Rick Sarre - Freedom in the context of a global pandemic

Freedoms that we might take for granted (religious belief, movement, speech, association) have always been subject to restrictions but during the pandemic and post-pandemic they have become even more tenuous. Freedom of religious belief is, for the most part, circumscribed by equal opportunity and criminal law and that is unlikely to change, given the apparent abandonment of the Bill that the Morrison government put up for consideration. Freedom to move around under lockdown has been made difficult, especially on private premises where the law of property and law of contract rule. Freedom of speech during the pandemic was tightly monitored by legislative and executive action, given the mischief that unbridled speech may have caused. Freedom of association has been rendered virtually obsolete by recent decisions of the High Court under the principle of “legality”. We will examine each of these themes in negotiating our way through the freedom obstacle course.

Tonight's speaker, Emeritus Professor Rick Sarre, is Adjunct Professor of Law and Criminal Justice at the University of South Australia. A former legal practitioner and human rights lawyer, he was head of the School of Law and Legal Practice for 6 years and retired as the Dean of the Law School in 2020. He enjoyed teaching stints in the USA, Hong Kong, and Sweden during his 34 years in the tertiary education sector. He is a Past President of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology, and a Fellow of the Society. He is a member of the Clayton-Wesley Uniting congregation.