Footnotes

CHAPTER 1 - Introduction

[1]        Ms Sabrina Wynn, Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), Committee Hansard, 18 October 2010, p. 41.

[2]        Ms Sabrina Wynn, Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), Committee Hansard, 18 October 2010, pp 42-3.

[3]        Submission 15, pp 17-18.

[4]        House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Law Reform: The Challenge Continues, May 1994.

[5]        Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Report into the Powers and Functions of the ALRC, 20 March 2003.

CHAPTER 2 - The ALRC's role, structure and reputation

[1]        Australian Law Reform Commission Act 1996 (ALRC Act), section 20.

[2]        See ALRC Act, sections 6-8.

[3]        ALRC Act, subsection 7(2).

[4]        ALRC Act, section 9.

[5]        Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), Submission 2, p. 12.

[6]        Submission 2, p. 11.

[7]        ALRC, Submission 2, pp 11 and 13.

[8]        ALRC, Submission 2, pp 11-12.

[9]        Attorney-General's Department (Department), Submission 15, p. 3.

[10]      ALRC Act, sections 27-29, and 34.

[11]      Revised Explanatory Memorandum for the Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Bill 2010, pp 15-16.

[12]      Department, Submission 15, p. 5; ALRC, Submission 2, pp 15-17.

[13]      See for example: Federation of Community Legal Centres (Vic), Submission 4, p. 2; Law Council of Australia, Submission 5, p. 7; Public Interest Advocacy Centre, Submission 21, p. 6.

[14]      ALRC, Submission 2, pp 32-33.

[15]      ALRC, Submission 2, p. 9.

[16]      Submission 5, p. 4.

[17]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 21.

[18]      Submission 9, pp 41-48. See also Federal Court of Australia, Submission 22, p. 2, which states that the Federal Court fully accepts that the ALRC's reports may constitute appropriate sources for reference; and Macquarie Law School, Submission 8, p. 2 which states that the ALRC's final reports are frequently referenced in student and academic work, as well as being used as recommended course materials at Macquarie University.

[19]      Submission 23, p. 1

[20]      Submission 12, p. 5.

[21]      See, for example, Law Council of Australia, Submission 5, pp 6-7; Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Submission 7, p. 3; Macquarie Law School, Submission 8, p. 1.

[22]      Australian Law Reform Commission, Annual Report 2009-10, pp 25-27.

[23]      Submission 2, p. 6; ALRC 2009-10 Annual Report, p. 26.

[24]      Submission 3, p. 2.

[25]      Submission 15, p. 1.

[26]      Submission 20, pp 1-2. See also Mr Brett Dawson, Submission 1; and Men's Rights Agency, Submission 18.

[27]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 48.

CHAPTER 3 - Changes to the ALRC's governance arrangements

[1]        Revised Explanatory Memorandum, Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Bill 2010, pp 8-9.

[2]        For more information, see Department of Finance and Deregulation, Review of Corporate Governance of Statutory Authorities and Office Holders at: http://www.finance.gov.au/financial-framework/governance/review_corporate_governance.html, accessed 2 March 2011.

[3]        Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Act 2010 (FFLA Act), Schedule 2, item 11.

[4]        FFLA Act, Schedule 2, item 13.

[5]        FFLA Act, Schedule 2, item 33.

[6]        FFLA Act, Schedule 2, item 34.

[7]        Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 100-1.

[8]        Attorney-General's Department (Department), answers to questions on notice, received 25 February 2011 (Letter from Professor David Weisbrot, President of the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), to Mr Marc Mowbray-d'Arbela, Assistant Secretary, Legislative Review Branch, Financial Management Group, Department of Finance and Deregulation, dated 18 November 2008).

[9]        Committee Hansard, 3 March 2011, p. 8.

[10]      Committee Hansard, 3 March 2011, p. 9.

[11]      Committee Hansard, 3 March 2011, p. 11.

[12]      Submission 14, p. 12. See also Mr Bill Rowlings, Civil Liberties Australia, Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 14.

[13]      Revised Explanatory Memorandum, Financial Framework Legislation Amendment Bill 2010, p. 17.

[14]      Submission 14, p. 12.

[15]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 73.

[16]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 74.

[17]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 30-1.

[18]      Committee Hansard, 3 March 2011, p. 9.

[19]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 92, 95 and 101.

[20]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 74.

[21]      Submission 16, p. 4.

[22]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 92-93.

[23]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 93-94. This section of the Beale Review is available on the committee's website at: https://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/legcon_ctte/law_reform_commission/submissions.htm.

[24]      Submission 16, p. 4.

[25]      Committee Hansard, 3 March 2011, p. 7.

[26]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 92-93.

[27]      Committee Hansard, 3 March 2011, p. 7.

[28]      Supplementary Submission 2, p. 17.

[29]      Supplementary Submission 2, p. 18.

CHAPTER 4 - Impact of budget cuts – full-time commissioners and staffing

[1]        Submission 2, pp 26-7.

[2]        Submission 2, p. 27.

[3]        Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 49.

[4]        Submission 2, p. 27.

[5]        Submission 2, pp 11-13.

[6]        Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 4.

[7]        On 11 February 2011, the government announced the appointment of a second full-time commissioner for the ALRC's 'Review of censorship and classification' inquiry. This appointment is discussed later in this chapter under the heading 'Appointment of a second full-time commissioner'.

[8]        Submission 3, p. 3.

[9]        Submission 22, p. 4.

[10]      Committee Hansard, 3 March 2011, p. 3.

[11]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 52.

[12]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 50-51 and 53.

[13]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 18. See also: Rule of Law Institute of Australia, Submission 14, p. 13, which advocated the appointment of at least one additional full-time commissioner.

[14]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 23.

[15]      ALRC Act, sections 27-29.

[16]      Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee, Additional Estimates Hearings, Committee Hansard, 18 October 2010, pp 44-45.

[17]      Submission 14, p. 11.

[18]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 67-8.

[19]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 102.

[20]      Submission 2, p. 27.

[21]      Submission 19, p. 2. See also New South Wales Law Reform Commission, Submission 3, p. 3, which notes that while the ALRC attracts excellent staff and has Senior Legal Officers with a great deal of experience, those officers are not sufficiently well positioned or remunerated to provide the leadership required to run references.

[22]      Submission 2, pp 13-14.

[23]      Submission 3, p. 3.

[24]      Submission 2, p. 20.

[25]      The Hon. Robert McClelland MP, Attorney-General, 'ALRC performs vital role', Australian Financial Review, 11 February 2011, p. 46.

[26]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 72.

[27]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 50.

[28]      Submission 9, pp 24-25.

[29]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 72.

[30]      Submission 21, pp 8-9.

[31]      Submission 16, p. 6.

[32]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 49.

[33]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 72-73.

[34]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 86.

[35]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 89-90.

[36]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 86.

[37]      Tabled document, Letter from the Hon. Robert McClelland, Attorney-General to Professor Rosalind Croucher, President of the ALRC, dated 21 February 2011, Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee, Additional Estimates Hearings for the Attorney-General's Department, 22 February 2011.

[38]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 96.

[39]      Submission 15, p. 2.

[40]      Submission 2, p. 12.

[41]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 56.

[42]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 55-56.

[43]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 3-4. See also Professor Rosalind Croucher, ALRC, Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 56.

[44]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 9. Part-time commissioners do not receive payment for their work for the ALRC; the only support they receive is payment of travel costs: see Professor Rosalind Croucher, ALRC, Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 56.

[45]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 23. See also Macquarie Law School, Submission 8, p. 4.

[46]      Submission 2, p. 27.

[47]      The number of FTE staff varies from year to year. For example, in 2001-02 there were 22 FTE staff; in 2004-05 there were 18.05 FTE staff; and in 2007-08 there were 19.37 staff. However, there is an overall downward trend in staff numbers.

[48]      Submission 2, pp 28-29.

[49]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 50-51.

[50]      Supplementary Submission 2, p. 13.

[51]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 54.

[52]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 67.

[53]      Supplementary Submission 2, p. 15.

[54]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 20.

[55]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 96.

[56]      See Submission 14, p. 17.

[57]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 103-104.

[58]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 48.

[59]      See, for example, Rule of Law Institute of Australia (RoLIA), Submission 14, p. 17; Professor David Weisbrot, Submission 16, p. 8.

[60]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 57.

[61]      Supplementary Submission 2, pp 8-9.

[62]      Committee Hansard, 1 February 2011, p. 57.

[63]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 58. The ALRC's current inquiry 'Family Violence and Commonwealth Laws' follows on from an earlier ALRC inquiry into Family Violence which was finalised in November 2010.

[64]      Committee Hansard, 3 March 2011, p. 8.

[65]      Committee Hansard, 3 March 2011, p. 8.

[66]      Committee Hansard, 3 March 2011, p. 10.

[67]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 97.

CHAPTER 5 - Impact of budget cuts – information and education program and conduct of inquiries

[1]        Submission 8, p. 3.

[2]        Submission 14, p. 34, quoting the Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG, Launch of Reform, Autumn Edition 1998 – Issue 72, Tuesday, 7 April 1998, Sydney.

[3]        Submission 14, p. 34.

[4]        Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 68.

[5]        Submission 8, p. 5.

[6]        Submission 11, p. 3.

[7]        Submission 16, p. 8 and Attachment A, p. 22.

[8]        Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 22. See also RoLIA, Submission 14, p. 17.

[9]        Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 27. See also Law Council of Australia, Submission 5, pp 11-12.

[10]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 35.

[11]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 2.

[12]      Committee Hansard, 3 March 2011, p. 5.

[13]      Submission 17, p. 1. See also PIAC, Submission 21, p. 5, which stated that in the past the ALRC has effectively involved the public and extensively consulted on matters that have been referred to the commission; and Macquarie Law School, Submission 8, p. 3. However, this view was not shared by the Men's Rights Agency which described the ALRC's consultation on the first Family Violence inquiry as a 'pre-planned' process that 'effectively locked out men/fathers and their representatives from being included in the initial and ongoing inquiry': Submission 18, p. 1.

[14]      Supplementary Submission 2, p. 14.

[15]      Submission 3, pp 1-2.

[16]      Submission 21, p. 3.

[17]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 22. See also RoLIA, Submission 14, p. 18; Professor Les McCrimmon, Submission 19, p. 2.

[18]      Submission 2, p. 20.

[19]      Submission 5, p. 11.

[20]      Supplementary Submission 2, p. 14. See also Macquarie Law School, Submission 8, pp 2-3; and PIAC, Submission 21, p. 5.

[21]      Submission 2, p. 28.

[22]      Submission 4, p. 2. See also PIAC, Submission 21, p. 5.

[23]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 68.

[24]      Submission 16, p. 8.

[25]      Committee Hansard, 3 March 2011, pp 10-11.

[26]      Committee Hansard, 3 March 2011, p. 11.

[27]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 60.

[28]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 60.

[29]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 60.

[30]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 60.

[31]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 86.

[32]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 90. See also Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 86.

[33]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 87.

[34]      Committee Hansard, 22 February 2011, pp 23-24.

[35]      Committee Hansard, 22 February 2011, p. 38.

[36]      Committee Hansard, 3 March 2011, p. 11.

[37]      Submission 14, p. 6.

[38]      Submission 5, p. 12.

[39]      Submission 5, p. 12. See also Mr Bill Rowlings, Civil Liberties Australia, Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 15-16; Mr Richard Gilbert, RoLIA, and Mr Benjamin Giles, RoLIA, Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 45; and PIAC, Submission 21, p. 9.

[40]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 104-105.

[41]      See, for example, RoLIA, Submission 14, p. 25.

[42]      Committee Hansard, 3 March 2011, p. 4.

[43]      Submission 9, p. 2.

[44]      Submission 2, p. 8.

[45]      ALRC Act, section 20.

[46]      See Attorney-General's Department, Submission 15, p. 14; RoLIA, Submission 14, p. 25.

[47]      Submission 12, p. 2.

[48]      Mr Bill Rowlings, Civil Liberties Australia, Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 17-18.

[49]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 79.

[50]      Supplementary Submission 2, p. 16.

[51]      Submission 3, p. 4. See also Law Council of Australia, Submission 5, p. 5.

[52]      Supplementary Submission 2, p. 16.

[53]      Submission 15, p. 6.

[54]      Supplementary Submission 2, p. 16.

[55]      Submission 6, p. 2.

[56]      Submission 7, p. 4.

[57]      Submission 13, p. 5. See also Attorney-General's Department, Submission 15, p. 17, which noted that the ALRC's reform focus and the Australian Institute of Criminology's subject specialisation make these organisations different in operation to each other.

[58]      Supplementary Submission 2, p. 17.

[59]      Supplementary Submission 2, p. 17.

CHAPTER 6 - Committee view

[1]        Attorney-General's Department, Submission 15, p. 1.

[2]        House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Law Reform: the Challenge Continues, May 1994, pp 25-26.

[3]        Mr Benjamin Giles, Rule of Law Institute of Australia, Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 30-31.

[4]        Submission 15, p. 5.

[5]        Attorney-General's Department, answers to questions on notice, received 25 February 2011 (Letter from Professor David Weisbrot, President of the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), to Mr Marc Mowbray-d'Arbela, Assistant Secretary, Legislative Review Branch, Financial Management Group, Department of Finance and Deregulation, dated 18 November 2008).

[6]        Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 74.

[7]        Submission 15, p. 6.

[8]        Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, pp 49 and 51.

[9]        Committee Hansard, 3 March 2011, p. 8.

[10]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 52.

[11]      Supplementary Submission 2, p. 9.

[12]      Professor Rosalind Croucher, ALRC, Committee Hansard, 22 February 2011, p. 24.

DISSENTING REPORT BY GOVERNMENT SENATORS

[1]        Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 85.

[2]        The Hon. Robert McClelland MP, Attorney-General, 'ALRC performs vital role', Australian Financial Review, 11 February 2011, p. 46.

[3]        Submission 15, p. 1.

[4]        Submission 15, p. 5.

[5]        Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 101.

[6]        The Hon. Robert McClelland MP, Attorney-General, 'ALRC performs vital role', Australian Financial Review, 11 February 2011, p. 46.

[7]        Submission 15, p. 2.

[8]        Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 85.

[9]        Revised Explanatory Memorandum for the Financial Framework Amendment Bill 2010, p. 17.

[10]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 85.

[11]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 85.

[12]      Submission 15, p. 6.

[13]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 85.

[14]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 85.

[15]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 85.

[16]      Submission 15, p. 2.

[17]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 86.

[18]      The Hon. Justice Grant Hammond, Committee Hansard, 3 March 2011, p. 5.

[19]      Submission 5, p. 11.

[20]      Submission 15, p. 6.

[21]      Committee Hansard, 11 February 2011, p. 84.