Julian Burnside
Julian William Kennedy Burnside QC (born June 9, 1949) is an Australian barrister, human rights and refugee advocate, and author. He is known for his staunch opposition to the mandatory detention of asylum seekers, and has provided legal counsel in a wide array of high-profile cases.
Burnside was born to Kennedy Byron Burnside and Olwen Lloyd Burnside. He graduated with a Bachelor of Economics from Monash University in 1972, and a Bachelor of Laws in 1973. He was admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1976, and appointed a QC in 1989.
In 2004 Burnside was awarded the Human Rights Law Award by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and sponsored by the Law Council of Australia for his pro-bono legal work for asylum seekers and for his work in establishing Spare Lawyers for Refugees, an organisation set up to encourage lawyers to volunteer spare time to help refugees.[1]
Cases in which Burnside has been involved
- Defending Alan Bond
- Interrogating John Laws and Alan Jones as counsel assisting the Australian Broadcasting Authority's 'cash-for-comment' inquiry.
- Assisting the Maritime Union of Australia defeat Patrick Stevedores in the High Court (see also 1998 Australian waterfront dispute). His role in this case was dramatized in the ABC miniseries Bastard Boys.
- Defending Ok Tedi natives against BHP.
- Acting for Rose Porteous in numerous actions against Gina Rinehart
- Acting for Liberty Victoria in the Tampa litigation.
- Taking class actions against Esso for the gas explosion at Longford, Victoria.
- Acting for Bruce Trevorrow successfully claiming compensation for damage as a member of the Stolen Generation against the state of South Australia.
- Intending to represent Mary Kostakidis in upcoming litigation against SBS.[2]
Bibliography
Novels
- Matilda and the Dragon (Sydney : Allen & Unwin, 1991, ISBN 1-86373-127-X) - A children's book illustrated by Bettina Guthridge
- Wordwatching: Fieldnotes of an Amateur Philologist (Melbourne : Scribe, 2004, ISBN 1-56025-840-3)
Published Papers
- Information technology : Internet - legal issues (Melbourne : Leo Cussen Institute, 1998, ISBN: 0863945201)
- Spare rooms for refugees with Kate Durham (electronic resource - archived on ANLarchived on ANL)
Edited
- From nothing to zero : letters from refugees in Australia's detention centres written by Meaghan Amor and Janet Austin (Melbourne : Lonely Planet, 2003, ISBN 1-74059-668-4) - a book of letters written by asylum seekers held in Australia’s detention camps.
Notes
- ^ "2004 Human Rights Medal and Awards". Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. Retrieved 2007-08-11.
- ^ "Burnside acting for Kostakidis in fight against SBS". ABC News. 2007-08-22. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
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External links
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