In October 2010, a man from Morayfield, north of Brisbane, was charged with the assault of his neighbour, telling police “…he wouldn’t trim the hedges”. In Queensland, issues relating to trees and fences are the most common form of neighbourhood dispute – there is currently no statutory law in Queensland that provides for disputes relating...
Australia is currently updating its laws governing e-commerce. In February 2011 the Attorney-General the Hon Robert McClelland MP, introduced the Electronic Transactions Amendment Bill to ensure Australia’s electronic transactions legislation will be brought into line with recent advances in technology. This was preceeded by extensive consultation dating back to 2008. Queensland is set to soon...
A new Personal Property Security (PPS) Register will be introduced from October 2011. Currently the States, Territories and the Commonwealth Government all have different registers with different rules for personal property. Personal property is considered to be any form of property other than land, buildings or fixtures which form a part of that land. It...
In November 2010 two Commissions, the Australian Legal Reform Committee (ALRC) and the NSW Law Reform Commission, completed their first inquiry into family violence with the release of a report, Family Violence: A National Legal Response (ALRC Report 114, 2010) containing 187 recommendations for reform. This report was a product of the year-long joint inquiry...
A new authority has been set up by the State Government armed with the task of rebuilding and getting Queensland back on its feet after more than three quarters of the State was affected by floods and cyclone damage. With legislated powers, the Queensland Reconstruction Authority will coordinate the mammoth task of rebuild and recovery....
A United States Army Private could be facing the death penalty after leaking documents to Wikileaks. The whistle-blowing website publishes submissions of secret and classified media from anonymous news sources. Private Bradley Manning has now been charged with an additional 22 counts, including the capital offence of “aiding the enemy”. Among Private Bradley Manning’s offences...
In the continuing saga over water rates, the Queensland Government has declared that the Gold Coast City Council can easily fund water rebates to households. AllConnex Water, the council-owned water distributor, stands to profit $94 million this year alone. Mayor Ron Clarke announced that a $50 rebate will be provided to Gold Coast home owners...
The business of “going green” has numerous benefits for law firms beyond reducing its environmental footprint. Growing awareness amongst the Australian legal sector to create a sustainable future has law firms across the country improving their energy practices and focusing on clean and renewable resources. But jumping on the sustainability bandwagon is not just an...
On 1 January 2011, a single, national consumer protection and fair-trading law commenced across Australia. The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 replaces the Trade Practices Act 1974 and large sections of Queensland’s Fair Trading Act 1989. The new legislation aims to give businesses a fair and competitive operating environment. The Act creates the Australian Consumer...
Surrogacy laws have been repealed after a heated debate in State Parliament. After almost 20 hours of bitter, divisive and emotional debate, with parties accusing each other of “social engineering”, the laws were passed in State Parliament on 11 February 2010. The new Surrogacy Act 2010 takes Queensland laws from the most conservative – it...
