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Civil Liberties

law-civil

Many nations are turning to charters of rights as the main protector of civil liberties. CIS explores whether this is the best approach for Australia, and the extent to which our legal system can and should enshrine more than just civil and political rights.

Publications

  1. FEATURE: The Battlelines of Interpretation in Racial Vilification Laws

    Darryn Jensen | 20 Aug 2011 | POLICY Magazine

    Racial vilification law ensnares courts in political disputes.

  2. Alcohol Policy and the Politics of Moral Panic

    Luke Malpass | 26 May 2011 | Policy Monographs

    New Zealand’s proposed liquor legislation marks a return to old attitudes towards alcohol regulation that perversely believe,... Read More...

  3. Behind the Moral Curtain: The Politics of a Charter of Rights

    Elise Parham | 01 Feb 2010 | Policy Monographs

    Elise Parham argues that a federal charter of rights would be used by special interest groups as a powerful political tool.... Read More...

  4. BOOK REVIEW:The Henson Case

    Benjamin Hourigan | 03 Mar 2009 | POLICY Magazine

    The Henson Case by David Marr (Text Publishing, 2008).

  5. BOOK REVIEW: What Price Security? Taking Stock of Australia's Anti-Terror Laws

    Greg Roebuck | 03 Mar 2007 | POLICY Magazine

    What Price Security? Taking Stock of Australia's Anti-Terror Laws by Andrew Lynch and George Williams (UNSW Press, 2006).

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Opinion & Commentary

  1. Our right to silence is too important to lose

    Suri Ratnapala | 01 Oct 2012 | The Conversation

    The move to dilute the right to silence in NSW is unjust, constitutionally questionable and unnecessary.... Read More

  2. Liberals Drop Ball in Super Free-For-All

    Adam Creighton | 14 Nov 2011 | Australian Financial Review

    Lifting superannuation to 12% is wrong.... Read More

  3. Does gay marriage prove marriage matters?

    Peter Kurti | 29 Sep 2011 | Online Opinion

    Gay couples dragging marriage back into vogue.... Read More

  4. Living together demands civility

    Jessica Brown | 19 Aug 2011 | The Canberra Times

    We should not rush to stifle public discussions on the off chance that an unhinged individual (whether politically motivated ... Read More

  5. Brits recoil from teaching respect for authority at home or school

    Peter Saunders | 15 Aug 2011 | The Australian

    Following last week's riots in Britain, politicians and commentators have similarly been asking the wrong question. What ... Read More

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Ideas@TheCentre

  1. Why I work for a classical liberal think tank

    Meegan Cornforth | 10 May 2013

    At the core of classical liberalism is the unwavering belief that the best chance humanity has to prosper is when people ...

  2. Too scared

    Peter Saunders | 19 Oct 2012

    Big state bureaucracies find it difficult coping with individual initiative or making room for common sense....

  3. Thought crime

    Peter Saunders | 20 Jul 2012

    Britain’s race relations laws attempt to control, not just what we do, but the way we think....

  4. Free to be fat

    Andrew Baker | 15 Jun 2012

    The obese should pay for their obesity – through market rates, not government taxes, so that the healthy are not punished ...

  5. Gay marriage, polygamy and the social order

    Peter Saunders | 01 Jun 2012

    There are no good, logical arguments against allowing gay marriage....

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