Past Programs
Human Rights - 2007
Nomads
28/09/2007
Robyn Davidson is perhaps best known in Australia for her book Tracks. Some called her The Camel Lady ... and she describes herself as a 'nomad' having travelled through India and Tibet. But what's the future of the traditional nomads ... and why have we chosen the sedentary life over nomadism?
Unsafe Convictions
26/09/2007
Chester Porter, QC, was called to the Bar in 1948 when he was just 21, and retired from active practice almost 50 years later -- clearly an eminent observer of Australia's justice system. Among numerous career highlights, he represented the colourful ex-police detective Roger Rogerson, and worked as counsel assisting in the inquiry into Lindy Chamberlain's conviction.
His new book, Conviction of the Innocent: How the Law can let us down, documents notable examples of where the law has got it wrong ... from late 19th century France through to the case of Andrew Mallard, exonerated after a retrial late last year after serving 12 years for murder. That case is currently the subject of an inquiry by the West Australian Corruption and Crime Commission.
So in this age of DNA evidence and recorded interviews, can the law still let us down? What reforms would make our legal system more reliable? Should there be better compensation for those wrongfully imprisoned?
Unsafe convictions
02/08/2007
Miscarriages in our justice system are a matter requiring urgent attention, according to one of Australia's most experienced barristers Chester Porter QC. In this age of DNA and recorded interviews why are miscarriages still occurring? And what can we do to make the system safer?
TV and courtrooms
25/05/2007
Today we're picking up on some recent discussions around whether we should be seeing TV broadcasts from our courtrooms. Would increased media access to the justice system ensure greater accountability for our courts? Or would televised justice potentially compromise the rights of defendants and witnesses?
The Zimbabwe Dilemma
11/04/2007
Mugabe's Zimbabwe...where violence, rape, torture and brutality take place on a daily basis and the international community seems to watch and wait. Why doesn't a black state slaughtering black citizens warrant international condemnation? Australia Talks will discuss the world's selective behaviour around which regimes it censures, and those it chooses to ignore. Activist Peter Tatchell recently wrote a scathing editorial for 'The Independent' asserting that LARGE sections of liberal and left opinion had gone soft on their commitment to universal human rights:
'Why does a black tyrant murdering black people merit less outrage than a white tyrant murdering black people?'.
In The Wake Of Trauma
03/04/2007
On Australia Talks; we will introduce you to Alison who underwent a gruelling violent rape and assault in South Africa in the early 1990's. Alison recovered -to tell her story and to see the two perpetrators brought to justice. Today Alison has become the epitome of strength and determination and is now using her story to assist others in their recovery.
How do people recover from traumas of such magnitude and what can life hold?
Offshore processing of asylum seekers
02/04/2007
Eighty-two Sri Lankan boat people are to be sent to Nauru while their claims to refugee status are determined. And future boat people may be processed in Indonesia. The government's been criticised for the plan - which has been dubbed the 'Indian Ocean' solution, a reference to the government's so-called 'Pacific Solution'. But are they right to persist with the offshore processing of asylum seekers, particularly when they have outsourced the management of those centres?
The David Hicks Plea Bargain
27/03/2007
Australia Talks will discuss the implications of the David Hicks 'plea bargain' at the proceedings of the military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay where the terrorist suspect is a detainee.
How do such deals work and what are the implications of an Australian citizen potentially serving a US military-imposed sentence on Australian soil?
