Australia bans annoying behaviour for Pope visit

[Digitonomy]

You think I care about American law? Sheesh! As to Australian law - it’s been way too many moons since I studied that particular topic, I won’t attempt to give an answer.

I was guessing you’d know more about US law than I know about Australian law. Most of the English-speaking world gets more than its fair share of exposure to American law from various TV programs and movies, but it’s rarely reciprocated, so we remain a little ignorant about the rest of the world.

 

[LilyM]

I was guessing you’d know more about US law than I know about Australian law. Most of the English-speaking world gets more than its fair share of exposure to American law from various TV programs and movies, but it’s rarely reciprocated, so we remain a little ignorant about the rest of the world.

That’s presuming that American tv shows get the information right. Coming from a family of doctors who are happy to discuss the myriad inaccuracies of TV medical shows, I’m guessing not all legal shows are accurate either.

 

[Digitonomy]

That’s presuming that American tv shows get the information right. Coming from a family of doctors who are happy to discuss the myriad inaccuracies of TV medical shows, I’m guessing not all legal shows are accurate either.

That’s certainly true, but by comparison the only popular media sources of Australian law that I remember being exposed to are Mad Max, Quigley Down Under, and Crocodile Dundee.

 

[LilyM]

That’s certainly true, but by comparison the only popular media sources of Australian law that I remember being exposed to are Mad Max, Quigley Down Under, and Crocodile Dundee.

Don’t know why, but legal series based in Australia tend to not do well at all here, though we have our fair share of the medical and police-crime series. We have no equivalent of ‘LA Law’, ‘The Practice’, or even the more law-y bits of ‘Law and Order’, or ‘Boston Legal’ which I love.

I think it’s because our legal system in general is a lot less theatrical and dramatic than the US. More Rumpole of the Bailey (a British series, admittedly but a good one) than anything else.

And you don’t know what you’re missing if you’ve never seen the Aussie movie ‘The Castle’. (Which by the way gets the law badly wrong, but is a fantastic and hysterically funny movie which you must see - now! )

 

[Digitonomy]

And you don’t know what you’re missing if you’ve never seen the Aussie movie ‘The Castle’. (Which by the way gets the law badly wrong, but is a fantastic and hysterically funny movie which you must see - now! )

Thanks for the tip. I found that my local library system has a copy, so I’ll try to pick it up tomorrow.

BTW, I forgot there are at least a couple TV shows where I learned some Australian law - the Steve Irwin show, and a few years ago the Survivor producers got fined a sizable amount for one of the contestants pocketing shells from the Great Barrier Reef.

 

[LilyM]

Thanks for the tip. I found that my local library system has a copy, so I’ll try to pick it up tomorrow.

BTW, I forgot there are at least a couple TV shows where I learned some Australian law - the Steve Irwin show, and a few years ago the Survivor producers got fined a sizable amount for one of the contestants pocketing shells from the Great Barrier Reef.

I know someone who returned the favour and got coral from Hawaii in an illegal manner - so I guess we’re even

 

[latin_rite]

So clearly, this is simply a matter of Australia not having had a law on the books to have adequately dealt with such behaviour, otherwise, they would not have had to have created this new law…

you misunderstand new south wales has had these laws since the 2000 olympics. they do not prohibit freedom of speech. what it does do, is stop people interfering with or targeting other people/groups during one off special events such as this. the new part comes into play because people find ways around the law. so they just added new clauses. some might see this as an infringement on freedom. i don’t. i see this as an extension of it.(mine!) just as others are free to say what they want . i am now free not to have their views shoved in my face. now i can take my daughters to events without a dirty hippie shoving condoms at them. i am also free from an assault charges from assaulting said hippie. sure if they want to wear condoms go ahead, in fact I’ll encourage anything that would stop them breeding.

 

[latin_rite]

So what degree of freedom of expression is guaranteed under Australian law, and in what ways is it broader or narrower than American law?

Australia has no guarantees. we have no bill of rights. in fact when the new prime minster suggested that we do get one he was laughed at. and rightly so. but i do believe that it might be covered in our constitution. but meh this is a country where a citizen can still walk up to its political leaders and give them an ear bashing. on one occasion not long ago. when a widow of a dead soldier found the department of defence had “mislaid” his body, she called the pm at 2am and demanded answers.