Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill
The government's role as an intellectual arbiter of the truth in social and political debate must be constricted, if not completely denied. This is based on a deep skepticism about the good faith of those controlling the government. That skepticism flows from the fact that decisions about what is true or false, when made by those in power, are bound up with political perspectives of those in power. In that regard the government is not impartial when it comes to contested disputes about the facts underlying political life. This is not meant to be some conspiracy theory. It derives from the fact that in the words of Lord Acton “All power tends to corrupt.”
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Response to Safe and Responsible AI In Australia Discussion Paper
In our view, Australia should require any development or application of artificial intelligence to an authorisation and licensing process that primarily focuses on the human rights implication(s) and we submit that this approach ought to be consistently applied to State use of these computational processes as well as any private development or application
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More cynical attacks on the judiciary
Mr O’Gorman said there is clearly a problem with a cohort of juveniles committing car thefts and violent crime but attacking Judges and Magistrates who cannot defend themselves publicly is a cheap and easy political stunt.
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Inquiry into Australia’s Human Rights Framework
Currently, Australia is the last western democratic country to refrain from explicitly protecting their human rights in legislation, which has subsequent implications for the protection of human rights for Australian citizens
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Right to fair trial under threat
This legislation was introduced in 2004 at the peak of concerns about terrorism. Since then, we have learned that the law inappropriately prioritizes the secrecy of national security information over the administration of justice
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FOLBIGG PARDON - QCCL renews calls for Criminal Cases Review Commission
The Folbigg Pardon highlights the necessity to establish a national Criminal Cases Review Commission in Australia.
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Nudist Beaches
The Council accepts that the public exhibition of sexual activities should be banned. However, we also take the view that nude beaches should be permitted so long as they are in secluded areas and are known and clearly marked as nude beaches. If necessary, the State Government or relevant local councils should take steps to designate nude beaches and to mark and publicize them appropriately.
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Review of the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004
This broad definition of ‘information’ and over-classification of what amounts to ‘national security information’ has serious implications. Anything that could fall within these definitions could be withheld from the defendant (or, in civil proceedings, withheld from one party[1]), which relates to issues of due process discussed above. These broad definitions and scope of the Act increased the encroachment of the executive on due process and a right to a fair trial. As a result, the executive is given ‘enormous scope for unwarranted interference in the administration of justice’
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Police Union crowing - Premier must act
The Civil Liberties Council calls on the Premier to intervene in this farcical controversy and bring Queensland in line with the rest of the country and outlaw police using the fatal stranglehold completely in absolutely all cases”, Mr O’Gorman said.
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Criminal Code (Serious Vilification and Hate Crimes) Amendment Bill 2023
We remain of the view that you cannot end racism and other pernicious ideas by censorship and policing. What needs to be done is to focus on addressing the root causes of why some people are attracted to such ideologies in the first place, including social isolation, growing economic insecurity and mistrust in government and the media.
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Speech by Terry O'Gorman to The Persecution of Truth Conference 30/4/23
The Collaery, McBride and Boyle cases have to be seen as part of a new trend whereby evidence is admitted into court and is available to one side (the prosecution, in criminal matters) but not to the other even though that evidence may be used against them. The circumstances in which this evidence is selectively admitted is much broader than the previous public interest immunity exception placed on national security. Much leeway is being granted to the Executive to exclude evidence from scrutiny
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QCCL submission to whistleblower law review
“The QCCL looks forward to the review recommending changes to the current whistleblower laws that significantly improve the protection for those who breach government secrecy in the public interest” says Mr Cope
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IAPP Panel Discussion - AI – designing for privacy and trust
It is this nightmare we have come to discuss today in the form of the use of ‘AI’ to make decisions that could impact a person’s access to benefits or services, or could be used to make a judgement about whether or not they are law abiding
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Police shooting of Aubrey Donahue
“To deprive the public and the Coroner of the best possible evidence namely the audio and video of SERT body worn cameras is unbelievable”, Mr O’Gorman said.
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Response to the Privacy Act Review Report
We commend the Report as it addresses our submission and, in our view, is a significant and positive step towards the proper recognition and protection of Australians’ right to privacy.
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Strengthening Community Safety Bill.
With respect, in our opinion, the current Youth Justice Act is appropriate for the circumstances and Queensland‘s current environment. Knee-jerk responses to bad publicity should never be used as the basis for law reform.
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Submission to Public Interest Disclosure (whistleblower) Review
Government accountability is a key part of our democratic system. Transparency is, in turn, a key part of government accountability. Without public scrutiny, abuses may flourish undetected. Transparency is therefore central to maintaining public confidence in the administration of government.
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Religious Educational Institutions and Anti-Discrimination Laws Discussion Paper 2023
To allow associations operating outside the closed circumstances of their community to claim exemption from laws furthering equality would be to allow that association to impose their faith on others.
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Local Government Electoral Expenditure Caps Bill 2022
Restrictions on electoral expenditure are akin to the rules of debate in a meeting which restricts the length of speeches and provide for rights of reply. In the context of political speech, the restrictions are essential to fairness, in that the arms race between various political players is continuously increasing the cost of elections, which results in an increasing number of people being excluded from the political process. Capping expenditure would also help to create closer financial equality between candidates at elections
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Police Powers and Responsibilities (Jack's Law) Amendment Bill 2022
Astonishingly, when the government announced these laws, it relied upon a review of the trial of this system as justifying their introduction. As this submission will demonstrate, to the contrary, that report justified the criticisms which have been made of this type of law.
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