NEW DECADES NEW HORIZONS To r t s I l l u s t r a t e d 1
2020
CONTENTS
REALISTIC RESOLUTIONS
TORTS ILLUSTRATED ISSUE 1, 2020 FROM THE PRESS ROOM........5
QUTLS MC UPDATE.................6
REALISTIC RESOLUTIONS......26
QUTLS COMMITTEE UPDATE...8
LEGALLY LGBTQ+..................28
MOOT CLUB SPOTLIGHT.........12
BEING COMFORTABLE...........29
LAW SOCIETIES......................15
WHY I’M EXCITED..................31
QUTLINC......................16
WHAT AM I DOING?................32
WOMEN IN LAW............18
WHERE WOULD WE BE...........34
LWOB QUT....................20
TO VOTE OR NOT TO?............37
HUMANS OF LAWBRY.............22
TOMMY LOPAU.............23
ARLIA WANSTALL.........24
(26)
TORTS ILLUSTRATED
BEING COMFORTABLE WITH BEING UNCOMFORTABLE (29)
ISSUE 1, 2020 Prepared by the 2020 Media & Communications Team on behalf of,
WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT IP? (34)
The QUT Law Society would like to sincerely thank the following firms and societies for supporting Torts Illustrated:
QUT PLT
Herbert Smith Freehills
King & Wood Mallesons McCullough Robertson
Acknowledgement must also go to the following people for the creation of this publication: Edward Williams Director of Media and Communication Alexandra White Publications Officer Gideon Caturla Publications Officer
LEGALLY LGBTQ+ (28)
Mikayla Toms Design Officer
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF TRADITIONAL OWNERS The Queensland University of Technology Law Society (QUTLS) acknowledges the Turrbal and Yugara, as the First Nations owners of the lands where QUT now stands. We pay respect to their Elders, lores, customs and creation spirits. We recognise that these lands have always been places of teaching, research and learning. The QUTLS acknowledges the important role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people play within the QUT community.
RECONCILIATION STATEMENT We recognise that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the custodians of the land, and have a traditional association with the land in accordance with their laws and customs. We acknowledge that for reconciliation to be sustainable over time, local communities and institutions must support, and be involved in, the process. We are committed to inclusion, reconciliation and consultation to ensure the future of Australia is one where our First Peoples are afforded equal opportunity. In 2020, the QUTLS welcomes commencing First Nations students, and wish you every success in your studies and beyond.
FROM THE PRESS ROOM Welcome back to Semester 2 everyone! The Media and Comms team are proud to present our first Torts Illustrated for the year, New Decades, New Horizons – and what a horizon that has turned out to be. At the start of the year, when we drafted this title we couldn’t have foreseen how drastically the year could have changed in such a short span. This year, we’ve seen one of the largest viral outbreaks in more than a century, monumental calls for social-structural change all while businesses and learning have undergone an accelerated shift to online. Given the disruption this semester, we’ve been delighted to receive so many high quality submissions and interpretations on the given theme. We of course hope you enjoy this issue as much as we enjoyed reading and compiling your articles. This issue is definitely thicc, so rest assured that it’ll be a worthy read. It seems you’ve all been busy in isolation. Our team has been busy too. Hopefully you’ve seen some of our new initiatives this year (some of which you’ll see throughout this issue), including Humans of Lawbry, The Fortnightly (our email newsletter), Motivation Mondays, TikTok Tuesdays, Social Fridays, our Instagram giveaways and even our first ever live-streamed event. When we conceived of New Decades, New Horizons, we were thinking about celebrating the ‘roaring ‘20s’ – not about a pandemic that would cause us all to be stuck inside indefinitely. We hope this issue reminds you – like it did us, to think outside of the borders of what you think is possible in the new decade. Just remember how quickly things can change. Yours in Zoom backgrounds, The Media and Communications Team
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FROM THE MC G’day QUT Law,
Ben, Crystal, Chelsea and Maggie here, aka the QUTLS Management Committee. It’s safe to say that 2020 has been a little different than what was envisioned when this year’s team started in December 2019. As a collective, we’ve braved the worst natural disaster this country has ever seen, are currently living through a worldwide pandemic, and all the while have witnessed and taken part in enormous and historic social movements. On the educational and professional front, we’ve been impacted by the transition to online learning and working, the loss of employment, an extra-stressful clerkship process, and the alteration or cancellation of the usual events, programs and supports we’re accustomed to and rely on. Despite all of this, you’re still here reading this; and we’re still here writing. Cheers to us. Amid the unprecedented times, silver linings and opportunities have been surprisingly rife and the QUTLS Committee did our best to take advantage of these by providing valuable events, reimagined initiatives, and new supports to our members! You can read all about what we ran in each of the Director’s updates. At an organisational level we’ve grown! The QUTLS now boasts almost 40 student volunteers, an expanded Diversity, Culture and Wellbeing Portfolio and we continue to enjoy our long standing partnerships with industry leaders as well as new law firms and professional organisations! We are very grateful for their support. New Decades, New Horizons, New approach Our priority for operations in Semester 2 is the safety of our members and the wider community. As such we’ve implemented a COVID-19 policy aligned with the university’s and intend to hold many of our activities online. We’ll also have in-person events (with limited spots – so get in early!) for those keen to meet face-to-face. Where events are held in-person, relevant policies will be strictly implemented and, understandably, it’s worth noting that everything is subject to change. Whatever Sem 2 brings, the QUTLS is ready to tackle it with you. Come along to our General Meeting at 4pm on Sunday 2 August 2020. All members are welcome to come and participate. There’ll be constitutional changes, new roles, and new procedures to make the QUTLS and our events more accessible and our shared university experience much richer. Lastly congratulations to those who graduated last semester – you may not have celebrated in the usual way, but your achievements go beyond the usual in every way! Love and good vibes, Your T4.
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ABOUT US Ben is the QUTLS President and a third-year graduate-entry law student who has a keen interest in film, philosophy, social justice and dogs. He never drank coffee before starting his law degree. He can’t sing to save himself but claims to know all of the songs from the original Lion King.
Crystal is a 5th year Law and Business student majoring in accounting and is the Vice President of the QUTLS. As her degree draws to an end next year, she has migrated more towards law and is excited to continuing working within the commercial law sector. On the rare occasion you spot her at uni, she’s always down for a chat about QUTLS upcoming events, dogs and trash reality tv shows.
Chelsea is a 5th year Law and Business student who is charged with the governance and compliance of the Society as our Secretary. She has a flair for taking on challenges (like learning Mandarin during exam block) and a comprehensive list of experiences from Big W to Berlin. Reach out if you want to chat Constitution, Bylaws or Masterchef.
Maggie is the QUTLS Treasurer. She is a 4th year Law and Finance student who’s been in the QUTLS for a few years now. You’ll often find her in the lawbry with a coffee in hand or at networking events with a drink in hand, and always happy to have a chat!
QUTLS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE UPDATE QUTLS
EDUCATION
The Education Portfolio’s year started off on the right foot with our annual Clerkship Symposium going ahead to great success, informing students on the different clerkship opportunities and process overall. Unfortunately, COVID hit us hard and we were forced to cancel our Meet the Profession event just a week before it was meant to go ahead. To compensate for not being able to run some of the quality events that we had planned in semester one, we have moved a student favourite event Technology, Innovation and the Law into semester two. Additionally, we are hopefully looking to run our usual semester two events including our criminal law information evening, “What is PLT?”, and “Getting Your Foot in the Door”. Finally, we have been working hard with the law faculty and the unit co-ordinators to create an internal elective platform for students to access. The platform will hopefully have additional videos/FAQs from the co-ordinators detailing additional details about the unit. This will enable students to better understand an elective before adding it to their study plan, which ensures that all students will study units that align with their learning style and potential career path.
The Diversity, Culture & Wellbeing portfolio has been hard at work organising some exciting events! Over the next few weeks, you can expect to see a First Years Introductory Q&A Panel and out Women in Law Breakfast event, along with many others. The Q&A Panel will feature current students and Staff who will be answering your burning questions! This is one-stop how-to pass law school guide! This event will be going online towards the end of July! Our Women in Law Breakfast is an event we hold every year to celebrate the achievements of Women within the Legal Profession. With over 60% of our law graduates being female and with the appointment of the first female Australian High Court Chief Justice, we believe this is an excellent opportunity to show support for female practitioners. This event will be taking place in late August. You can also expect to see some amazing Pride content coming in the month of September! You can catch us taking over the socials or hanging out on campus for a quick coffee catch up! Keep your eyes peeled to our Facebook Page to stay up-to-date with our events or shoot an email through to director.dcw@qutlawsociety.com
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QUTLS
COMPET ITIONS
Huge congratulations to surviving the rollercoaster of a semester that was semester 1 2020! Whilst COVID-19 restrictions brought Australia and the world to a stand-still, the QUTLS Competitions Team refused to be stopped and were able to hold three incredibly competitive and successful online competitions, the: • QUT PLT Negotiation; and • The Clayton Utz First Year Moot. Even with these competitions being carried out online for the first time in QUTLS history, the calibre of competitors this year really did exceed all expectations. The spectacular and awe-inspiring advocacy skills of this years First Year Mooters really had our Competitions Team glued to their headphones during those intense and exhilarating moots in the Zoom Court room. Big shoutout to all those who rose to the challenge and competed in our competitions, we really hope to see you again soon! To those who competed, I hope that our competitions allowed you all learn and develop those ever-important legal advocacy, researching and negotiating skills! More importantly, I hope you all had a blast competing. Don’t forget, you can now add that extra-curricular line for your resume and LinkedIn profile! This semester, we will be running the King and Wood Mallesons All Students Moot; the MinterEllision Junior Moot, Corrs Chambers Westgarth Client Interview and Ashurst Open Moot, with the Junior Moot taking place between Weeks 3 and 4. This is a chance for both our first years and later year students to learn more about advocacy and put their skills to practice with a real-world problem. Keep an eye out for registrations on our Facebook page! (All of our upcoming events can be seen in our Sem 2 O-Week video on Facebook too!)
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QUTLS SPORTS & HEAL TH
Amidst the chaos of this year the Sport and Health Portfolio had to take a little initiative in Semester 1 as to how we could provide for the QUT Law Society members considering social distancing is not very conducive to sport. Our team was able to organise free zoom health and fitness sessions twice a week until the end of the semester which turned out to be a hit. We got in contact with local businesses and individuals that had been affected by the pandemic to provide free sessions including fitness, yoga, pilates and even juggling. Last semester while different to usual was still a great semester for the Sport and Health Portfolio. We are excited for a bit of normalcy to come in Semester 2! To start off this semester we will be opening registration for social sports on 20 July to kick off the semester. The sports that we have registered for are Touch Football (on Monday’s), Netball (on Thursday’s) and Soccer (on Sunday’s). These social sports will run weekly. We encourage everyone to get involved and register for the teams. This is a great opportunity to meet new people and to stay active. Another great opportunity to get active with some fellow law students is the Soccer Grudge match between the UQLS and QUTLS. This will be a friendly competition where we crush the UQLS on their own fields in soccer. There will be food provided and an all round great time so be sure to get involved. Now onto the Health side of the portfolio we are excited to announce we will be running the Mental Health Awareness breakfast in September 2020. We have some amazing speakers lined up to speak at this free breakfast. We would love to see you there on R U OK Day to spread awareness about mental health, especially within the legal profession. Additionally we will be providing exam stress packs with goodies to help get you through exams. Keep an eye out on the QUTLS page and the QUTLS Sport facebook page for further information on each of these events.
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Friday Socials on Facebook
QUTLS
EVENTS
The events portfolio is working hard to bring you as many exciting opportunities as possible while sticking to regulations. We are still looking into options for hosting a Law Ball in semester 2 as well as making our end of semester drinks, Letsgetrekt, bigger and better than ever!
First Year Pizza Party
Competition Winners: QUTLS
COMPET ITIONS
Negotiation winners: Sarah Sheppard Olivia Lambert Negotiation Runners Up: Renee Stevens Jolie Beckett FYM winners: Isabelle Holder Sophie Rawlins FYM Runners Up: Jake Scott Cameron Desfontaines
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MOOT CLUB SPOTLIGHT QUTLS MOOT CLUB
Catherine Bugler (Director of Moot Club), Elizabeth Stanley (Lawyer, Ashurst), Rebecca Treston QC (Class of 1989), Giulia Marrama (final year law student) and Courtney Howarth (Moot Club Officer)
The QUTLS Moot Club aims to promote mooting in the Law School, provide educational seminars on mooting and host practice moots to law students in a non-competitive environment. Our practice moots and seminars occur approximately three times per semester in the law library moot courts and are a great opportunity to try mooting, hone your skills and meet people over pizza. Ashurst Welcome to Moot Club Night We started the year with our Ashurst Welcome to Moot Club Night in March. This is a social event in which we had our keynote speech delivered by Rebecca Treston QC, President of the Bar Association of Queensland. Ms Treston is a leading estates barrister and QUT Law Graduate, and she spoke to the students about her top tips for advocacy. We also heard from Elizabeth Stanley, lawyer at Ashurst, about her experience coaching a winning Jessup International Law Moot team and how that assists her in her work at Ashurst today. Expert mooters Giulia Marrama and Teagan Matthews also told the group about their amazing Gibbs Moot achievements in 2019 (they were the runners up of the competition alongside Matthew Hickey). The Director of Moot Club, Catherine Bugler, also provided new mooters with an overview of mooting and mooting opportunities at QUT. Turning Moot Club Digital There were lots of challenges this semester and hosting moot clubs during isolation was one of them! Our first moot club was on the papers so that mooters could practice their written submissions. Martin Bartlett, lawyer from a top tier law firm and QUT Law Graduate, and Matthew Hickey generously offered their time to judge the written submissions and provided law students with invaluable feedback. Our second digital moot club was held over zoom. We had 4 moots in which a range of skill sets were able to practice and get valuable feedback. Elizabeth Stanley, lawyer at Ashurst and former Jessup Coach, kindly judged the practice moot and provided feedback to all participants. Well done to Zane Jhetam who was awarded the Most Dedicated to the Moot Prize!
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MOOTING AT QUT Intervarsity moots are organised by the law school and provide a great opportunity to travel the world to get academic credit while mooting to improve your advocacy skills. Oxford Intellectual Property Law Moot QUT has a world renowned reputation at the Oxford IP Moot, which is one of the most prestigious global moots. QUT is the only university in the world to win the competition three times. QUT law students Giulia Marrama and Austyn Campbell were selected to represent the team and were coached by Dr Lucy Cradduck. The team made it to the world finals, being the top 20 teams in the world, and were to compete in Oxford in March. Unfortunately, the Oxford IP Moot was cancelled. International Criminal Court Moot Competition QUT Law students Teagan Matthews, Hannah Witten, Daniel McLindon and Justin Christoforou were selected to represent QUT and Australia at the ICC Moot, hosted annually in The Hague. The team was coached by Mark Thomas. Unfortunately the ICC Moot Competition was cancelled. Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot The QUTLS sends a team annually to the Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Moot, hosted by the Australian Law Students’ Association (‘ALSA’). This year we had unprecedented interest in the moot, with over 20 people trying out for the team. Simona Varga (Director of Competitions, QUTLS) organised the try outs and Dr Lucy Cradduck and Mark Thomas (pictured) selected the team. Daniel McLindon, Catherine Bugler and Austyn Campbell were selected for the IHL team. The competition was the largest ALSA has ever hosted and was held over zoom during the July holidays. The team made it to the semi-finals before being knocked out by the team who won the grand final. What’s coming up for Semester 2, 2020 Like our Facebook page, The QUTLS Moot Club, to stay up-to-date on mooting at QUT. We will host seminars on client interviewing and mooting, practice moots and the QUT High School Moot this semester. The QUT High School Moot Grand Final will be on August 23 in the Banco Court, Supreme Court of Queensland, and judged by President Sofronoff of the Queensland Court of Appeal.
https://www.facebook.com/qutlsmootclub/
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FOCUS ON LAW SOCIETIES
QUT LAW & INCLUSION OF CULTURE Diversity, inclusion, togetherness, love and support. These are the values we cherish at QUT Law and Inclusion of Culture (QUT LINC). We believe that everyone deserves an equal opportunity regardless of their caste, colour, creed, race or nationality. QUT LINC was founded at the end of 2019 by Krittika Mehta and a strong team dedicated to social justice. The team’s aim was to build a supportive community not only for law students but for students from different cultural backgrounds. We were often told that all societies cater to inclusion so this club would have no effective purpose. Of course, all clubs are inclusive but there is no club whose entire purpose is inclusion. We are all united by our differences and that’s what sets us apart. Unfortunately, not everyone shares the same values. There’s a difference in preaching equality and practicing it. Today, many firms have a ‘diversity and inclusion’ section yet many fail to be truly inclusive. During such trying times, it is crucial that we provide support to those affected, particularly students belonging to diverse backgrounds. The Racial Discrimination Commissioner has warned that young lawyers from Asian backgrounds can be stereotyped as technicians, not leaders and therefore be overlooked for promotion. 2016 statistics from the Asian Australian Lawyers Association show that six large law firms (greater than 40 partners) in Australia have no partners with Asian backgrounds and that only 0.8 per cent of the judiciary have Asian heritage. This is an alarming statistic that calls for immediate action. Although this statistic cannot be changed overnight, we hope to provide equal representation to all students that lead to better opportunities in the future.
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COVID-19 concerns made it difficult for us to run the events we had initially planned but our brilliant executive team used initiative and flexibility to adapt to the current climate. Our most successful event yet was the Protest Sign Making Event. In light of the horrendous murder of George Floyd, protests began increasing worldwide. There was a massive protest in Brisbane on 6th June 2020, but Covid-19 concerns were still around. This event gave those members who had concerns about attending the protest an opportunity to still do their part in the movement. We made a number of signs and had lots of fun while discussing important issues and having some much-needed socialising! Making a difference is what we are all about. It doesn’t have to be massive - it can be simple, but it matters. After all, it is a billion drops that make an ocean. Some critics find the idea of these selective groups to be discriminatory. Maybe we can talk about that when culture does not significantly impact the way an individual’s career progresses. We hope to be a supportive community not only for law students from different backgrounds but for international students in general. At QUT LINC, we believe in the power of unity. Together, we can end racism and inequality. This decade, we choose to try a new approach to achieving equality. Instead of hating oppressors, we choose to love and support those who face these struggles. We aim to tackle this issue delicately and hopefully walk one step closer towards a discrimination free world, where our boundaries can become our strengths. With the establishment of this club, we hope to help link the world of law.
If you’d like to become a member and join LINC, you can a purchase membership at: https://qutlincmembership.getqpay.com/ For more information and updates about LINC’s events: • Like them on Facebook at @qutlinc2020 • Follow them on Instagram at @qutlinc • Email them at qutlinc.exec@gmail.com
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QUT WOMEN IN LAW The first women to enter the legal profession in Australia was Flos Grieg in 1905. She began her law degree in 1897 when it was still illegal for women to become lawyers. She was the first women to receive the right to practice in Australia and helped thousands of other women enter the legal profession. Years later we have multiple iconic women pathing the way for future practitioners. QUT Women in Law (QUTWIL) was established in 2019 by co-founders Ella Tait and Katie Cockburn. Their aim was to create a student society with a strong network of students, staff and industry professionals who are passionate about gender equality in the law. Despite 115 years passing since Flos Greig was first admitted, gender inequality in the legal industry persists. “We are often asked why we started QUTWIL ‘given there are more female law students than male students,’ ‘more female partners are getting promoted all the time’ and ‘it’s getting better!’ Yes, it’s getting better, but that doesn’t mean it’s very good,” stated Ella and Katie. “Aside from the avalanche of anecdotal evidence that describes the way women are undermined, sexually harassed and denied opportunity in their professional lives, studies continue to demonstrate that women are still disadvantaged in the legal profession. From studies demonstrating female High Court Judges are more likely to be interrupted by counsel than their male counterparts (Melbourne University Law Review, 2020), to reports indicating large pay gaps between male and female barristers (Law Council of Australia, 2019), it’s evident we still have a lot to improve on,” they continued. The aim of QUTWIL is to encourage constructive discussions on gender inequality in the law, with a view to creating
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solutions and fostering inclusive debate. Our ultimate goal is to increase student awareness of gender inequality in the law, so that present and future practitioners will be provided with more opportunities. Why join QUTWIL? QUTWIL not only aims to advocate for and equip law students with the skills to be powerful players in the legal sphere, we also foster the friendships and support networks that help you get there. We believe that this kind of mutual support and mentorship is vital to ensure women achieve their goals. QUTWIL’s rapid growth in both membership and engagement demonstrates that many others in the Law Faculty sought a Society where they could discuss and build connections with likeminded people passionate about gender equality. QUTWIL offers a variety of events throughout the year, that are both social and educational. Last year our society organised their first industry panel titled. ‘The Making of a Modern Leader’ supported by the Women’s Lawyers Association of Queensland (WLAQ). The panel featured a variety of successful women including; Penelope Eden (Partner at Minter Ellison), Tabatha Young (CEO of Aboriginal Family and Legal Services) and Nichola Di Muzio (Special Counsel at Thynne + Macartney and WLAQ Treasurer). The event allowed our members to network with the panellists and one another. Key lessons from the evening included topics on resilience, work life balance, and confidence. While QUTWIL is not in a position to fix the complex and underlying social issues that cause women to be disadvantaged, we promise to: create a space where women can speak openly and honestly about the challenges they have and will face in their career; bring together a range
of students, academic staff, and professionals to foster a network of mentorship and support; and help you meet likeminded people who you’ll soon consider your close friends. How do I become a member? Please stay in touch with us by following our Facebook page, Instagram account and LinkedIn. Membership will gain you access to our exclusive events and is $10 for the year. To become a valued QUTWIL member please click here. For more information please email us at info@qutwomeninlaw. com. QUT Women in Law: New Horizons In light of the COVID-19 situation QUTWIL has postponed Semester 1 events, as our priority is the safety and wellbeing of our members, staff and the wider community. In this difficult time, we invite our members to continue their engagement with our book club, mentoring program, exam help sessions and culture publications. We are hopeful that the situation will ameliorate in time for our Semester 2 events, where our members can look forward to our networking panels featuring strong female leaders, coffee catch ups, a welcome to semester pizza party, our annual sunset gala, and our praised end of semester picnic. “There is an incredible scope for growth, with more students banding together to support and celebrate gender equality” states Jessica Rosengren, the 2020 QUTWIL President. We look forward to meeting you and provide you with the opportunity to network with like-minded peers and industry leaders in the areas of law and law-adjacent fields.
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LAWYERS WITHOUT BORDERS Lawyers Without Borders QUT Student Division (‘LWOB QUT’) is a not-for-profit student organisation that aims to promote human rights. The organisation also aims to providing charitable support for Lawyers Without Borders Inc (‘LWOB’). Our mission is to foster a value for pro bono work amongst law students and provide opportunities for students to engage with access to justice and rule of law issues. We were the first Lawyers Without Borders student division of Australia, having formed in December 2018 and opening membership in February 2019. In 2019 we were fortunate enough to be sponsored by a leading independent Australian law firm, Hall & Wilcox. Through their partnership with us, the firm demonstrated their commitment to the broader community. Additionally, the firm conducts substantial pro bono work, community initiatives and partnerships, sustainable environmental and supply chain practices and their Emerging Artists Program. LWOB QUT has grown quickly and, in just over a year, has reached hundreds of students from faculties across QUT. The Division’s unique portfolio is the Research Team. It usually consists of 12 student volunteers, dedicating their time and skills to complete assigned tasks from Lawyers Without Borders Inc. These issues invariably focus on human rights/access to justice issues. One of our key research projects was preparing two chapters of a Pro Se Litigation Manual to be distributed in Kenya. The manual aimed to empower women in Kenya, who cannot access legal representation, by educating them about their legal rights. Some of our other research projects included: • Compiling a checklist and pamphlet for LWOB’s Trafficking in Person (TIP);
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• Analysing housing land and property restitution and other human rights violations in the Arabian Peninsula and Central Asia; and • Creating a pamphlet to help individuals seeking work overseas. There is more to us than research! LWOB QUT strived to equip future lawyers and professionals to build support in the rule of law sectors around the world. We have an amazing Events Team that hosts both social and educational events throughout the yea. Some of our events include trivia nights, panel discussions, professional network evenings, workout events and end of year parties. Recently, we held our Human Rights Panel Discussion which focused on raising awareness on human trafficking and modern slavery. The panel consisted of an impressive range of industry professionals and academics including Dr Hope Johnson, Dr Erin O’Brien, Dr Kate van Doore, Richard Hundt, Greg Vickery AO, Nerilee Sowter and Reimen Hii. If you would like to get involved you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram @lwobQUT. Additionally, you can become a member via our Facebook page. Membership is $10 and gives you access to discounted tickets to our events and allows you to participate in our research fellowships. Finally – come to our events! It’s a great way to meet people! Join us in crossing borders to make a difference! @lwobQUT
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HUMANS OF LAWBRY FEATURING
TOMMY LOPAU
LAW & SOCIETY What I love or what I find fascinating about establishing ‘order’ is how the law puts rules on society. I like how it provides a structure for the people to live, and I know that might sound a bit weird, but I don’t know, I just think it is fascinating how they design laws and ‘what the purpose’ might be for certain laws. What I love about studying law is that knowing the law gives you the power to control your own legal affairs which is an integral part of everyone’s life. Everyone and everything is compelled by law. So knowing how the law works or being familiar with it; is really useful in everyday life and in helping others who are facing legal troubles.
STUDYING LAW I’d say I have a very safe approach to education (studying) in general. Even in high school I always thought of, you know, ‘be scared of year 11’ and then ‘be scared of year 12’ because I just thought it was a new year level, I needed to prepare myself. I can’t be cocky towards anything that comes because you don’t want to underestimate anything. Thankfully I haven’t been like that with law school. I also like to never underestimate a subject because it is always good to walk away from a subject with a 7 thinking you could only get a 4. I just like to play it safe I guess.
Law also takes a toll on you mentally and physically. I actually joined the gym last year to get active. I think there’s also a positive to your mental health that you gain from working out. I’ve engaged a lot more in movements and sports. I’ve reconnected with volleyball. I dance a lot now, and I go to the gym. But I think it also really helps with my mental health. Law has been really stressful, but I think for me, I always have that attitude of ‘being scared’ of the next subject and not being confident in myself. But I’ve learnt over the years that I am capable of anything if I put my mind and time to it.
PACIFIC ISLANDER ROOTS AND COMMUNITY I have so much pride in my culture; I’m so proud to be Samoan. I’m so proud to be an immigrant. A lot of Samoan families can sympathise with my parents’ situation – they came to Australia with modest English, knowing little of the processes here. I would love to help my people in that situation, when I one day become a lawyer. I think I’m in a great situation to help them, particularly in the legal field, but also as a mentor. I love to mentor young Pasifika students, inspire them, get them to think bigger than what they limit themselves to think or perceive themselves to be capable of.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY Success to me means being a provider for my family. I love my parents so much, and I hope to draw a closer relationship to God as well. There was also an inspirational man in Samoa who led the movement to independence, and for me what I’ve gained from his life stories is - to always fight for your rights. Our Samoan heritage was something that was so dear to him, and it (the movement against colonisation) taught me to never allow myself to be bullied. Never settle for anything less than you deserve and to stand up for your people, your family and for others. My parents had been very big role models in that regard; they have always been my heroes from day one. Success to me is being a provider for my parents, for my family, and to allow them to live in their situation comfortably and to never go back. Always move forward! *This version has been editorialised. The original version can be found online at: https://qutlawsociety.com/humans-of-lawbry-tommy
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HUMANS OF LAWBRY FEATURING
ARLIA WANSTALL
SETTLING INTO QUT First year of law was a very good experience. I’m very happy with how my first year went — looking back on my first year though I wouldn’t study as hard as I did. I would’ve toned down on studying seven days a week to four days of the week. I would study more efficiently and effectively by making a properly organized timetable of what I should be doing within each span of time. I would be organising myself to get the best grades as I possibly could while at the same time also just trying to relax and not worry about the uncertainty of what you want to do when you’re older. Everything will fall into place eventually. I would strongly advise all law students or any student, in particular, to really just get out there and not spend your whole time studying. Yes, studying is very important to get good grades, but it isn’t the be-all and end-all. But you need to have a social life, and you need to really make sure your mental health is at its finest, especially when it’s exam times. That’s when you really need to be healthy and in your ballgame.
GETTING INVOLVED AS A FIRST YEAR I just really want first-year students to be able to get involved in the events,
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competitions and other QUT law society events as a whole because I feel that firstyear students feel that they are excluded and further away from other students. This is because they’re so new, and to many of them it’s daunting coming to uni especially if you are a rural or external student. Trust me; I was just a first-year last year. I feel like the cohesiveness needs to be increased for first-year students because they should be as involved and included as any other student at QUT. I really want to increase their attendance in events, competitions, all that sort of stuff. In my role as the mentor officer, I am the person who organises and runs the QUT PLT Mentoring Program, which is an excellent initiative for first-year students involving first-year mentees and older year law student mentors. We basically pair first years with older students. This year I will be creating these pairs which I’m very excited about. We pair students up based on a range of things such as similar interests, hobbies and degrees, etc. For example, if you’re doing business and law, we might pair you up with another business and law student if we believe that it is suitable. We pair you up with people who are similar to you so that if you are new to uni and you join the program: you would hopefully make a connection with your mentor and make a new friend through the mentoring program. The connections you make with this program are amazing. I know numerous people who still keep in contact with their mentors. Your new friend/mentor can guide you, give you hints and tips for first-year; all
of this is amazing stuff especially when you’re new to the degree that you will be spending four a half years of your life with.
HOW DO YOU KEEP MENTORS AND MENTEES TOGETHER? One of my plans to encourage mentor and mentee connections would be to attend the First Year Pizza Party, which will be at QUT with all the older law student mentors and first-year mentees present. From there, mentors and mentees would be keeping contact with each other, adding each other on social media and adding phone numbers. I seriously encourage every first year to sign up for it. It’s very beneficial. It just gives you a new friend who you can rely on, get advice from and show you what uni life is really like.
LAW AND SCIENCE I chose law and science because just coming out of high school I liked both of them and I didn’t really know what career I wanted to pursue. So law and science gave me a bit of an insight into both of the fields. Now that I’ve done my first year, it’s really guided me into what I want to do in the future and what legal field I want to do when I do graduate, which is criminal law, if not criminal law then wills, estate planning and succession law.
WAS LAW YOUR FIRST CHOICE? I had actually put in a science degree. I had a dream of becoming a forensic scientist. It was my legal studies teacher in high school… He pulled me aside, he told me to come to him after lunch, and he was like, “Arlia you’re silly if you don’t put law on your QTAC application”, and I was like… okay. So I went and changed my QTAC, and it was the best decision I’ve ever made. He said, “I can see you becoming a barrister when you’re older. So I really think you should pursue a career in law.” I haven’t looked back since. I don’t think I would be where I am today if I hadn’t chosen law, it’s really just changed me as a person and changed my whole outlook on life. Really. Like, I don’t know where I would be right now if I didn’t do law. I think I’d be disliking my science degree. But I appreciate the balance of science and law, particularly when it comes to the evidential and analytical processes. It really just helps having experience in both. It just consolidates your knowledge. So I wouldn’t look back on doing science and law even though I have had tendencies to drop science. I love both, and they really just helped my mind work and function. Two different ways of thinking! That’s what I would put it down as; one way for law, whereas science you think another way and it just really helps your brain. I feel like I love both; QUT offers the best of both worlds!
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Realistic Resolutions by Morgan Lynch
Three easy ways you can make this semester (and decade) your best one yet!
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REALISTIC RESOLUTIONS BY MORGAN LYNCH We hear it at the beginning of every new semester. Naïve promises echo around the law library from students pledging this is the semester we will finish every assignment two weeks early, complete all the ‘extension’ readings in addition to the prescribed coursework, and stop spending our hard-earned cash on a daily caffeine boost from Merlo. But, like our far-fetched dreams of achieving a GPA of 7, these goals are quickly dashed by week three as we adjust to the reality of a new semester of early-morning two-hour lectures, repetitive tutorials and never-ending lists of prescribed cases. So, with this semester marking the beginning of a new decade, why not take the chance to set yourself a smaller, more achievable resolution? If you’re in need of some inspiration, check out the suggestions below for some quick and easy changes you can make to set yourself on the right path for the semester ahead.
1. Organise Your Files It’s 11:58 pm the day that critical 50% research paper is due. You’re just about to submit your final copy when you realise you have no idea where that precious file is saved on your computer. And so you find yourself frantically searching through dozens of documents on your crowded desktop, desperately trying to remember whether the paper you’re looking for is called ‘law essay/report thing 283047’ or ‘assignment abcd3’.
“Let this semester be the beginning of your journey...” If this is you, let this semester be the beginning of your journey to a more organised laptop by establishing a digital filing system. This will look a bit different for every student. I like to organise my work into folders by unit, with sub-folders for each topic and assessment item. Then I name my class notes using the unit code, week, class and (e.g. LLB101 Wk 1 Lecture – Introduction to the Australian Legal System). My names of my assignments, on the other hand, include the unit code, assessment name and draft number (e.g. LLB101 Case Law Assignment – Draft 4). But I know other students who swear by Microsoft OneNote, setting up a new notebook for each unit containing separate sections for sub-topics. The important thing is that you implement a system that is clear, efficient to navigate, easy to maintain and that makes sense to YOU.
2. Take Advantage of Student Discounts Being a uni student is practically synonymous with being close to broke. Between the cost of textbooks, campus food and the limited time to fit in work shifts around busy class and study schedules, it’s easy for your wallet to feel perpetually underfed.
“It’s critical to take full advantage of any and every discount available to you.” That’s why it’s critical to take full advantage of any and every discount available to you on the basis of your student status. Whether this means purchasing an L Card to gain free entry to Friday’s Riverside or unlocking concession fairs on your Go Card, it’s worth taking a couple of minutes this semester to check how you can shave a few dollars off your regular expenses. Consider registering with student websites like UNiDAYS and Student Edge to stay up-to-date with the latest deals, and be sure to keep your QUT ID card with you at all times so you’re always ready to maximise your savings.
3. Start Using Grammarly There’s nothing more frustrating than discovering an important email to a tutor or lecturer contains an embarrassing spelling or grammatical error. And of course, this mistake didn’t seem to appear until the moment you pressed ‘send’! While nothing can beat a thorough proof-read, Grammarly certainly comes close. This online writing assistant checks your emails, essays and social media posts for issues with spelling, grammar and punctuation. With apps for your computer, phone and tablet, Grammarly is undoubtedly more sophisticated and versatile than a simple Microsoft Word spellcheck. And while it is possible to access additional features including a plagiarism checker by subscribing to Grammarly’s paid premium service, the free option is an ideal alternative if you’re on a tight student budget. ▮
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LEGALLY LGBTQ+ BY CHLOE I’m Chloë (she/her) and I’m a lawyer in the Commercial Litigation team at Clayton Utz, and soon to commence as an Associate in the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney.
been lucky enough to be able to take a leave of absence from Clayton Utz so I will be returning at the conclusion of the associateship, and everyone at the firm has been so supportive of me taking this new opportunity, so that has really helped. I can’t wait to gain some new experience and broaden my horizons a bit!
What was recruitment to Clayton Utz like for you?
What does success look like to you?
I think it was no different to anyone else, which was a relief! I always found it very encouraging that people from Clayton Utz spoke openly and often about its diversity initiatives as an essential part of the firm. It was made very clear that acceptance was an important value for anyone who wanted to work there.
To me success is not about actually being the best, and you’re always going to have bad days. Success is finding joy in trying to be your best. For example, at CU, I’ve been able to do challenging work and constantly learn from amazing colleagues. I’ve also been able to contribute to the community through pro bono work and our diversity initiatives. It’s been an environment where I’ve been able to grow in every aspect of myself, and that makes me feel very successful!
How were you involved with the firm’s LGBTIQ+ efforts? Ever since I started as a grad I’ve been involved with Momentum, CU’s diversity and inclusion initiative. I think that the most positive impact of my work with Momentum was simply forming a network with other allies and LGBTIQ+ people in the firm - realising that you’re not alone was extremely powerful for me, I can only hope that it had a positive impact on others as well. You’re changing jobs! How does it feel to be taking a new direction with your career? It is very nerve wracking but also very exciting! I have
What are your top tips for queer students about to start new journeys as grads? BE. YOURSELF. I know it’s a huge cliche, and it can be so scary, but every single person has their own contribution to make and you can’t do that unless you are being you! Particularly entering into the profession as a graduate - you have so much opportunity to make change and be a positive force just by being yourself. ▮
Being Comfortable with the Uncomfortable by Feba Philip
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Here and there I found my soul singing and quite frankly enjoying life, but I didn’t quite find solace until having a breakdown over a tort’s assignment. It was in that moment of feeling defeated and letting my torts unit win, that I realised why I was doing what I was doing. Like many of you, I have chosen to study law not only to acquire knowledge but to make a difference in the world. Studying and practicing law, in all its glory can be a great “flex” but I believe it also makes you realise the importance of making the world a better place. Throughout your life and career, you are going to be challenged and tested and you are going to be out of your comfort zone more often than not. Sometimes the only way to get through life is to learn to ride the waves and to get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
Graduation is an event that pretty much every year twelve dreams of. Saying that the thought of leaving school was something I really looked forward to would definitely be an understatement that simply could not express how I actually felt. Don’t get me wrong, I loved school, but I was ready to move on. I was ready to be a mature adult tackling the real world or at least I thought at the time.
Life is like an ocean. It has its highs and lows and the current is more than likely to pull you in all kinds of directions that you don’t see coming. Sometimes you will have your head under water and sometimes there is nothing you can do about it but to just go with the flow. I have come to realise that swimming against the current isn’t the best use of my energy but channelling it to find who I am and my hopes and dreams would be much more worthwhile. No matter how hard it will be to navigate the choppy waters or how much I get thrown around and battered in the sea, I know that it will be worth it. Because I know that fighting for the life I want to live is worth it. And that means that I have to have faith in myself, trust in the process and I have to get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
hen was the last time you thought of high school? It is a time that is often reminisced upon as “the good old days” or “the best years of your life”. For some, this may be a reminder of the years that have passed since their graduation from high school but to others it might be something that crosses their mind frequently. For me, it wasn’t too long ago when it was all I ever knew and naively believed to encompass my entire world. Approximately six months after graduating, I have to say, my world has definitely expanded and everything I once valued and considered important has changed as I embarked on this journey as a university student.
As I suspected, graduating was a great experience but what they didn’t tell me was the possibility of having a quarter life crisis, absolutely having no idea of who I really was or even going down with a serious case of “missing my friends” after it. After the initial feeling of freedom, a feeling of being lost, unmotivated and downright miserable settled in. It was like I had no control of my life at all. You see what happened here was that I got a taste of the real world and let’s just say I didn’t quite like it.
Getting this degree isn’t going to be easy. Knowing me, I am likely to leave assignments to the last minute, have many breakdowns and possibly have another existential crisis. But I hope I learn to be a tad more organised and I continue to grow as a person. I now know that it is all worth it and realising that has made it all the more easier. So, when you find yourself feeling a bit lost, don’t worry. Take some time to find who you are, what matters to you and what you want to live for. Take it from a first year, it’s going to be okay. ▮
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Why I’m Excited to be QUTLS’ First Ever Gender and Sexuality Officer, and Why I’m Not BY REBECCA COHEN Recently, I was appointed as the first ever (!!!) Gender and Sexuality Officer on the QUT Law Society. I’m really excited to be filling this position and I feel lucky to be able to help shape the role for years to come, but I’m also… dreading it a bit? Question mark? Let me explain. It’s so awesome to have a seat at the table and have a say in what we do as an organisation that exists to serve students. It’s super important that diverse opinions and perspectives contribute to our decision-making, and the opportunity to help support students across the gender and sexuality spectrum is honestly an honour. When I accepted the position, I rocked up to meet with the Society members bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to be a champion of women and genderbased issues and ready to provide the queer perspective! And then the gravity of bricks. Or maybe more the weight of millions of differing life experiences
that hit me like a ton of appropriately, it hit me like unique individuals with vastly and views on the world.
Yeah. A bit intense. All of a sudden, all these huge questions and fears started flooding my brain. How could I possibly represent everyone? How could I ever know what the best way to serve all our members is, when all of our members are so different? How do I know if I’m making the right calls? I think it didn’t seem quite so intense at first because I thought, ‘gender and sexuality officer? Yeah, I fit the bill’. I’m a woman going into law, I’m super interested in genderbased issues (for people of all genders, duh), and I’m queer. Sounds like I might be qualified. But then I remembered that’s just not really how it works. No matter who I am or
what experiences I’ve had, and no matter how good my intentions may be, I can’t be the only voice contributing to discussions surrounding how we approach gender and sexuality as a student society. All of my lived experiences put together, still only make up one person’s experience. I know what events or initiatives would be beneficial to me, and I can decide what I think is appropriate in any given situation, but it’s not enough that our actions benefit me and people like me, and it’s not enough that I’m happy with what we do. After I sat with these feelings for a while, I realised that the only way I can do this job successfully and meaningfully is to seek guidance from others. I have to seek out the views of others who are different to me, who think differently, and who experience gender and sexuality differently. I’ve realised that it’s crucial that we hear from as many people as possible, so we can best serve as many people as possible. So, instead of seeing my role as an impossible task, I’ve decided to see it as an awesome opportunity to 1) shut up and listen, 2) include and uplift more voices, and 3) share wider, more representative guidance to QUTLS, so that we can improve the way we serve all of our members. Knowing that I’m not doing this alone and that I can lean on you guys, the role’s a bit less intense, and a lot more exciting. If you have any ideas or have any feedback for us on any of our events or initiatives, or if you’d just like to have a chat, I would LOVE to hear from you! Please email me all of your wonderfully insightful thoughts, opinions and feelings at gendersexuality.officer@qutlawsociety. com! (Note: this email can only be accessed by me, so feel free to share whatever you’re comfortable with!) ▮
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What am I doing? by Cassandra Grey Impostor syndrome, law school and disability.
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WHAT AM I DOING? BY CASSANDRA GREY I still remember the talk we were given in that LLB101 lecture back in 2016 when I started my law degree. Impostor syndrome. When you feel like you don’t belong, you’re missing something and everyone else is doing better than you. I’ll be honest, I felt a little impostor syndrome during my first year while I found my feet but this was NOTHING compared to what I would feel after returning to study after a leave of absence due to acquiring my disability. Balancing full-time study with a full-time disability was a fullblown nightmare my first semester back. There wasn’t a day I didn’t doubt myself the whole semester until I got my results and even after that. I felt like I had forgotten everything I had learned in my first two years and I had to learn to study all over again which was extremely difficult because I was also still learning my disability and how to live with it. Interestingly though, my doubts weren’t just about my academic abilities, they were about my disability itself. A lot of tiny little things really added up and had a huge effect. “Well am I even as disabled as I think I am?” I thought to myself one time as I tried to stand up and instantly fell over on my paralysed legs. Yeah, I was. I had to work through my own internalised ableism and deconstruct the thoughts I had that I couldn’t be productive, successful or even HAPPY with a disability. I had this idea in my head that as a student with a disability I had to stay in the shadows, not make a scene and just get by quietly so as not to disturb the other students who were off chasing their dreams and changing the world. It sounds ridiculous and I wish I was kidding but there were experiences I had very early on that reinforced this view that I wasn’t as valued or appreciated as a student compared to non-disabled students. I felt that I didn’t belong in lectures, I felt that I shouldn’t speak up in tutorials because I would get it wrong or people would think “why is she even here?” and I felt that despite doing all the readings and research I was missing the point in my assignments even though I achieved high marks. I avoided thinking about my career because I didn’t think I would have a career. No one would employ me because I’m disabled. This was reinforced by the near total lack of disabled representation in the legal industry. I hadn’t seen anyone in the legal industry that was like me and that I could relate to.
“That day I made a promise to myself to make a conscious effort to do one thing: be unapologetically myself.”
At the end of 2019 after having to defer my exams because of my disability I reached the point where I asked myself “What am I doing?” and I said enough. Enough feeling sorry for myself. Enough hiding away my potential. Enough sitting in the background. Enough doubting myself. Enough letting others make decisions for me. Enough being annoyed at the lack of opportunities. Enough putting things off. Enough of everything. That day I made a promise to myself to make a conscious effort to do one thing: be unapologetically myself. Since that day I’ve done exactly that and I’m now the first ever Abilities Officer for the QUT Law Society, the student representative for the Disability Services Working Party, applying for clerkships, more engaged than ever in my study and excited about my future in law. That one promise to myself has changed my entire perspective. When previously I would’ve complained about a barrier I encountered, now I’m advocating for myself and others and removing the barrier. When previously I would’ve kept to the shadows, now I’m front and centre as a proud disabled person. When previously I would’ve been annoyed at the lack of opportunities and information, now I’m creating opportunities that didn’t exist and seeking out information that I can use to help others. I’m setting an example for others with disabilities that we are acknowledged and represented and we can be successful, productive and happy. I’m also sending a message to non-disabled people that people with disabilities are not a silent minority that can be ignored. So be unapologetically you! Do whatever makes your heart happy, speak up, chase your wildest dreams and live your best possible life. Speaking from experience, people aren’t kidding when they say your life can change in an instant and that we take things for granted until they’re taken away. You’re here, you’re intelligent because you’re studying law, you’re unique and you’re valued, you have your whole career ahead of you, you have so much potential and you can do anything you set your mind to. So what are you waiting for? ▮
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Where would we be without IP? by Gideon Caturla “IP is here to protect these creators and foster further innovation from the tech and arts community.”
H
umanity’s potential for innovation and creativity is seen throughout the history of the human race. We only have to look at the creations that the world’s inventors and designers have created to understand how far our collective level of technological progress has been made. It’s incredible to think of all the inventions that have come before our time and the inventions that will come in the near future. It is through these creations that we prove to ourselves that existing problems can be solved through inventions and our inner human thoughts can be expressed through art. Innovation and creativity is humanity’s hallmark. It is what sets us apart from all the animals on Earth. It begs the question where would we be without intellectual property (IP) stimulating such innovation and creativity? Why IP? Because intellectual property promotes innovation and creativity through laws that protect creations, recognises creation ownership and regulates business investment or interactions with these creations. A world without IP would be a world that would be
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BY GIDEON CATURLA different as you would soon see by reading this article. To begin with, intellectual property does so much with inventions through patent laws. Patent laws exist to protect inventions which are in the early stage of development by granting inventors legal ownership and protection of the invention in return for the inventor to publicly disclose the invention to the national patent office. Many inventors apply for this protection as the opportunity to get legal recognition stops them from worrying about competitors. With that in mind, inventions that we use today in our lives have at one point been protected by patents, and these inventions include inventions that save lives such as medical non-rebreather masks, x-ray machines and DNA testing protocols. Patents have also protected inventions that make life easy such as ATM machines, RFID cards and even direct manipulation of displayed content tech, you know the swipe and zoom feature on your smartphone! What’s astonishing is patents have also protected inventions that have changed society as we know it, inventions such as traffic lights, light bulbs and even home personal computers would not see the light of day without patent protections. As you can see, a world without patents would potentially be a world without these inventions as inventors would be discouraged from creating something for fear of their technology being stolen, not being legally protected or recognised as their own. Speaking about recognition, intellectual property furthermore protects brand imagery and symbols through trademarks. Trademarks refer to any symbols, words or numbers which can be represented graphically so that it can be trademarked. The reason that people seek trademarks is to protect their business brand through legal recognition and a few other advantages such as exclusive ownership rights, recognition of product’s quality, protection against infringement and more. Most important of all, trademarks help people recognise which brand is which based on the simple imagery alone that illustrates that this symbol is this company’s branding. Because of this, trademarks as one area of intellectual property is important as it promotes legal ownership and recognition of a brand. A world without trademarks would be a world full of unscrupulous copycat business entities getting away with using a brand that is already being used by a well-known company. On the topic of copycats, intellectual property also encourages and protects original creativity through copyright laws. Copyrights protect creators by providing them with legal ownership, protection and recognition of original creations that they make such as songs, movies,
books and drawings. You see, copyright is unique in the sense that as soon as a creator makes something (that is within the realm of copyright creations!) then that creation is legally recognised as belonging to the creator. The creator doesn’t need to apply for copyright. However, many creators do so since it means guaranteed legal protection and recognition of a creation that took them figuratively speaking blood, sweat, tears, time and even money to make. Copyrights are essential in this world we live in where we have the tools, technology and natural talent of individuals to produce original content and amazing creations. It’s these creations that deserve protecting through IP’s copyright laws, otherwise, a world without copyrights would be a world wherein creativity would be filled with unoriginal copycats flooding the scene since there’s no copyright authority that exists. As we can see through IP’s patenting, trademark and copyright arms; IP provides legal protection that can reward and incentivize creators to make original creations. On the other hand, you can also see how IP may cause problems for others through patent roadblocks, IP monopolies or IP legal powers misuse; these issues are inevitable for any area of law and they are a topic for another day. However, it cannot be stated how much of an impact IP has made to benefit society as a whole through its legal role in the development, protection and regulation of creations. Without IP and the competitive protection powers they provide, then creators may not invest their blood, sweat, tears, time and money to make a creation since other people can copy their creation with impunity and assume “ownership” for the creation. Such a scenario would be a terrible blow to creativity and innovation, it’s a surefire way stop potential geniuses in the realm of technology and the arts from making their magnum opus creations. Because of this, IP is here to protect these creators and foster further innovation from the tech and arts community. By doing so, IP helps society as a whole advance because of the creator’s IP legally protected creation’s contributions to humanity. IP does so by energising and protecting these creative beings so that they can produce the art, tech or symbols they desire without worry. With that in mind, to answer the question, where would we be without IP? We would be left in a world without creativity and innovation as there’s no legal body of authority such as IP to enforce legal recognition, ownership and protection of original creations.▮
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AD
To Vote or Not to Vote? Should It Even be a Question?
TO VOTE OR NOT TO? BY MORGAN LYNCH The end of the 2010s and beginning of the 2020s have been host to some of the most dramatic international and political developments in recent history. With Britain officially parting ways with the European Union (EU) in January this year, and many people both within and outside the United States hopeful for an end to the Trump presidency following the upcoming 2020 American election, this is opportune time to critically examine the way elections are conducted not just in Australia, but all democratic nations across the world. And the perfect place to start may just be a debate about the merits of mandatory voting laws. According to the CIA World Factbook, of the nearly 170 electoral democracies around the globe, just over 20 currently require all eligible citizens to vote, and only about half of these countries actually enforce it. Australia is actually the only English-speaking country with a compulsory voting regime, a fact which may come as a surprise to Australians who had never thought of voting as an ‘optional’ activity. And recent statistics prove laws which make voting mandatory have a dramatic effect on voter turnout. For example, according to the Australian Electoral Commission, 92% of eligible Australians cast a ballot in the 2019 federal election. By comparison, the US Census Bureau says just 61% of eligible Americans reported voting in the 2016 Presidential Election. This means that only 27% of eligible voters actually voted for current President Donald Trump. Similarly, voter turnout was just 72% for the ‘Brexit’ referendum according to the UK Electoral Commission, such that only 37% of the eligible population actually voted to leave the EU.
The contentious nature of the outcomes of both these votes suggests that, in the absence of mandatory voting policies, there is a danger for vocal special interest groups to exercise too much political influence, while the voices of many citizens (often including those who are young, poor and/or racial minorities) go unrecorded. In a 2018 article published in the American Journal of Political Science, Stanford Assistant Professor Emilee Chapman argued implementing a compulsory voting regime would help ‘close the gap between public opinion and policy outcomes’ in the United States. On the other hand, critics of mandatory voting regimes are concerned about the potential for a growing number of politically disinterested and uninformed citizens, who are turning up to polling centres purely out of obligation, to sway the results of an election. And beyond this, some people believe compulsory voting is contrary to the very fundamental principles of democracy and free choice. For instance, in a 1995 issue of ‘Elections Today’ magazine, Australian journalist Padraic McGuinness argued that compulsory voting infringed on a person’s civil liberties by stripping them of the right to be apolitical.
“Will the 2020s be the decade where more people finally decide to exercise this right?” My personal hope is that this new decade will usher in an era of increased political interest and participation amongst people all over the globe, whether they are required by law to vote or not. After all, it was not until the 1920s that women in the United States were given the right to vote. Will the 2020s be the decade where more people finally decide to exercise this right? ▮
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