Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody

No, the Voice proposal will not be 'legally risky'. This misunderstands how constitutions work

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, September 6, 2023
Court of cassation, Indigenous Voice to Parliament, Opposition, Coalition, Aborigine, Aboriginal deaths in custody, Human, First Australians, High court, Australian constitutional law, Government, Human voice, Parliament, Royal commission, Time, Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, First Nations, Judiciary Act, Empowerment, Constitution, Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry, Legislation, Entertainment, Whaling

The “no” campaign’s primary argument in the current referendum debate focuses on the dangerous consequences of a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament.

Key Points: 
  • The “no” campaign’s primary argument in the current referendum debate focuses on the dangerous consequences of a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament.
  • This argument is relevant to the parliamentary debate about how a constitutional Voice to Parliament will be set up through legislation.

What exactly is the ‘no’ campaign arguing?

    • Although the “no” campaign opposes a constitutionally enshrined Voice, some of its key leaders are not against the general idea of a Voice institution itself.
    • Instead, many “no” campaigners, including Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, support legislated Voice institutions at the regional level.
    • A constitutional law expert explains

      In its official campaign pamphlet, the “no” side claims that doing this will:


    Finally, the “no” side claims the Albanese government has not put forth any details on how this Voice body would function, and it would be a “permanent” change that will open the door for “activists”.

The nature of constitutions

    • Constitutions are not detailed documents that anticipate every possible circumstance.
    • On the contrary, they are by nature short and incomplete documents.
    • The High Court shall consist of a Chief Justice, and so many other Justices, not less than two, as the Parliament prescribes.
    • Indeed, it was left to parliament to establish the jurisdiction and powers of the High Court in the Judiciary Act in 1903.

The Voice to Parliament proposal

    • Details on how the body is selected and how it will operate are explicitly left to parliament.
    • The final section of the proposed Voice provision states:
      the parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures.
    • If the October referendum vote is successful, it will be up to the current parliament to pass the foundational legislation setting up the Voice body.
    • The proposed constitutional Voice will, therefore, operate in much the same way as a legislated Voice would.

A moral question

    • Instead, we face a clearer, moral question on October 14: do we support the idea of recognising First Australians in the Constitution by giving them a voice in matters that affect them?
    • In answering this question, it is worth considering the findings of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody from more than 30 years ago.
    • This empowerment process began with a series of First Nations regional dialogues that ultimately called for a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament in 2017.

AI: why installing 'robot judges' in courtrooms is a really bad idea

Retrieved on: 
Monday, July 10, 2023
Review, Prejudice, Insurance, Technology, Welfare, Crime, Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, Hallucination, Speech, Facial recognition, Social exclusion, Fear, ChatGPT, Record, Woman, Lawyer, Regulation of algorithms, Royal commission, Civil service commission, Compliance, Time, Machine learning, Compas, Expert system, Artificial intelligence, AI, Bias, Software, Medical device, Practice of law, Customer service, Science

For once, the real world seems to be changing in ways that are not predicted in stories.

Key Points: 
  • For once, the real world seems to be changing in ways that are not predicted in stories.
  • In February, a Colombian judge asked ChatGPT for guidance on how to decide an insurance case.
  • Around the same time, a Pakistani judge used ChatGPT to confirm his decisions in two separate cases.

AI isn’t really that smart

    • AI doesn’t need a lunch break, can’t be bribed, and doesn’t want a pay rise.
    • AI justice can be applied more quickly and efficiently.
    • The first is that, in practice, AI generally acts as an expert system or as a machine learning system.
    • So it’s possible that AI could also erroneously place someone at a crime scene who wasn’t there.
    • Large language models, the technology underlying AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, are known to write text that is completely untrue.

Historical biases

    • Second, machine learning systems rely on historical data.
    • A prominent example of this is the Compas system, an AI algorithm used by US judges to make decisions on granting bail and sentencing.
    • An investigation claimed that it generated “false positives” for people of colour and “false negatives” for white people.
    • The Dutch government used an automated system (SyRI) to detect benefits fraud, which wrongly accused many families, destroying lives in the process.

The antithesis of healing: the AFL turns away from truth-telling again, ending Hawthorn investigation

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, June 1, 2023
AFL Players Association, Theft, Pregnancy, Violence, AFLW, Culture, AFLM, Woman, Aboriginal deaths in custody, Attention, CEO, Human voice, Parliament, Australian Human Rights Commission, Indigenous Voice to Parliament, Death, Douglas Nicholls, Royal commission, Association, Love, Island, Stolen Generations, ABC, English Football League, Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, Racism, Australian Football League, Indigenous peoples, AFL, News, Skin, Whaling, Entertainment, Aborigine, Indigenous, Burt, Hawthorn

The Indigenous-led ceremony was a deeply moving instance of community care, love and solidarity.

Key Points: 
  • The Indigenous-led ceremony was a deeply moving instance of community care, love and solidarity.
  • Tuesday’s announcement by the AFL of the termination of the investigation into allegations of racism at Hawthorn was the antithesis of such healing.
  • The AFL has also hinted it may charge Hawthorn with bringing the game into disrepute over its handling of the internal report.

Sorry timing

    • It’s hard not to be cynical about the release of this news after the conclusion of the Sir Doug Nicholls “Indigenous round”, and Sorry Day.
    • If the allegations are true, it could be argued the Hawthorn officials who were involved thought they were acting in the “best interests” of the players.
    • How could the AFL not wish to find out the truth of the matter when the allegations concern such egregious conduct?
    • Outgoing AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan also claimed that the defendants had been “cleared” and the complainants “feel heard”.

(Not) listening to Indigenous voices

    • Yet, in electing to set up its own investigation into the allegations of racism at Hawthorn, the AFL was clearly going against the voices of key Indigenous women at the centre of these allegations.
    • The erasure of Indigenous women’s voices and experiences is also emblematic of life on this continent.
    • Indigenous women in Australia are eight times more likely to be murdered than non-Indigenous women, yet the violence they experience receives far less attention.

Truth-telling

    • What’s clearly needed is for the AFL to engage in a full process of truth-telling.
    • The AFL Players Association is the most recent group to note that the AFL’s investigation into Hawthorn was “not truly independent”.
    • Incoming AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon has proclaimed he is not part of a (white) boys club.

Generational Capital Markets Advises Roadrunner Restoration in its Sale to Achates Ventures

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, September 30, 2021
Other Professional Services, Commercial Building & Real Estate, Construction & Property, Insurance, Professional Services, Consumer, Other Consumer, Residential Building & Real Estate, Philosophy, Insurance, Partnership, Mergers and acquisitions, Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, Equity, Deerpath Inn, Sale, Water, Mergers & Acquisitions, Gulf Coast of the United States, Capital market, Lead generation, CEO, Acquisition, Company, LLC, Growth, SunLight General Capital, Documentation, Partner, Lists of disasters, Investment, Financial services, Management, Security (finance), Generational Capital, LLC, Achates Ventures, LLC, RCap Investors, LLC, Deerpath Capital Management, LP, GENERATIONAL CAPITAL, LLC, ACHATES VENTURES, LLC, RCAP INVESTORS, LLC, DEERPATH CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LP

Generational Capital Markets , Member FINRA/SIPC and a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses, is pleased to announce the sale of the controlling interest in its client, Roadrunner Restoration, Inc. to Achates Ventures, RCap Equity, and Deerpath Capital Management.

Key Points: 
  • Generational Capital Markets , Member FINRA/SIPC and a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses, is pleased to announce the sale of the controlling interest in its client, Roadrunner Restoration, Inc. to Achates Ventures, RCap Equity, and Deerpath Capital Management.
  • Founded in 2003, Roadrunner Restoration (Roadrunner) is a leading provider of restoration services related to damage caused by fire, water and natural disasters in Houston and the Gulf Coast region.
  • We are excited about the opportunity to team up with Roadrunner to help achieve its full potential, said Samir Bendriss, CEO of Achates Ventures.
  • Generational Capital wholly owns Generational Capital Markets, Inc ., Member FINRA/SIPC.