Roar Guru
Joined August 2011
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You can always trust Eddie Jones to bring some chat. Pre game, staged antics at press conferences that would make ranting political leaders proud…
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The three days before Bledisloe one each year are an interesting case study in Australian rugby. Typically, fans, coaches and journalists spend these days…
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Folks, we are losing at the border. We have signed possibly the worst Super Rugby deal ever with South Africa and New Zealand. We…
It beggars belief that Australia accepted the change to the current structure of Super Rugby. The 2011-15 structure, involving five teams from each country…
Imagine all 48 Rugby World Cup games shown live and in high definition around Australia. If you're a football fan, you've got it, courtesy…
For 30 long years from 1949-1979, New Zealand held the Bledisloe Cup, regularly dismantling an Australian side that for all intents and purposes just…
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The Crusaders are chokers. I said it. The men from Canterbury haven't won a title since 2008, and have bowed out in the finals…
Saturday's Test against France in Brisbane was impressive on a number of fronts by the Wallabies. Apart from a couple of sore points you…
Hi Fionn,
I wasn’t aware that you’re a pre-eminent industrial relations lawyer!
I don’t have time to into the specifics of the legal case, but I will just correct you — I never said the termination would breach the fair work act, just that there was a serious possibility that it might.
This is pretty well documented, including the RUPA’s agreemeent that you can’t change the contract without passing it by them, as well as the actual interpretation of the case law. I know you’ll say people brought up the case law where the bloke did get fired, but I don’t necessarily agree with the circumstances of that case and am unsure it will apply.
So there’s two legitimate legal problems for RugbyAU there which they just don’t appear to have considered, which could easily cost our games millions – that’s the core of my comment, carelessless by Rugby AU.
But you’d already know all these issues, being the prominent IR barrister that you are
Israel, please shut up about God – oh, and happy Easter!
Hi Roar editors,
Just wondering when there’s going to be a pro Folau article
I’ve written one in the past but it hasn’t been published
Is your editorial line going to continue to crush dissenting thought
Israel, please shut up about God – oh, and happy Easter!
That’s fascinating and intruiging, because from what I’ve seen, outside the Sydney media hivemind (where people are outright incapable of original thought), I’ve overwhelmingly seen evidence people are fervantly against sacking him.
Outside the Peter Fitzsimons bubble (which the state election shows has a very marginal impact), people are against this.
Take Alan Jones’ article, which has been liked some 30,000 times and shared some 10,000 times on Facebook, which would give it a reach of over a million, a material amount of Australia’s population
Take all the anecdotal evidence on the FoxSports pages, where retail fans, not the sub-class on here, actually get their news
I don’t have secret knowledge, it’s in plain sight. It’s just you choose to read a very segmented section of news
Izzy and Rugby AU: A monumental misconception
Again, another strawman argument.
The argument was never that people supported his views, its that they support his right to say them
Your comment is intellectually dishonest
The comparison with the plebiscite is thus incorrect. I’m very confident that a silent majority of Australians support people’s right to free speech, we do after all live in a western democracy founded on free speech
Izzy and Rugby AU: A monumental misconception
My comment didn’t ignore that at all
My comment said there IS a right, it didn’t say when it applied or the circumstances in which it may not apply
You’ve also strawmanned my argument by saying there was an absolute right, when the wording was very clearly “absolutely do have a right”, not “absolute right”, there is a clear difference and your argumentation is wrong and dishonest.
In terms of the right that I’m talking about, it clearly exists, and is based off hundreds of years of precedent gifted to us by the Westminster system
But don’t let that get in the way of your pseudo-intellectual rights analysis and misquoting people to suit your narrative aye boys
Izzy and Rugby AU: A monumental misconception
Thankyou sir
It was wrong for Kaepernick to be denied work, it was wrong for Pocock to be fined and it is wrong for Folau to be terminated
People have got a right to their views
Izzy and Rugby AU: A monumental misconception
The Federal legislation overrides the lack of state legislation so that’s largely irrelevant
That’s how John Howard got work choices through – by using the corporations power in the constitution which means the Federal Legislation takes priority in the absence of state legislation
It is still a lineball call with the tests set out in the act but its astonishingly risky for Rugby AU to even risk an unlawful termination, particularly given the players association has to green light any additional clauses (including the social media clause added to Folau’s contract).
So not only are they probably in violation of the rules which govern industrial relations in this country, they stone cold fucked up the contracting process which they created with the players association. Bad lawyers, bad rugby and bad values from Rugby AU
Izzy and Rugby AU: A monumental misconception
Wrong
Read the Fair Work Act Pal
Constitutional freedom of speech is different to contractual freedom of speech but there are still limits, any lawyer can tell you that
But you can’t just go firing people because they said things you don’t like. That includes religious statements, asking people to join a trade union… it’s all in the act pal
All the punter lawyers on here that have finally managed to juice out an article discussing freedom of speech in the constitutional sense versus the contractual sense have forgotten we have the Fair Work Act and industrial relations laws
That’s why Izzy has a very serious case which could cost RugbyAU a lot of money
Izzy and Rugby AU: A monumental misconception
The fair work act applies to anyone in an employment contract
Izzy and Rugby AU: A monumental misconception
I’m sorry but your comment about implied right to freedom of speech is just woefully inaccurate
“It is not a private right for each citizen, but rather a limit on state and federal legislation should they attempt to infringe too heavily on this implied freedom.
So, do you have the right to ‘free speech’? Not really, and definitely not in the sense most people would think they do.”
This is just patently untrue. Implied right comes about through case law, rather than specificly being mentioned in the constitution. That doesn’t mean there is no right. People absolutely do have a constitutional right to freedom of speech in this country.
To suggest otherwise is a monumental and egregious strawman argument which is fallacious in the extreme.
Now of course that strictly applies to the government, and people who sign contracts are free to enter into contracts with companies which limit their freedoms (with limitations).
The question thus becomes should RA, in representing the community, create contracts which limits people’s rights to a legitimate political opinion? Well, given the communities view that we should have the right to freedom of religion and political communication, surely Rugby should mirror that as a community organisation.
But they choose not to, in fact they try and insert clauses into contract that strictly limit those rights, which doesn’t mirror the communities values. So really, it’s Rugby AU that’s out of touch with the community.
Not only are they out of touch, they may have drafted in clauses that will be likely found to be invalid under the Fair Work Act – which is what this legal battle is all about. You can’t sack someone for expressing a religious opinion
That’s why people all around Australia are blowing up about this
It’s why the silent majority of people, the people who aren’t activists, the people who aren’t elitists, they don’t protest, they didn’t get a political science degree. No, they run Australia’s rugby clubs, they run Australia’s schools, they drive Australia’s trucks, and they support Folau’s right to have a political opinion and express it and think its barbaric that Qantas and RugbyAU want to sign that away
Izzy and Rugby AU: A monumental misconception
It’s a national embarassment that the MCG continues to serve up such abhorrent primitive pitches. I lay the blame entirely at the feet of the AFL – their arrogance and selfishness of the Melbournian game at the expense of all Australians and cricket is disgraceful. The ICC should ban all drop in pitches and render them unconstitutional
Victorians sure know how to vote with their feet at major sporting events
I want the All Blacks to lose and am roaring for the Lions, but I feel the refereeing was bad. Parochialism doesn’t come into saying the refs were bad when they helped the team you wanted to win.
The French refereeing conundrum destroying the Lions tour
Having further viewed the incident you make a valid point. I was operating under the precedent from a 2010 match where Rocky Elsom was penalised for jumping into the tackle once he had the ball. This man jumped to catch a pass. I still don’t think it should be a penalty
The French refereeing conundrum destroying the Lions tour
No one is forcing you to read the article mate, why don’t you move on
The French refereeing conundrum destroying the Lions tour
Couldn’t agree more Sheek. Too many doves running Super rugby, we need some hawks!!!!
Broken Super Rugby must reform or die
Making it a one-off game in Sydney means it’s a decider, automatically pushing up the relevance of the game. Don’t think they’d have a problem filling ANZ in the knowledge that all Australia has to do is be ahead at full time.
Less is more: The one-game solution to save the Bledisloe Cup
What people do forget (had this in the article but had to be edited out) was that New Zealand should have scored a try in the 82nd minute, But Umaga couldn’t ground the ball. From the resultant 22 Australia kicked for touch, stole the lineout, kicked for touch again, Kaplan looks at his watch and there must have been under 10 seconds left because everyone is screaming for full time. Australia steal another lineout and force a penalty. Absolute burglary.
Less is more: The one-game solution to save the Bledisloe Cup
Jeff, miscommunication. I mean the number of teams that were quality opposition. It’s no good having one team that’s good and stomping on the rest.
Less is more: The one-game solution to save the Bledisloe Cup
I thought this would come up and I think origin is different, mainly because most of the time the games were actually really close.
The stat to illustrate this is that since losing the Cup in 2003 the Wallabies have only once sent it to a decider, in 2007. The Blues lost 4 or 5 origin deciders in their streak, and came very close multiple times. This fuelled interest.
Less is more: The one-game solution to save the Bledisloe Cup
If the Crusaders win, I’ll happily write a full piece on the roar apologising to every Kiwi and saying I have sh*t tipping skills
The Crusaders will choke on Saturday
No it is an amalgamation of my first and last name that I used to create a youtube username in 2007. Somehow the name stuck with all my friends and they call me Spik now so I kept it
Victory against France will set up Bledisloe rumble
There will be people from all over at the Lions game. Still, a fair contingent of Tah’s fan. I’m a Reds fan and I will be there
Time for Waratah fans to get active
Change to my team: O’Connor in for Tapuai, Higginbotham for Smith, Mafi for Speight
The Wallabies can win everything in 2013
Yeah guys that was the general premise of the article, there was a bit of hyperbole but you get the idea. Now is the time if ever
The Wallabies can win everything in 2013
Shame on Reiko Ioane for disrespecting the boomerang, a symbol of Australian indigenous culture. Very insensitive
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