Justice with Jon Faine

Each State and territory has ‘independent’ agencies that are meant to keep governments accountable. But how independent are they really? Deborah Glass OBE, former Victorian Ombudsman and now honorary fellow at Melbourne Law School, has new research on the question. Further reading: There are invisible strings that the powerful use to keep critics at bay: The Age   Justice is a podcast of Melbourne...

False scare campaigns and scams are common on Chinese-language media and social media in Australia, particularly targeting people who are anxious about their residency status. Who is behind it, and what can be done to protect our Chinese-language community?   Dr Fan Yang  is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Melbourne node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Ma...

Melbourne Law School and host Jon Faine bring you Justice: a biweekly podcast about the law behind the news.   In this episode, Associate Professor Jason Bosland explains what defamation is and why politicians sue over it, updates to Australian defamation law, and why some deserve to succeed in their court cases.  Further reading:  Melbourne Law School’s Dr Jessica Lake explains  what the Higgins...

It has long been a legal truism that the High Court does not have the power to rule on issues of Aboriginal sovereignty, or the right to self-govern. But this idea is based on a legal misunderstanding, argues Associate Professor Olivia Barr.     Further reading from this episode:  You can read Olivia’s journal article here  Read more about the soco-economic benefits of modern treaties in Canada  h...

This episode contains material some people might find disturbing. Listener discretion is advised. Melbourne Law School and host Jon Faine bring you Justice: a weekly podcast about the law behind the news. Should doctors be obliged provide all services that are ethically approved by their colleges and legal under the law, or should they have the right to refuse terminations, assisted dying or any o...

Melbourne Law School and host Jon Faine bring you Justice: a weekly podcast about the law behind the news. New apps make it all too easy for real estate agents to collectintimate information from people applying to rent homes. Ever been asked for your marriage certificate? Or to do a personality quiz?  Lina Przhedetsky on the privacy pitfalls. To learn more about the use of digital technologies in...

Melbourne Law School and host Jon Faine bring you Justice: a weekly podcast about the law behind the news. AI is now listening in in the doctor’s clinic, with products known as ‘AI scribes’ increasingly being used to draft patients’ medical records. This might save doctors time and reduce burnout.  But what are the legal implications of this new practice? Are regulators doing enough to make sure A...

President Trump started the war on Iran without Congressional approval and reissued tariffs after the Supreme Court’s ruling. Some of his political strategists are floating plans to control who can vote in future elections. Is any of this legal? Constitutional Law expert  Associate Professor Will Partlett explains.  FIND MORE OF WILL'S WORK: Read: Why the Russian Constitution Matters: The Cons...

Melbourne Law School and host Jon Faine bring you Justice: a weekly podcast about the law behind the news. More than a third of 2800 young Australian workers surveyed reported having been ripped off by employers, according to a new study by Professor John Howe , of Melbourne Law School. They have been underpaid, not paid, forced to pay for equipment or clothing…. What remedies are available, and w...

Melbourne Law School and host Jon Faine bring you the last episode of season one of Justice: a weekly podcast about the law behind the news. Half of lawyers surveyed say they endure a poor workplace culture, and their discontent fuels expensive attrition rates. One in ten lawyers plan to leave the profession in the next 12months, one in three want to leave their employer in the next 12 months, and...

Melbourne Law School and host Jon Faine bring you Justice: a weekly podcast about the law behind the news. Around two-thirds of Australian organisations use artificialintelligence computer programs to recruit new staff. But Dr Natalie Sheard , a researcher with Melbourne Law School, found that there are serious risks that AI used to screen job applicants will discriminate against women, older appl...

This episode contains material some people might find disturbing. Listener discretion is advised. Melbourne Law School and host Jon Faine bring you Justice: a weekly podcast about the law behind the news. More than half of young people are using consensual strangulation during sex (“choking”), but few understand the risks. Should we re-think what it means to consent under the law? Melbourne Law Sc...

Melbourne Law School and host Jon Faine bring you Justice: a weekly podcast about the law behind the news. Australian employers have joined an international legal case that challenges the right of workers to strike. What will it mean for Australian workers if they win? We speak with Professor Sean Cooney of Melbourne Law School, who has written submissions for this globally significant case before...

This episode contains material some people might find disturbing. Listener discretion is advised. Melbourne Law School and host Jon Faine bring you Justice: a weekly podcast about the law behind the news. Since the camera was invented, men have been misusing women’s images for profit. Copyright, defamation and privacy laws have all been called on to stop it, but AI and 'deep fake' porn is a new fr...

Melbourne Law School and host Jon Faine bring you Justice: a weekly podcast about the law behind the news. There is a legal vacuum behind attempts to forge a ceasefire inthe wars in Gaza and Ukraine. Does international law have any real power in these times of global turmoil? And how can a ceasefire agreement be enforced when one party is a ‘non-state entity’? Dr Marika Sosnowski from the Peter Mc...

Melbourne Law School and host Jon Faine bring you Justice: a weekly podcast about the law behind the news. Patients often want the right to record some consultations, but doctors are not so keen and sometimes refuse to permit it. What does the law say? We talk to Dr Megan Prictor , a Melbourne Law School expert researching the law of privacy.    READ MORE ON RECORDING HEALTHCARE CONSULTATIONS: Man...

Melbourne Law School and host Jon Faine bring you Justice: a weekly podcast about the law behind the news. President Trump is stress testing the Constitution of the USA inways that have never been seen, drawing on strategies we see in authoritarian countries. Will judges and the courts frustrate his efforts to assume more power than any previous President? We ask constitutional law scholar Associa...

This episode contains material some people might find distressing. Listener discretion is advised. Melbourne Law School and host Jon Faine bring you Justice, a weekly podcast about the law behind the news. A 14-year-old boy in the US recently took his own life after an AI chatbot ‘companion’ he created repeatedly entreated him to ‘please come home to me’. What, if anything, can the law do about th...