When is a Child not a Child?

If you are 17 years old in Queensland you are treated as an adult by the criminal justice system. Queensland is now the only state in Australia where this happens. In the Second Reading speech of the new Juvenile Justice Act 1992, the then Queensland Minister for Family Services and Aboriginal and Islander Affairs Mrs Anne Warner stated: 'It is the intention of this Government ... to deal with 17-year-old children within the juvenile, rather than the adult, justice system, as per the 1988 Kennedy report into prisons. This is consistent with the age of majority and avoids such children being exposed to the effects of adults in prisons, thereby increasing their chances of remaining in the system and becoming recidivists. This change will occur at an appropriate time in the future.' Thirteen years later this has not happened. There has been no regulation enacted pursuant to section 6 of the Juvenile Justices Act 1992, and Queensland is now the only state in Australia where 17 year olds are treated as adults by the criminal justice system. This paper documents the rule in Queensland and its history as reflected in government inquiries dating back to 1988. It examines the international human rights conventions under The United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child and welfare principles endorsed in the Juvenile Justice Act 1992. Support for change is widespread and public statements from various quarters strengthen the case for change. What are the contrary arguments? Or is this simply a case of the less powerful in our society being overlooked

Multi-Modal Delivery Approaches in Teaching Postgraduate Legal Research Courses

This paper commences with a consideration of the rationales for teaching legal research to postgraduate students. It discusses the importance of legal research to the dynamic and ever-changing discipline of law and the added significance of this area to postgraduate study. The paper then discusses the learning needs of postgraduate students and the changing educational environment that they face, and how new directions in education and developments in student numbers and background, funding and technology affect this environment. It examines the contextual needs of postgraduate students and how these affect their expectations of postgraduate study. The paper concludes with an analysis of the results of a survey of students undertaking the subject Advanced Legal Research as to various modes of delivery and considers some recommendations arising from the responses

Submission to the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee: Youth Justice (Boot Camp Orders) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012

This submission addresses the Youth Justice (Boot Camp Orders) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2012 which has as its objectives (1) the introduction of a Boot Camp Order as an option instead of detention for young offenders and (2) the removal of the option of court referred youth justice conferencing for young offenders. As members of the QUT Faculty of Law Centre for Crime and Justice we welcome the invitation to participate in the discussion of these issues which are critically important to the Queensland community at large but especially to our young people

Women in the Queensland Legal Workplace: a Snapshot

In addition to collating details of the demographic and working habits of over 2500 QLS members, the Queensland Law Society’s Equalising Opportunities in the Law Committee 2003 Membership Survey Report focused on the nature and prevalence of discrimination and harassment in the Queensland legal workplace. Primary areas of concern to therespondents included discrimination or harassment on the basis of gender, age, family responsibilities, pregnancy and marital status. The results of this survey firmly demonstrate that promoting diversity in the Queensland legalworkplace should be made a priority. Efforts to amend the Law Council of Australia Model Conduct Rules are ongoing. Providing this is done, will it be sufficient? What else needs to be changed to improve the situation and improve opportunities for diversity in the legal profession

Clinical research and leadership training program as a knowledge translation initiative across an Australian health care service

&nbsp;Health professionals need to be integrated more effectively in clinical research initiatives to ensure that research addresses key clinical needs and provides practical, implementable solutions at the coal face of care. Here we describe the informative phase of a broader program to enable and support health professionals at Monash Health who do not have a research background, to engage in and lead research to improve healthcare outcomes. The findings will be used to develop a dedicated clinical research and leadership training program. The training program will support Monash Health staff to up-skill or enhance skills to conduct rigorous research; engage and lead multidisciplinary, collaborative teams; and to use research to guide practice, as well as identify and address gaps in clinical research. &nbsp;</div

Dying to Win? The Goldman Dilemma in Legend and Fact

One of the implicit justifications for antidoping is that athletes are so committed to winning that they will take performance-enhancing substances regardless of the apparent consequences. Athletes are alleged to be, quite literally, willing to die to win. Support for this claim usually centers on the results of research by physician Bob Goldman, in which athletes were asked to respond to a hypothetical dilemma in which they were offered spectacular success in their chosen sport, but at a heavy price: they would die after five years of glory. In this paper, we examine the origins of this bargain, now popularly referred to as the Goldman dilemma, finding that both the methodology and implications of the original work have repeatedly been described inaccurately in both popular and scientific writings. These errors reflect both poor scholarship and deliberate misuse, where the flawed narrative is used to justify contentious policy decisions