'Reds under the bed'—75 years since the Communist Party case
About this episode
The episode discusses the significance of the Communist Party case in Australian legal history and its implications for national security legislation.
The Communist Party case is one of the High Court’s most important decisions. In a high-profile legal battle, the argument before the Court pitted a future Chief Justice of Australia, Garfield Barwick KC, against the then Leader of the Opposition, Bert Evatt KC, to determine the constitutionality of the Communist Party Dissolution Act 1950. It reaffirmed that the Commonwealth cannot simply assert a threat to national security and legislate beyond constitutional limits. It placed constitutiona...
Topics covered
- law
- history
- politics
- constitutional law
- national security
Keywords
- Communist Party case
- High Court
- Garfield Barwick KC
- Bert Evatt KC
- Communist Party Dissolution Act 1950
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Australia
More episodes of Selden Society lecture series Australia
- The origins of contemporary judicial power in Papua New Guinea
- 50 years of the Family Law Act
- Recasting the law on a more merciful basis: juvenile justice then and now
- Sir Gerard Brennan: constrained compassion
- Juries—their place in democracy: achievements and challenges
- Sir Charles Lilley and the Grimley Affair
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Selden Society lecture series Australia podcast page.