LLB230/LAW308 – Administrative Law 2018

Week One: Administrative Law: An Introduction

Seminar Questions

Please note the following is weekly information on required readings and key concepts.
Additional weekly discussion questions may be made available in class or on Moodle. The
purpose of the questions is to stimulate your thinking skills. Do not expect that they will all be
addressed during the tutorial times. This advice relates to all weekly questions.

Topics
 The nature of public law – underlying features
 Forms and nature of accountability
 Historical foundations
 Different theories of administrative law

Housekeeping/Introductions/Ice-Breaking

Discussion Questions

What is Administrative Law?

1. What is your understanding of Administrative Law?

a. What do you expect to learn in this subject?
b. Why do you think we study Administrative Law in law school? Why is it an
important subject?

2. What is the distinction between public and private law? How, for instance, is
contract law different from administrative law in relation to:
a. The parties
b. The issues
c. The outcomes

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Government and Accountability

Discussion Issue: Ministerial Accountability

1. Sam Dastayari
Sam Dastyari was a labor senator. Senator Dastayari had been under pressure to resign since
allegations of misconduct first surfaced in 2016, when it was revealed he allowed a company owned
by Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo to pay a legal bill for his office. He stepped down from Labor's
frontbench over those revelations, saying accepting the donation was ‘within the rules but it was
wrong’, but further links were exposed this year.

Senator Dastyari allegedly warned Mr Huang Xiangmo that his phone was probably being tapped by
US agencies in a secret face to face meeting between the pair last October. Reports also emerged
that he had made comments at a Chinese media conference about the South China Sea that went
against ALP policy.

Labor leader Bill Shorten dumped Senator Dastyari from his position as deputy Senate whip as well
as a Senate committee chair and in late 2017 the Government called for him to be brought before
the powerful privileges committee to further explain himself. An allegation also emerged that
Senator Dastyari had pressured Tanya Plibersek, who was Labor's foreign affairs spokeswoman at
the time, not to meet a Chinese political activist in a visit to Hong Kong.

Senator Dastyari resigned from the Senate in late 2017, stating his ‘ongoing presence detracts from
the pursuit of Labor's mission’.

2. Barnaby Joyce
Barnaby Joyce is the leader of the National Party and Deputy Prime Minister of Australia.

In February 2018 it was revealed in the media that Mr Joyce had separated from his wife and was
expecting a child with his former staffer. Subsequently, it was revealed that he was living ‘rent free’
in a house in Armidale, which had been provided by a local businessman and friend. Mr Joyce’ was
given a new role with Resources Minister Matt Canavan, a close ally and fellow former staffer of Mr
Joyce. Reports have suggested the job carried a salary of about $190,000 a year. Concerns have
been raised that Mr Joyce breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct and parliamentary disclosure
requirements.

After significant media, social media and political scrutiny, Mr Joyce took personal leave but did not 2
resign his position as leader of the National Party.
LLB230/LAW308 – Administrative Law 2018

3. What is Ministerial Accountability? Considering the discussion above, think about

the following questions;
a. Do you think the relevant Minister should be held accountable for his
actions? Why?
b. Do you think the action taken was appropriate? If not, what actions do
you think are appropriate in these circumstances?
c. Do these examples reflect the principle of Ministerial Accountability - or
broader, social concerns about morals and integrity? Can and should we
distinguish a loss of public trust with Ministerial Accountability?

4. Accountability can refer to many things but in the context of government it often
refers to fairness, participation and transparency. Do you think these are values
that the Australian government adheres to? Why/why not?

The Development of Administrative Law

5. Describe the impetus for administrative law reform in Australia during the
1960s and 1970s.
a. What were the shortcomings of the old, law system of judicial
review?
b. What were the main outcomes of the inquiries that were established?

Dichotomies of Administrative Law

6. Do you understand what the term ‘judicial activism’ means? Why is it a

separation of powers issue? Do judges have any role in ‘making the law’?

7. Some of Australia’s immigration detention facilities are currently operated by

Serco, which is a FTSE top 250 company managing over 600 contracts
worldwide, under contract from the Department of Immigration and Border
Protection. Do you think that the decisions of Serco should be amenable to
judicial review?