News item

Who gets to vote? An inclusive electoral franchise for contemporary Australia: A Parliamentary Library Symposium

The franchise – the right to vote in Australian federal elections – is provided to Australian citizens who are 18 or older (subject to some disqualifiers). And through a quirk of legislative history, some non-citizens can indeed vote in federal elections. But for other non-citizen residents and minors who participate in Australian society and have an interest in the nation’s future, they do not have that right. In addition, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, who were not universally included in the franchise since federation, continue to be underrepresented on electoral rolls and in exercising their franchise.This seminar brings together leading Australian scholars to consider an expansion of the right to vote and the reasons why Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to remain underrepresented. The seminar will be chaired by Dr Jill Sheppard, one of the Canberra Convenors of the Electoral Regulation Research Network and is presented in conjunction with the Parliamentary Library.

Engagement

The Asian Law Centre runs numerous research activities throughout the year, many of them open to the public. This includes evening seminars, lunchtime (Brown Bag) seminars, Asian Legal Dialogues (presented in Asian languages), conferences and workshops. The Asian Law Centre has also recently launched Asian Legal Conversations - COVID-19 to discuss and compare experiences on issues either raised or exacerbated by COVID-19, which are shared by the jurisdictions of the Asia Pacific region, while also discussing country-specific issues.

Call for Papers - 'Issues in Public Law in South Asia' Workshop

Legal and non-legal scholars are invited to submit paper proposals for the “Issues in Public Law in South Asia” workshop, which aims to address critical gaps in public law in South Asia.This legal brief considers the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 (‘CAA’) and its compliance with India’s international legal obligations.

Mental Health Apps - could they be doing more harm than good?

Prof Jeannie Patterson is featured on this podcast discussing her research on mental health apps which provide advice based on algorithms with no professional input.Listen to podcast with Prof Jeannie Paterson on 'Mental Health Apps – could they be doing more harm than good?'

Current Initiatives to Encourage Fair and Cooperative Work Practices

In April 2008, the Victorian Office of the Workplace Rights Advocate commissioned Professor John Howe and Centre Associate Associate Professor Anthony Forsyth of Monash University to prepare a research report on 'Current Initiatives to Encourage Fair and Cooperative Workplace Practices'. They completed their report in June 2008.

Regulating Power and Corporate Misconduct

This project aims to map and critically analyse the shift towards negotiated enforcement in response to corporate misconduct in the financial sector. There is growing concern within the community, consumer advocates, elected representatives and the finance industry itself about the increasing use by regulators of negotiated enforcement mechanisms rather than litigation to counter serious corporate misconduct in the financial sector.