Done By Law

Hurt Feelings or Human Rights? Racial Vilification in Australia

In Australia we have laws which make racial vilification unlawful, that is doing something in public based on racial grounds which is likely to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate. In an address to the Institute of Public Affairs in August Tony Abbott promised to repeal the current racial vilification sections of the Racial Discrimination Act in the name of freedom of speech. This announcement, along with the case against Andrew Bolt last year, has sparked public debate about whether the current law finds the balance between the right to live free from racial vilification with the right to free speech. Tonight we will learn more about the racial vilification provisions in the Racial Discrimination Act, how they impact on freedom of speech, and the potential implications of removing or altering them. Joining us in the studio tonight to guide us through these important issues is Eliza Bateman, a Senior Lawyer in Victoria Legal Aid’s Equality Law Program

Valentine’s Day Special: 14 February 2012

It’s Valentine’s Day, and even lawyers aren’t immune to a bit of romance. So tonight on Done By Law we’re talking about love – well, love and the law.

For a large portion of the population, the law doesn’t have too much involvement in your love life, that is unless things go wrong – domestic violence, divorce, child support etc. But for same-sex attracted people, the law gets involved from the start – dictating how you share property, when you can visit your partner in hospital, what you can inherit, whether you can marry and whether or how you can have children. Joining us on the show tonight we have a special guest who will give our listeners an insight into the joys and challenges of being in a same-sex partnership in Victoria today. We’ll chat about what works, what doesn’t, and how we might like to see things improve in the future.