Zhao on "Contemporary Australian Tort Law"

Dr. Bob Zhao, a Lecturer at the USQ School of Law and Justice, has co-authored a new textbook from Cambridge University Press called  Contemporary Australian Tort Law.  Here is the publisher's summary:

"Contemporary Australian Tort Law is an engaging, accessible and student-friendly introduction to the law of torts in Australia. This unique text presents the foundational topics of tort law in a logical way, covering duty of care, breaches, negligence, damages and defences, as well as higher level topics such as defamation and offences in public office."

Gray on "The First Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Implied Freedom of Political Communication in the Australian Constitution"

Professor Anthony Gray of the USQ School of Law and Justice has published a new article in Volume 48(3) of the Common Law World Review.  The article is titled The First Amendment to the United States Constitution and the Implied Freedom of Political Communication in the Australian Constitution.  Here is the abstract:

"This article suggests that the Australian High Court might usefully utilize more of the First Amendment jurisprudence than it has done so to date. After a succinct summary of the Australian implied freedom and First Amendment case law, it documents cases in which the Australian High Court has either utilised, or not utilised, First Amendment case law. It suggests specific instances in which the Australian case law might utilize some of the American doctrine, and responds to suggestions that the American case law is not applicable to the Australian constitutional context."

Young on "The Increments of Justice: Exploring the Outer Reach of Akiba’s Edge Towards Native Title ‘Ownership'

Professor Simon Young of the USQ School of Law and Justice has published a new article in the University of New South Wales Law Journal.   "The Increments of Justice: Exploring the Outer Reach of Akiba's Edge Towards Native Title 'Ownership'" has the following abstract:

"The Torres Strait regional sea claim, culminating in the High Court decision of Akiba v Commonwealth, signalled a new respect for the holistic relationships and dominion that underlay First Peoples’ custodianship of land and waters. The ‘Akiba correction’ centred upon a distinction between ‘underlying rights’ and specific exercises of them – and produced in that case a surviving right to take resources for any purpose (subject to current regulation). The correction emerged from extinguishment disputes, but the significance of this edge towards ‘ownership’ was soon evident in ‘content’ cases on the mainland. Yet there are new challenges coming in the wake of Akiba. What of the many native title determinations that have been settled or adjudicated on pre-Akiba thinking? And what does this renaissance in native title law offer to the communities that will fail (or have failed) the rigorous threshold tests of continuity – also crafted with the older mindset?"

Collins on "The Military as a Separate Society: Consequences for Discipline in the United States and Australia"

Professor Pauline Collins of the USQ School of Law and Justice has published a new book with Lexington Press.  The book is titled The Military as a Separate Society: Consequences for Discipline in the United States and Australia.  Here is the publisher's summary:

"The exercise of public power by the military in civilian Western democracies such as Australia and the United States demonstrates a tendency toward diminished responsibility for moral behavior. Pauline Collins argues that a different system of military criminal investigation and discipline outside the civilian justice system enables the military to operate like a coterie and can lead to a failure in the requisite moral standard of behavior required of military personnel and maintaining civilian institutional control. Collins argues that the justifications for separate treatment weakens both the military reputation and the practice of civilian control of the military as well as leading to an overall decline in morality and values in a democratic society."

Gray on "Freedom of Speech in the Western World: Comparison and Critique"

Professor Anthony Gray of the USQ School of Law and Justice has recently published a new book with Lexington Books, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield.  Freedom of Speech in the Western World: Comparison and Critique has the following abstract:

"The United States Bill of Rights was groundbreaking in providing constitutional recognition to freedom of speech. In the past century the Supreme Court has decided hundreds of cases concerning free speech, providing an established system of jurisprudence to analyze free speech cases. This book explains the development in the US case law and compares it to developments in similar jurisdictions such as Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, and Europe. Anthony Gray critiques the jurisprudence of each nation studied, while noting some important similarities and differences in terms of how free speech is protected in the Western world, what causes these differences, what one system might learn from others, and whether convergence in approach can be expected."

Patrick on "Evidence of Absence in the Ruddock Report"

Dr. Jeremy Patrick, a Lecturer in the USQ School of Law and Justice, has published an article in the Australian Law Journal titled Evidence of Absence in the Ruddock Report.  Here is the abstract:

"The recommendations made in the Ruddock Report are rather modest when compared to previous reviews of the state of religious freedom in Australia. The Ruddock Panel rejected widespread calls for a general federal human rights act or a specific law protecting religious freedom. What explains the Panel’s reluctance? This paper argues that the cause was the Panel’s extremely narrow definition of what legitimately constitutes evidence of a problem. The Ruddock Report often supports its recommendations of inaction by stating that submissions arguing for change consistently relied on a handful of high-profile cases, involved incidents overseas, or just didn’t provide numerically-impressive evidence of complaints to existing human rights bodies. In addition, the Ruddock Report failed in viewing rights-protection as purely reactive (solving an existing problem) rather than prophylactic (safeguarding against plausible and significant future threats). By setting such a narrow standard of acceptable evidence and by neglecting the need for foresight, the Ruddock Report did not properly evaluate the important issues it was asked to investigate." 

Zhao on "Developing an appropriate contaminated land regime in China: lessons learned from the US and UK"

Dr. Bob Zhao, a Lecturer in the USQ School of Law and Justice, has recently published the second edition of his important book Developing an appropriate contaminated land regime in China: lessons learned from the US and UK.  Published by Springer in 2019, here is the summary:

"This book explores the complex package of mechanisms used to identify, record, manage and remediate contaminated land, including the system for allocating liabilities that has been set up by China’s contaminated land law and accompanying administrative decrees and environmental standards. Statutory control of soil or land contamination is a comparatively new phenomenon for Chinese lawmakers and researchers. After more than ten years of preparation, China recently adopted its first nationwide contaminated land law—the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Soil Contamination, which entered into effect in the beginning of 2019. The law deals exclusively with risk management in connection with soil contamination, and the remediation of contaminated land.

This book analyzes various facets of how China is managing the risks associated with soil contamination and remediating contaminated sites by means of legislation. Chapters 1 and 2 reveal the current extent of the soil contamination problem in China and the initial policy responses of the country’s central government. In turn, Chapters 3 and 4 address the regulatory frameworks and the latest contaminated land legislation at both the local and national level. Lastly, Chapters 5 through 9 offer concrete recommendations, based on lessons learned in the US and UK, for reforming contaminated land management in China. 

Overall, the book covers the past, present and future of contaminated land management in China, making it of interest to environmental policymakers, administrators, academics, lawyers and engineers engaged in soil or environmental protection. Further, it offers a source of reliable information for those who want to learn more about China’s environmental legislation and contaminated land management policy."