JUST WAYS: Australian social advocacy storiesPeter Norden, A.O.

Vice Chancellor’s Fellow

Melbourne Law School

University of Melbourne

Human Rights Advocacy Stories Edited by

D.R. Hurwitz

University of Virginia School of Law

&

M.L. Satterthwaite

New York University School of Law

Foundation Press, 2009

Some cross-cutting issues: The role of the lawyer and the law in human

rights struggles The dynamic interplay of formal and informal

modes of protest The relationship between domestic and

international law The role of the law and legal institutions in

crafting solutions that provide truth & justice

Some selected Australian case studies Police use of ‘deadly force”, Victoria 1990’s

Threatened deportation of East Timorese from Australia, following independence of Timor L

An Australian on “death row” in Singapore

Ronald Ryan: buried in an unmarked grave

Police Use of “deadly force” Walsh Street shootings/Russell St bombing Death of Gary Abdallah: May 1989 11th death from police shootings in 2 yrs. Quotation from statement at funeral: … Six police charged with his murder Role of Community Legal Centres Seven more deaths Jan – May 1994 Project Beacon: police retraining

Australian East Timorese community 1975 invasion of territory by Indonesia Late 1980’s: further civil conflict 1999 Indonesia relinquished control Christmas 2001 threatened deportation Richmond solidarity action Role of Legal Aid workers Role of Peter McGauren, MLS graduate

Australian on death row in Singapore Mrs Kim Nguyen and sons Van & Khoa Convicted of trafficking heroin Defence: Lex Lasry and Julian McMahon The Richmond vigil service and protest Intervention of two Popes! Capital punishment and moral teaching…

Ryan: 40 years in an unmarked grave George Melville: oyster shop in Collins Street 1855 Act to Regulate Execution of Criminals 3rd February 1967: last man hanged in Aust. Buried in an unmarked grave: Pentridge Public tours: 350,000 visitors Licence for Exhumation, December 2007 What about Ned Kelly?

CONCLUDING REMARKS…. Role of the legal profession in advocacy Who is “the client”? Who gives the mandate? How to discover the passion? Collaboration in defence of human rights Implications for legal education Formation for professional practice