Law in the Bush

This is the second of a two-part special with former magistrate, Michael Holmes OAM. After 17 years of service, Michael is the very recently-retried magistrate of the local court circuits in the New England area of northern New South Wales.

In this second instalment, Michael speaks about his career after his return to Australian in the late 1990s. Michael and Patrick talk about what the role of a magistrate entails, as well as the specifics of administering justice in the Australian justice. As part of his role, Michael also exercised coroner's jurisdiction. 

We end the episode with Michael's advice to aspiring lawyers and public servants hoping to work in the Australian bush.

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This is the first of a two-part special with former magistrate, Michael Holmes OAM. After 17 years of service, Michael is the very recently-retried magistrate of the local court circuits in the New England area of northern New South Wales.  

Michael is a longstanding friend of the UNE Law School. We are delighted that he could join Patrick to talk about his fascinating and varied career of nearly a half-century of public service. 

In this first instalment, Michael speaks about his earlier distinguished career in policing, before his move to Hong Kong where he worked in law for most of the 1990s.

Make sure to join us next week for the second instalment of our biography of Michael, where we explore the life of a magistrate in the Australian bush. 

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For more information on our research centres visit:

For more information about the UNE Law School visit:

In this episode of Law in the Bush, Dr Patrick Graham is joined by recent UNE Law graduate, Simone Cameron. Simone has worked and volunteered in the refugee sector for nearly a decade. She recently completed her LLB with Honours with us having previously completed a Master of Applied Linguistics and a Graduate Certificate in Migration Law. Simone has recently been admitted to the Supreme Court of Queensland as a solicitor.

Simone is interested in the intersection of language and law reform, having completed a thesis which analysed the language used by politicians to justify the repeal of the Medevac laws, laws which streamlined the medical transfer process for asylum seekers held in Australia’s offshore detention centres.

Simone played a key role in the 'Home to Biloela' campaign involving the Murugappan family who lived in her hometown of Biloela in central Queensland before, in 2018, being put into immigration detention as the government moved to deport the family to Sri Lanka. 

The 'Home to Biloela' campaign captured the attention of all Australians and, after the 2022 federal election and change in government, was ultimately successful as the Murugappans returned to Biloela in June. They were soon granted Australian permanent residency.

Simone and Patrick explore Simone's innovative research in this area and her role in the 'Home to Biloela' campaign. They also talk about Australian political discourse on asylum seekers.

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For more information on our research centres visit: 

For more information about the UNE Law School visit: