1. Changing the Law
AOS 1B: Students explore the factors that may influence parliament in bringing about changes in the law by examining the role that individuals and groups may play.

2. The reasons why laws need to change
1. Community Values change
Think of the changes in the community in the last 100 years. How has our opinion towards, say, marriage changed? How might this have impacted on laws?
Examples include:
Indigenous rights (1967 Referendum),
rights of children (they used to be considered property!)
decriminalisation of abortion.
Sometimes law makers can generate/encourage these changing values- i.e Victorian Charter of Human Rights, Racial and Religious Tolerance Act

3. The reasons why laws need to change
2. Economic Policy
Examples include new tax systems, ie GST, Global Financial Crisis, Carbon Tax, Flood Levy to assist with the cost of natural disasters.
3. Technological Changes
Difficult to keep up with advances in technology as they occur so rapidly.
Examples include: policies that ban the use of mobile phones in changing rooms, policies against ‘sexting’ ‘cyber bullying’ Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act 2002, Infertility Treatment Amendment Act (2007)

4. The reasons why laws need to change
4. Political values and circumstance/International climate
Anti-terror laws, refugee detention centres, republic/monarchy , NT intervention
5. Informed community awareness
People are better educated and informed of their rights= more likely to question the law, increased concern with individual rights, more aware of the dangers (ie smoking bans as a public health measure)

5. The reasons why laws need to change
The legal system- enhancing its operation, increasing access, meeting our growing expectations
Particular cultural/social needs (i.e. Koori Court)
access to justice (i.e. Neighbourhood Justice Centres)
active protection of rights (i.e. Victorian Charter of Human Rights)
increasingly litigious society (i.e. duty of care, negligence, public liability)

6. Pressure to change the laws
Informal Pressures
Come from outside the law-making process
Individuals
Pressure Groups
(GetUp! Right to Life, Pro-choice groups)
Interest groups
Industry groups
Professional groups

7. Pressure to change the laws
Direct lobbying ( i.e. ask an M.P)
Petitions
Media
Newspapers
Radio
Television
New media/Social media
Submissions
Demonstrations
Civil disobedience
Political action (voting, standing for election)
Court Decisions

8. Petitions
A formal, written request to the government for action in relation to a particular that is considered outdated or unjust
Usually a list of signatures from supporters
Usually forwarded on to local MP to present in parliament
Only needs one signature to be accepted- but obviously the more signatures, the higher the level of support in the community and the more likely MPs will take the issue into consideration

9. Petitions Some rules apply. A petition must:
Be addressed to only one house of parliament
Refer to a matter that is within the power of parliament to address
State the facts
Contain a request to take action
Can be presented to any MP (doesn’t have to be the local member for the group)
An Epetition is a petition signed online. They can get more signatures due to being less time consuming and more easily accessible.

10. Petitions: weaknesses
Can be time consuming, costly and difficult exercises
Although tabled, it is not clear the degree to which petitions influence parliament- parliament may (and often does!) ignore the petition and not change the law
Do not generally attract much media attention, so not as effective in raising awareness of the issue in the general community.

11. Demonstrations/Protests
Demonstrations are gatherings of members of the community, held in a public place that are designed to show their support for a change in the law.
Mass Rallies
Boycotts
Example:
Demonstration against new liquor laws- February 2010
New changes to liquor laws resulted in increased licensing fees and greater security requirements for pubs and clubs with live amplified music. This resulted in some small live music venues being run out of business, most notably the TOTE in Collingwood
50,000 demonstrators protested in the streets

12. Demonstrations: weaknesses
Can be time consuming, costly and difficult to organise.
Relies on the support of a large number of people to be effective.
May inconvenience members of the public due to road closures etc
Parliament may dismiss them as vocal minority groups and not change the law

13. The Media The Media has a VITAL role- good and bad
Without media coverage:
Law-makers can’t gauge public opinion
(more cynically perhaps) law- makers won’t stand up and take notice
Individuals and groups can’t inform law-makers of change in values and attitudes
Other people can’t find out and join the cause
Getting an issue in the media means getting an issue on the (public/political) agenda. This is so important that organisations actually pay people/firms to do this for them! (PR)

14. The Media
Newspapers:
Should be unbiased- should show both sides of the debate
Letters to the editor/editorials can be more opinionated
Can alert law-makers of the need to amend the law

15. The Media Radio Talkback ‘shockjocks’ Often very opinionated
Can be more influential than a newspaper as it has the potential to reach more people.
Neil Mitchell of 3AW ( a prominent Melbourne radio station) was influential in bringing about the issue of the need for the mandatory reporting of child abuse. He kept pursuing the matter until Parliament changed the law.

16. The media
Television:
Programs can investigate issues in depth and inform the community of injustices and the need for change in the law.
Can be more influential in public opinion than newspapers (due to a larger audience). Also, images can have a huge effect on public opinion due to the emotive element of visuals (Four Corners report on live animal exports in 2011 led to the massive GetUp! Campaign and subsequent changing of the law)
Four Corners, Insight, Q&A, Current Affairs and News.

17. Social Media
Technology has revolutionised communications in the 21st Century.
New platforms means groups can communicate on a broader scale.
Social networking media such as Facebook and Twitter have been used by political activists to conduct campaigns for change.
Eg Occupy Melbourne

18. Media: weaknesses
May present biased reporting of an issue, rather than informing the public and parliament of both sides of a debate
May highlight split views on an issue in the community, which could work against law reform.