Bioethics and Professionalism at Deakin University, and Professor Britta van Beers from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam!

For further reading- the article for this Book Club:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-29/push-to-simplify-international-commercial-surrogacy/11303164?nw=0&fbclid=IwAR2in2x-GjAaDPoEC654jRDpo2Rb_7U5jVX2aIaPBiNCdpZBf5GlQrKfZwg

In partnership with the Deakin Law Alternative, the PLN presented a monthly ‘book club' where we connected via an online forum to discuss and examine progressive law topics with leading experts.

This discussion with specialist criminal law barrister Justin Hannebery QC breaks down the Pell v The Queen High Court judgment and its implications, questioning the potential for this high profile case to stimulate law reform in the wake of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

For further reading, see the Pell case and podcast discussed here:

Pell v The Queen - https://www.hcourt.gov.au/cases/case_m112-2019

ABC Law Report podcast - https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lawreport/pell-freed-after-high-court-decision/12073738

In partnership with the Deakin Law Alternative, the PLN presented a monthly ‘book club' where we connected via an online forum to discuss and examine progressive law topics with leading experts.

In the first book club instalment, Emily Singh and Dr Brandy Cochrane discussed gender and sexual orientation issues within refugee law and how the experiences of refugees can be shaped by gender and sexuality, presenting unique challenges.

For further reading which this Book Club discussed see these works by Dr Senthorun Raj: https://journals.kent.ac.uk/index.php/feministsatlaw/article/view/405/1058

https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/628637/9/Raj%20-%20A%20Effective%20Adjudications%20Queer%20Refugees%20and%20the%20Law%20e.pdf

In this event, we get an inside scoop on what public law experts have to say on what COVID-19 means for human rights, the functioning of democracy and the future of the progressive law movement. We were joined by Tamar Hopkins, George Williams AO and Tim Lo Surdo as Lee Strike was unable to make the event.

This discussion took a close look at the mental health impacts of COVID-19 and sought to better understand what is being done to mitigate them. Is current mental health policy adequate in today’s environment? What issues must mental health services and policy makers be most aware of in their response to present conditions? What is to be done to ensure mental health services are wide-reaching and effective in Australia going forward?

To tackle these questions, we were joined by Christian Lane, co-founder of ‘A Reasonable Standard’, Dr Jessica Dean from Beyond Blue and Stuart Muir Wilson and Michael McGarvie from the Ecological Justice Hub.

The recent Black Lives Matter movement and #abolishpolice protests have gained momentum globally in Australia. We are devastated that it once again took the public and tragic deaths of more Black lives, to remind us of how the legal system fails Black people every day. Not enough is being done to enact change in the structures in which racial violence, particularly against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, exist. We want and need to do better.

The Progressive Law Network and Melbourne Public Interest Law Network brought together panellists (Teela Reid and Douglas Briggs) to discuss the legal implications of the Black Lives Matter movement in Australia, the role of law students and young lawyers, and many other topics relating to the what BLM looks like in Australia.

*Please note- due to technical difficulties the beginning of the recording was missed before Teela's introduction; apologies for the reduced audio quality.

Sexism is endemic in the legal profession and has been since its inception. This manifests in many ways. Patriarchal ideals and structural biases reinforce a culture in which the allegations against former High Court Justice Dyson Heydon surfaced.

We discussed this and more with Kathleen Foley (barrister, writer and past Associate to Justice Hayne), Molina Asthana (Vice President of the National Executive of Asian Australian Lawyers Association) and Josh Bornstein (National Head of Maurice Blackburn’s Employment and Industrial Law Department).

*Please note- due to technical difficulties the beginning of the recording was missed; apologies for the reduced audio quality.