Chapter 1
This chapter I felt was good to get a feel of what areas of
the law anyone can car branch into and what it involves. I cannot say I agree
that it is glamorous and assume that law work involves high wages. I felt that
was very stereo typical. I think that if someone has such a strong passion for
their line of work, then to them that is glamorous and they are happy with
that. It is all about different perceptions.
I liked the term ‘effective advocate’ and now will use that
when describing my line of work when I fill out forms. Usually I would put
things like ‘CEO of Johnson enterprises’ and ‘skills in dispute resolution,
task and time management’. I write this instead of ‘housewife’ or ‘stay at home
mum’. So now I will use ‘effective advocate’ in that skills list! It just
sounds good.
Whilst I am doing law subjects as electives, I do not want a
career as a lawyer. I am broadening my options with my business degree, so if a
situation arises in a career that needs some legal going over, I can have some
understanding and grasp it, instead of be in a job and have no idea.
When reading the areas of law that are available to
specialise in, I found myself thinking I could not handle family law or
anything that involves personal situations. Although it would be handy to pull
some people I know into line! I did introduction to contract law in term 1 and
I found that really interesting. So of the lines on offer, contract and
commercial law would be my point of interest.
Chapters 2 and 3
This chapter felt like revision for me of what I learnt in
term one. I found the diagrams in this chapter helpful and simple to follow to separate
areas of law into public and private, and civil and criminal.
Because a lot of what was in this chapter I had covered
previously, I found myself (exhausted from a toddler that just does not sleep
at night) falling asleep and my eyes getting heavy! I know it is all important and
I cannot remember all of it, but still ‘Murphies Law’ got me on this one!
The history is important to understand how and why we run as
a country today, but it was so much to take in as it went so far back. I have noticed some people comment on the section
of customary law. This was not all new to me as in Far North Queensland we have
such a diverse demographic that this is something that is spoken of here. Also
people that travel over from the Northern Territory speak of customary law. Our
history shows how naive the English were, however at that point of time they
honestly believed they were doing the right thing as ordered by the Crown. Now time
has changed many people recognise that yes, this was not a good approach and
our development as a country came at the cost of the people who already
occupied the land. It is classic ‘if we knew then what we know now’.
It becomes hard with two sets of laws being applied to one
culture. It can open up that can of worms. I feel that over time, with the past
acknowledged by the government that it was wrong, we need to go forward to
combine these laws. We need to merge so that Indigenous Australians are not
faced with a doubled edged sword. Or faced by only customary law, and not our
current law system under the Crown. It is something that is messy and will take
time and patience.
Reading about the stolen generation made me feel sick. It
really did. My oldest son’s great grandmother was part of the stolen
generation. In reality it was not that long ago that our legal system did
this. It is things like this as to why I
could not engage in things like family law or personal law as it is too sensitive
for me. Give me a dodgy company or a bad contract or bad employer instead of
personal matters.
Chapter 4
Wow. It is hard to keep up because we don’t have the same
system in every part of Australia. We are so spread out and have different runnings,
that do eventually combine, but it just seems messy instead of simple. For example I grew up in Tassie, and the road rules there are different to Queensland where I live now! So many times I say to my Husband 'that's illegal' and he says 'no it isn't'. It is so confusing with in each state and territory.
One thing that stood out for me is the section of the
cabinet. It made me remeber how mad I was when Tony Abbott did not appoint a minister for
tourism and claimed that it fell under trade. They are two different aspects of
economics with in this country. Both concern making money for our country but
so differently. Both are very large areas that need separate ministers to oversee
them.
The other thing that made me think was the industry ombudsman’s.
Which one would be the busiest? I reckon
the telecommunications and the fair work ones would be flat out. Seriously, who do you know that has never had a whinge about their phone company or something wrong at work?
Chapter 5
Now the chapters are getting a bit more into the nitty
gritty for my liking. Not so much shutting of the eyes now! The process in
which the court system works is not simple. Telling someone ‘Take them to court’
is far easier to say then actually doing it. It is time consuming, its costs, and
its personally demanding.
Even protesting to get something amended, wow what a process
that is as well! But the red tape needs to be in place otherwise legislation would
be getting changed everytime a new party came into power, and everyone would be
taking everyone else to court.
I did find it handy to note the exceptions of not having to
do jury duty. The final one claims ‘students sitting exams’. This is good to
know! I have been called up once about 6 years ago for jury duty. At the time
my first son was about 5 and we were on our own. It was not possible for me to
commit such long days everyday and shove him care. It would be neglecting the
child to serve on the jury. So amazingly I did not have to do that as they
accepted my letter stating I was unable to find child care that operated and
had vacancies for the times and days required. So the law is understanding!
A lot of this chapter was also revision for me which is good.
It helps reinforce what is stored somewhere in the back of the brain somewhere
from term 1.
Precedent cases...if you are new, these are important! Especially
in an exam. It is very handy to know cases you can refer to in short essays.
