EQUITY UNCLE
Volume 4, Issue 6, (Originally published on Monday 2 September 2013)
 
Leaked internal Equity Party documentsprovided to De Minimis reveal that while student numbers have been increasing seemingly exponentially, the diversity of positions on the LSS Committee has not. For this reason, Equity Uncle says that the first priority of any LSS President must be to create a whole host of new LSS positions to cater to this wider student body. Equity Uncle is confident of being elected to all of these positions.
 
De Minimis caught up with the elusive Equity Uncle to discuss these exciting new plans.
 
Equity Uncle, why do you think we need a democratically-elected LSS Batman?
At the end of last year, Equity spent two or three months in Florence drinking Fernet Branca and waiting for Michael Caine. It was a good break from the law, and Equity requires that the LSS fund this position in the long-term. LSS Batman will also be responsible for enforcing justice and vengeance around the law school. No more non-law students on Level 3. No more elevator trips from ground to mezzanine. No more hockey pants.
 
How will LSS Rupert Murdoch ensure that De Minimis maintains a fair and balanced approach to reporting on the issues that affect hard-working Australian families?
LSS Rupert Murdoch needs to know what the Aussie battlers at Melbourne Law School care about. To that end, he will set up LSS News of the World to monitor students and their voicemails.
 
Independence in the press comes from having a choice of point of view dictated by LSS Rupert Murdoch. Equity will also adopt a child to serve as heir and sacrificial goat.
 
The LSS School Prefect role comes with great honour and responsibility— how will you ensure that appropriate decorum is maintained around the law school? Decorum at the law school is at an all-time low. Punctuality, school uniforms, sunsmart practices and polite discourse must be restored. Equity will establish a system of lunchtime detentions to penalise unlawyerly conduct. A strict ‘no hat, no play at law school today’ policy will be enforced. A register will be keptof parent contact information for repeat offenders. Melbourne Law School will be great once more.
 
Equity Uncle, how do you plan to fund the position of LSS Conspiracy Theorist? Can you confirm the exact parameters of the portfolio?
In 1943 the totalitarian Keating Government created the Supreme High Court, and made all of its judgments secret. You haven’t heard about them, have you? That’s because they’re secret. Equity will release [redacted] costings before the election. Trust only Equity.
 
As LSS Summer Clerkship, what will you do to help students with their applications and interviews?
Equity has always wanted to be a commercial lawyer. Many students have complained the Legal Theory classes are too abstract to be of any use. As LSS Dworkin, what will you do to encourage students to think deeply about the law and its role in society? Equity does not care for Legal Theory.
 
Can you outline for us the first ninety days of your position as LSS Tom Cruise?
LSS Tom Cruise’s ordinary responsibilities include patrolling, chewing gum, shooting people, and studying family law. LSS Tom Cruise will also have responsibility for ensuring that all couches, chairs and ottomans around the law school are sufficiently springy. However for the first few months of tenure, LSS Tom Cruise will be busily undergoing some rather significant orthodontic work.
 
If you are never invited to committee meetings as LSS Kirby J, how will you assuage the harshness of the common law?
Equity will establish the doctrine of the LSS Committee Meeting At Equity, by which people will be taken to have said what Equity would have said. LSS Kirby J will also commission five people to write five more biographies of Kirby J. Disney is often blamed for encouraging girls’ passivity. As LSS Cinderella, how will you focus on undoing the damage brought by cartoon Princesses— I’mma let you finish but Equity danced with the prince all night because Equity is the best dance teacher of all time! Equity is flexible but does not change for a man nor does Equity need a man. I’mma not let you finish.
 
Any closing remarks?
Equity could be LSS Hypnotist because of the comforting, disarming timbre of Equity’s voice. Equity once wrestled a bear to the ground by whispering to it. Equity both embraces and transcends democracy and encourages you to vote, validly, in the LSS elections.
 
De Minimis endorses Equity Uncle for LSS Batman.
 
Equity Uncle

BRETT SHANDLER
Volume 4, Issue 6, (Originally published on Monday 2 September 2013)
 
Kelly O’Dwyer MP is the Liberal member for the seat of Higgins, replacing former Treasurer Peter Costello following a 2009 by-election. She graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2000 with degrees in Arts and Law, forging a successful career as a solicitor, political advisor and banking executive. Since entering the Parliament, she has shown a particular interest in economics, finance and deregulation.
 
DM: Why did you decide to study law?
KO: Because like so many people who study law – I wanted to change the world (hence the current job).
 
DM: What was your time like at Melbourne Law School?
KO: I loved it. I enjoyed everything about Melbourne University and became actively involved not only in the Law Students’ Society but also more generally on campus, serving on the Student Union Council, acting in student plays, participating in mooting competitions, running the schools debating program. I also did a bit of study as well!
 
DM: What did you do after finishing your law degree?
KO: I did my articles at Freehills and then practised as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer at Freehills. I have also worked in banking at the National Australia Bank.
 
DM: What was it like working as a senior advisor to Peter Costello?
KO: Working for Peter was a wonderful opportunity and I learnt a lot from him. I worked as his Senior Adviser responsible for advice on corporate law, competition law, foreign investment and microeconomic reform. His is a career I really admire – he was able to do a very difficult job with great intelligence, integrity and humour.
 
DM: What has been your proudest achievement as an MP?
KO: In three and a half years – my proudest achievement has been doing my job in representing my constituents in Higgins and getting outcomes that improve their lives. I have so many lovely notes from people who I have been able to help, and this gives me tremendous satisfaction. I have also had the opportunity to write a chapter in a book published recently by Melbourne University Press called Future Proofing Australia.
 
DM: You previously served on the HoR Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. In your view, where is law reform most urgently needed?
KO: I share the Leader of the Opposition’s view that there is a strong need ensure that there is increase transparency and accountability in registered organisations.
 
DM: You were also a member of the HoR Standing Committee on Economics. What are the main economic challenges facing Australia in the medium to long term?
 
KO: There are many but I will highlight just two.
 
First, the need to improve our competitiveness as a country. We need to create an economic environment where business can grow, innovate and invest. Confidence needs to be restored and a critical component of that is to restore a stable and predictable policy approach in Government, in addition to freeing both business and civil society from the deadweight costs of unnecessary red tape and regulation.
 
Second, to increase female participation in the workforce in Australia to that of our OECD competitors which will, in turn, help grow our economy.
 
Brett Shandler

BRETT SHANDLER
Volume 4, Issue 6, (Originally published on Monday 2 September 2013)
 
Mark Dreyfus QC MP, Australia’s 35th Attorney-General and the Labor member for the seat of Isaacs, spoke with De Minimis ahead of Australia’s federal election next Saturday, 7 September 2013. In a wide-ranging interview, Dreyfus shared stories from his past as an MLS alumnus and his more recent work as a member of the Labor Government. Dreyfus graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1978 with degrees in Arts and Law. As a barrister, he acted in a number of important High Court cases, and was also a director of the Law Council of Australia. Dreyfus has held a number of positions since his election to the Parliament in 2007, including: Chairman of the House of Representatives Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee; Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency; and Parliamentary Secretary for Industry and Innovation. Earlier this year, he assumed the position of Attorney-General after Roxon (also an MLS graduate) stood down.
 
DM: What was your time like at Melbourne Law School?
 
MD: I went to Melbourne Law School when it was still located in the heart of the Parkville Campus, at a time when our nation was rapidly changing and the university was a hotbed of political activism.
 
Gough Whitlam had only recently been elected, and his Attorney-General, Lionel Murphy, was challenging legal conventions and implementing sweeping reforms with enormous energy. With so much going on I found it challenging to stay focused on my classes, and I clearly remember a second-year exam in November 1975 being interrupted by a megaphone announcement that the Australian Government had just been dismissed. I also had some excellent classmates, including Hilary Charlesworth and Lindsay Tanner.
 
DM: What was the most interesting case you were involved in as a barrister?
 
MD: It’s too hard to choose just one, but my top three are: Theophanous v Herald & Weekly Times Ltd (1994) 182 CLR 104; Austin v The Commonwealth (2003) 215 CLR 185; and Cubillo v Commonwealth (1999) 89 FCR 528; Cubillo v Commonwealth [No 2] (2000) 103 FCR 1; Cubillo v Commonwealth (2001) 112 FCR 455 (the Stolen Generations Case).
 
DM: What have been your proudest achievements as an MP, Parliamentary Secretary and now Attorney-General? MD: As an MP, chairing the inquiries of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs into whistleblower protection in the Australian government public sector (2009) and into access to public areas for people with a disability (2010). As Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change, putting a price on carbon – a fundamental reform essential to transitioning Australia to a low-carbon economy – and representing Australia at international climate change negotiations. As Attorney-General, increasing funding for Legal Aid, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services and Community Legal Centres, adding sexual orientation as a ground of discrimination, and representing Australia in our case against Japan’s so-called ‘scientific’ whaling at the International Court of Justice.
 
DM: Young people are particularly interested in the issue of internet freedom. In your view, where does the appropriate balance lie between privacy and security?
 
MD: We in Government have an obligation to protect the safety and security of Australians, and we also have an obligation to safeguard the privacy and democratic freedoms of our citizens. In some circumstances there is a tension between these two critical responsibilities, and in these circumstances striking the appropriate balance between the core values of privacy and security requires the weighing of a range of factors, many of which are not easily quantified. Federal Labor has initiated a number of reforms to improve the protection of privacy in our nation, without compromising the safety of our community. The Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protections) Act will come into force in March next year, significantly strengthening privacy protections for Australians by bringing Australia’s privacy regime into the digital age. I have also been working to ensure that there is always appropriate accountability and independent oversight of our security agencies, so that they always operate within the rule of law.
 
DM: You recently returned from The Hague where you argued Australia’s case against Japan’s whaling program. How would you describe this experience?
 
MD: It was a great honour to represent my country in the world’s highest court, the first time an Australian Attorney-General has done so since Lionel Murphy appeared in the 1974 Nuclear Tests case against France. I must say that it was also a pleasure to step back briefly into my first profession and to prosecute Australia’s case with our excellent legal team.
 
 
DM: If the ALP is successful in the upcoming election, what will be your main priorities as Attorney-General? MD: Improving access to justice for all Australians – which includes more efficient, better resourced courts, more funding for legal aid and other legal assistance providers, and increasing legal support for Indigenous Australians. Improved access to justice will create a more just and egalitarian society, while also strengthening the rule of law in our nation.
 
Brett Shandler

DEAN R. P. EDWARDS
Volume 4, Issue 6, (Originally published on Monday 2 September 2013)
 
If the latest MLS news was hard to come by last week, one reason might be hard copies of De Minimis flew off the shelves, but not because of readers. Instead, a short-lived confrontation with the Law Students’ Society (LSS) concerning last week’s headlining article, ‘Race On: LSS Sets 2013 Election Dates’, resulted in some members of the LSS confiscating a number of copies of the offending issue. The problem revolved around the disclosure of names of prospective LSS Committee nominees, which were sought out by De Minimis without any candidates approaching the newspaper or soliciting for publicity.
 
Members of the LSS leadership and De Minimis staffers reached a compromise late last week, whereby the newspaper redacted names mentioned in the article, while the LSS agreed to push the nominations deadline to midday yesterday, 1 September 2013. The issue of confiscated hard copies, however, remains unresolved, despite attempts at contacting LSS leadership.
 
While De Minimis’ reporting is not governed by the LSS election guidelines, the newspaper is committed to reporting freely and fairly on the elections, which take place next week, with results due by 17 September 2013. De Minimis remains an independent news source dedicated to being ‘your one and only source into the scandalous lives of the Law School elite! xo xo’.
 
Dean R. P. Edwards

NICHOLAS BAUM
Volume 4, Issue 6, (Originally published on Monday 2 September 2013)
 
Nominations for election to the Committee of the Law Students’ Society closed yesterday, with eleven positions being contested and five elected unopposed. Erin McMullin (Secretary), Daniel Osvath (Third Year) Matt Pierri and Anthony Pitruzzello (Activities) Yi Long Li and Will Brown (Careers) and Sophie Parr (Environment) were each elected unopposed. Current committee members John Manwaring and Nick Jane nominated for President.
 
Manwaring nominated the role played by the LSS in developing student skills as the most pressing issue facing the committee. “The fact is most of us will go on to careers that are only tangentially related to the law,” he said. “I think by working with faculty and with potential employers beyond the big firms, we can reduce a lot of the stress associated with looking at what happens after we graduate.” He also indicated, if elected, that he would like to see the LSS reach out to a broader group of the student population. “We’re a fully graduate cohort now, with much greater diversity than has been seen in the past,” he said. “It’s absolutely crucial that we solicit ideas from ALL Melbourne Law students. Before that can happen, though, students need to know they’re going to be heard.”
 
Jane also pointed to career development as the most important issue for next year’s committee. “This means a greater concentration on providing information on part-time legal work, a broad range of internships at legal and non-legal companies and placements for upcoming graduates,” he said. He thought that the LSS could do more to focus on helping students with practical life and study improvements. “This would mean longer access hours for ALL students, creating more law-student only room in the library, and increasing student financial assistance, such as increasing Book Fairy,” he said. “The LSS should be an inclusive organisation that looks to help students, not only while they are at law school, but to establish them for life beyond it.”
 
Matthew Condello, Hannah Fitzpatrick and John Azzopardi all nominated for Vice-President. De Minimis asked these candidates about what they thought were the important issues in the campaign, but as two of the candidates declined to comment (citing the election standing rules), we have made the decision not to run the third candidate’s comments. James Coppe, George Priestley and Will Davidson put their hand up for Treasurer.
 
In the Education portfolio, Larissa Chan and Zoe Anderson are running together against James Szauer. In the Competition portfolio, there is a four-way race between Marijana Banovac and Emilia Budisavljevic, Alyssa Dixon and Adam Gleeson, Will Chen and Vincent Pang, and Noah Bender Bennett and Vanessa Reinehr.
 
Communications is also a four horse race, with Naomi Shimoda and Andrea Tran running in tandem against Thomas Richardson, Olivia Crane and Nicola Ojerholm, (all of whom are running individually).
 
There are three pairs running for Equality Directors: Caitlin Louth and Alex Dworjanyn, Claire Jones and Samantha Jones, and Jessie Allen and Jennifer Vogan.
 
There are also four team competing for the role of Women’s Officers, with Naomi Shimoda and Jennifer Fiegel, Manekha (Nicky) Jacobs and Sarah (Jin Hyung) Yang, Olivia Chapman and Giorgina McCormack, and Bridget Meyer and Abbey Sultan all nominating.Tana Cooklin Cevallos is running for Queer Officer and Galen Jaffurs and Nathan Van As (who are running together). The International Students’ Representative position is being also contested, with Brian Fu up against Alena Kosmin.
 
Finally, Robert Ceglia, Charlotte Grover and Alex Horton have all put their names forward to be the Second Year Representative. De Minimis hopes to be able to speak to candidates about the issues in this election, and make their responses available online throughout the week.
 
Nicholas Baum