Julian Burnside

Julian Burnside is an Australian lawyer who has specialised in human-rights cases since 2001, when the Norwegian ship 'Tampa' rescued hundreds of asylum-seekers near Christmas Island. This book is a collection of his essays and speeches on the subjects of asylum seekers in Australia, human rights, 'terror' laws and justice, written between 2001 and 2007. Burnside's exposure to the Tampa asylum seekers' cases made him an active proponent of justice and human rights, which certainly cost him professional and political friends at the time.

Reading about those years reminded me of the politics of the time; how the asylum seekers were exploited by a cynical government which tapped a dark vein of xenophobia in the Australian psyche; the conflation of that issue with the 'War on Terror' and the enthusiastic discarding by Australian and US governments of legal and human rights for powerless minorities; the weasel words and petty legalisms such as 'enemy combatants' and 'illegal immigrants' which obscured and denied legal rights to prisoners held indefinitely without trial. These things had faded in my mind with the newer anxieties of the the teens, but this book reminded me.

The book is divided into three main sections with a brief and fairly inconsequential preface. The first and strongest section discusses the legal status of asylum seekers in Australia, including children, who uniquely in the world can be detained indefinitely without trial. In theory this detention is to await processing of their claims but in practice this can take years, especially when the system is controlled by a hostile and unfeeling government as was the case from 2001-7. Years of indefinite and uncertain detention has an extremely negative effect on the mental state of detainees, especially children. Burnside argues (and it is hard to gainsay him) that such long-term detention of innocents is morally wrong.

The second section of the book deals with the 'War on Terror' of 2001-2009(?), the blight on international justice that is Guantanamo Bay (still operational and with untried detainees in 2014 -- Burnside draws a parallel between its motto "Honor Bound to Defend Freedom" and "Arbeit Mach Frei" on the gates of Auschwitz, each utter lies) and the various 'anti-terror' laws which the Howard government was able to pass. These laws allow for Australian intelligence agencies to detain 'suspicious' citizens without trial and without knowledge of their supposed crime. Burnside argues for a bill of rights in Australia to protect citizens from such nefarious legal but unjust laws which allow secret trials without evidence -- a guaranteed recipe for miscarriages of justice.

The third section is an interesting but curiously unfocused ramble through famous legal trials, some of which have a human rights focus and some of which do not. It's an odd end to an otherwise thought-provoking book.… (altro)

Julian Burnside is an advocate for people in immigration detention centre and as such can write a very readable but horrifying account of the conditions under which people are imprisoned. The book seems to be divided into two portions. I would recommend that all Australians read it the first portion. They can only benefit and educate themselves. The second portion of the book is a sorry and sad recounting of historical social and legal injustice which brings to the subject matter no benefit. Thankfully, the first portion of the book has a very big impact. What is more, Burnside writes about topics which were reported extensively in the press and it is interesting to compare the accounts and realise who much is edited in the newspapers.… (altro)

Average. Although Julian Burnside is a brilliant advocate, this is a collection of essays and, probably, newspaper articles. Reading these 6 months apart is fine, but when they are crammed into a couple of days, you realise Burnside grabs hold of particular phraseology and concepts and bangs away at them ad nauseum. This is sad, because it takes away from the desperate urgency of the causes for which he is advocating. Got much better towards the end with a series of short, sharp case studies of injustices perpetrated by courts.… (altro)

Every Australian should read this book. In it, Burnside outlines the truth behind current 'border protection' policies; how Australia is committing crimes, both legal and ethical, in how it treats those who seek asylum; how 'terror laws' are undermining basic freedoms; and how our ignorant public are allowing important laws, measures and freedoms to be undermined. Written with the ethical clarity and polished prose that is expected from Burnside, I plan to give this book to many people in the hope that our nation starts to wake up.… (altro)