Category Archives: Immigration

Economics v Islam: a cage match

June 8, 2008 – 7:31 am

“We’re the ones who will change you,” the Norwegian imam Mullah Krekar told the Oslo newspaper Dagbladet in 2006. “Just look at the development within Europe, where the number of Muslims is expanding like mosquitoes. Every Western woman in the EU is producing an average of 1.4 children. Every Muslim woman in the same countries [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Economics, Feminism, Free Speech, Skeptics | Comments (30)

Of good character

June 3, 2008 – 10:19 pm

The requirement of being “of good character” is one with which lawyers are familiar. After all, we have to show that we are fit and proper persons before we can be admitted to practice (as outlined in this post about plagiarist law students). Generally, when I think about someone being “of good character”, I think [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Free Speech, Human/Civil rights, Law, Personal liberty, Politics, Terrorism | Comments (8)

Can religious discrimination be justified?

May 29, 2008 – 8:20 am

James Farrell’s thought-provoking post at Club Troppo got me chewing over this question, and to that end I thought I’d share one of the papers I wrote last term for Oxford Jurisprudence. In brief, it’s a serious engagement with the ideas of John Finnis, who argues (among many other things) that discrimination on the basis [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Law, Philosophy, Politics, Religion | Comments (20)

Reflection on good fortune

January 6, 2008 – 11:37 am

Last night, I went to a friend’s hen’s night, and after dinner, we went out dancing. I am not sure how many years it is since I have done something like that…a long time, to be sure. Anyway, I caught a taxi home, and my driver was a Somalian man of about my age. He [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Personal, Society | Comments (1)

Playing the race card

October 5, 2007 – 1:27 pm

Last night when I was driving home, I saw a large group of boys standing on the pavement outside the Housing Commission flats. The boys were predominately of African descent. I was thinking about it when I got home. The boys had been dominating the footpath. Would I have felt nervous if I had been [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Law, Media, Politics, Racism, Society | Comments (14)

Limits on executive power

August 23, 2007 – 12:07 am

I venture into questions of migration law and executive power somewhat tentatively. They are far from my “comfort zone”. But I couldn’t help having a curious look at the case of Haneef v Minister for Immigration [2007] FCA 1273.
The primary question in this decision is the interpretation of s 501(6)(b) of the Migration Act 1958 [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Law, Politics, Terrorism | Comments (3)

We ain’t that bad, really!

July 19, 2007 – 11:15 pm

As a lawyer, my eye was caught by an excerpt from one of The Road to Surfdom’s latest posts:
In a country where the federal cabinet consists of little but grey soulless lawyers, it’s ironic that some of the most admirable characters in the struggle to defend personal liberty and democratic principle are also members of [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Law, Politics | Comments (22)

Citizenship tests II (or why I hate multiple-choice)

May 20, 2007 – 12:57 am

Have a look at some of the proposed citizenship questions, reported in the Herald Sun. Apparently I’m not the only one who is severely unimpressed. I really dislike dumb multiple choice questions. Quite often on forms and the like I can think of more than one answer which applies, but I’m just supposed to tick [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Fark! | Comments (22)

“Everyone wants you when you’re bi…”

May 10, 2007 – 9:57 am

That’s what Living Colour said in a song a few years back. But it seems that they might have been wrong.
I was surprised by the account of a recent decision of the Refugee Review Tribunal (discovered via Anonymous Lefty). Ali Humayun sought asylum on the basis that he was a bisexual Christian and would be [...]

By Legal Eagle | Also posted in Law, Sex | Comments (14)