I wasn’t exactly sure how “The Meaning of Life” by Spencer J. Howson
aged 17 ¾ would go down when I included extracts in my last column. I’m
pleased to report the reaction was overwhelmingly positive. My favourite
was from Julia Baker, a snake-catcher on Brisbane’s northside, who
tells me she is about to start crowd-funding a TV show about her
reptile-wrangling adventures.
Julia wrote: “Wow!! That is very
impressive for a 17 year old! It took me over 40 years to realise that
by doing things that make ourselves happy first, we are then naturally
driven as humans to share that happiness and help create it in others. A
win/win situation. Brilliantly written Spencer! The reason for working
on and wanting this TV series so badly it hurts is my vision for what I
want to do after it. I want to go into schools and speak in front of
people that need an inspiration from someone that came from nothing, was
pretty much labelled stupid, and show them how to set goals, dream big
and achieve!”
You can count on some cash from me, Julia! Keep an eye on
www.facebook.com/snakesheila.
Happiness is about as far removed as
you can get from the way many people feel about the State Government
granting Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie the power to overturn judges’
decisions and keep “the worst of the worst” offenders behind bars. Even
Premier Campbell Newman says he’s uncomfortable with the
Attorney-General wielding such power, but he says the community is
calling for tougher sentences and that if you don’t like it, you’re “an
apologist for paedophiles”.
But cast your mind back to high school and
you’ll probably remember being taught that our parliamentary system is
based on what’s called The Separation of Powers – the Executive, the
Legislature and the Judiciary. In other words, having made the laws, the
parliament should leave it to the courts to apply those laws. No-one is
being an apologist for child sex offenders. The concern here is the
precedent this sets for governments targeting certain groups and then
acting as judge, jury and executioner.
But is it possible the Queensland
Government is in fact well within its rights to take ignore the
Separation of Powers? A nuance that seems to have escaped most was
pointed out on “7.30 Queensland” by QUT Senior Law Lecturer Peter Black.
Peter Black explained that whilst the Queensland Constitution states
that the Supreme Court has unlimited jurisdiction, it can be overruled
“either explicitly or implicitly” by a subsequent Act. “The Queensland
Constitution is just an ordinary piece of legislation. It doesn’t have
any special status like the Commonwealth Constitution”. Federally, says
Peter Black, it would be a different story: “The Commonwealth
Constitution would probably prohibit those laws taking place at a
federal level”.
So, would the High Court attempt to shut down this
legislation? Peter Black says: “It would require the High Court to
extend its existing doctrine. “But these laws I think are so provocative
and arguably so offensive that this is the sort of case that might
tempt the High Court to extend their existing doctrine so that they do
have a mechanism by which they could restrict and strike down the
constitutionality of these laws”. Of course all this leads to the
question – how else can we keep “the worst of the worst” behind bars?
Jarod Bleijie himself admitted on 4BC that a better way would be for the
parliament to pass tougher laws, equipping judges with tougher
penalties. There’s also been talk of introducing a US-style system where
we would get to elect (presumably tougher) judges. Perhaps all of this
will lead to judges taking the hint about society’s expectations and the
Attorney-General will never have to use his new-found power.
The
other thing that’s been occupying my mind this week is an invitation to
speak at the next “Men of Letters”. Along with Tim Flannery, Ernie
Dingo, Lawrence Mooney and others, I am to read a letter to “The Woman
Who Changed My Life”. So who will it be? Come along to The Zoo on
November 10th and you’ll find out. There will be a bombshell
announcement about me and this woman! “Men of Letters” starts at 3pm.
Tickets are $25. Proceeds to Edgar’s Mission. www.womenofletters.com.au
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