Castan Centre for Human Rights Law

Author: Sarah Joseph

  • The media is offended by the new discrimination bill

    The Media is Offended by the new Discrimination Bill By Sarah Joseph, Monash University The media is right to be up in arms about proposed new laws. AAP Image/Alan Porritt The federal Attorney General has put forward a proposed new draft anti-discrimination bill. An enquiry into the Bill by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs…

  • Another silly season post: The Law of War and The Lord of the Rings

    by Sarah Joseph So this is a “storify”, basically a collated bunch of tweets from the night of 21/12 (not the end of the world as we know it) upon watching those war-loving men, elves, hobbits, orcs, wizards, goblins, trolls and dwarves in The Return of the King. Following is a discussion of the applicability…

  • Children’s rights versus freedom of religion: the sanctity of the confessional seal

    Children’s rights versus freedom of religion: the sanctity of the confessional seal By Sarah Joseph, Monash University In response to the ongoing cascade of accusations and evidence of systemic and decades long child abuse, the federal government finally announced a Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse on Monday. One possible recommendation is…

  • Alan Jones campaign: is it censorship?

    In light of the ongoing Alan Jones saga, which saw him broadcast today ad-free, I put together this Storify about the possible free speech implications of campaigns to get Jones off the air. Storify is a way to curate and aggregate social media into larger narratives. You can view the original Storify post here. “Free…

  • In Defence of Alan Jones

    In defence of Alan Jones By Sarah Joseph, Monash University AAP Image/Warren Clarke So, Sydney shock-jock Alan Jones has disgraced himself with his appallingly tasteless and hurtful comment, recorded at a recent Sydney University Liberal club dinner, that the late John Gillard “died of shame” over his daughter Julia. He compounded the ignominy with his…

  • The Globalisation of Free Speech: A Race to the Top or the Bottom?

    By Sarah Joseph Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the United Nations in support of anti-blasphemy laws. EPA/Justin Lane The meeting of world leaders at the United Nations has confirmed major faultlines over free speech. In the wake of the outrage prompted by The Innocence of Muslims, member States of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (“OIC”) are demanding…