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Imagine you’re a magistrate on a regular busy court day, and a case comes up – a traffic offence – that ought to take a few minutes to resolve. Instead, it goes on for hours.
This is what can happen when a so-called sovereign citizen heads to court to contest a case, making long and meandering arguments based on “pseudo law” – that is, nonsense law that has no basis in fact.
As a magistrate, David Heilpern dealt with these cases regularly. Now a law academic, he continues to be frustrated not by the legal outcomes in these cases – he stresses that none of these pseudo law arguments has ever been accepted in court – but by the time they take up.
So what to do about it? Based on his long experience and the urgency of the problem, Heilpern has two ideas that might ease the burden on Australia’s legal system.
Also this week, do university group assignments “cheapen degrees”? Opposition education spokesperson Julian Leeser thinks so. So here’s a group assignment for you: let us know what you think, either by commenting on the article or sending us an email.
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Amanda Dunn
Politics + Society Editor
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David Heilpern, Southern Cross University
So-called “sovereign citizens” are using nonsense legal arguments to tie up court systems. Here are some ideas about how to deal with it.
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Jason M. Lodge, The University of Queensland
Opposition education spokesperson Julian Leeser says universities should get rid of group assignments, branding them ‘unfair’.
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Best reads this week
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Haiqing Yu, RMIT University
Shen Yun is one of Falun Gong’s culture outreach organisations. It markets its dance performances as a revival of ‘traditional Chinese culture’.
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Benjamin Isakhan, Deakin University; Eleanor Childs, Deakin University
UNESCO has been far too cautious over Gaza. This allows the destruction of historical sites to be treated as regrettable collateral damage, instead of a crime.
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Song Shi, University of Technology Sydney
In the first study of its kind, researchers matched more than 1,500 Sydney house sales with data on nearly 50,000 public trees. They found location is crucial.
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Ruby Ekkel, Australian National University
From the last thylacine to Mollie the drinking, smoking orangutan, little Punch the monkey is the latest in a long line of lonely zoo animals.
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Justine Poplin, Southern Cross University
The catchphrase ‘you’ve met me at a very Chinese time of my life’ is doing the rounds on social media. What does it mean?
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TC Weekly podcast
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The anti-corruption expert says Victoria’s Labor government was willing to ‘deal with the devil’ on its Big Build projects – at the cost of ‘bad governing’.
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation
Demographer Stuart Gietel-Basten tells The Conversation Weekly podcast why South Korea’s birth rate is climbing, and what that means for the future.
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Our most-read article this week
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Josh Roose, Deakin University
The attacks in Sydney are not merely an abhorrent anomaly. Incidents like these are foreshadowing future, more severe violence, unless something is done to curb it.
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In case you missed this week's big stories
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Josh Roose, Deakin University
The attacks in Sydney are not merely an abhorrent anomaly. Incidents like these are foreshadowing future, more severe violence, unless something is done to curb it.
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Vivienne Milligan, UNSW Sydney; Megan Moskos, Adelaide University
New national research shows unmet housing need among First Nations households is double the rate of other Australians. But there are solutions.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The ISIS brides story is the latest instance of how the Labor caucus, and particularly the left, has mostly taken a vow of public silence.
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Martin Kear, University of Sydney
Central to the debate is whether the phrases are expressions of Palestinian self-determination, or a threat of violence against Jews.
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Simon Theobald, University of Oxford; University of Notre Dame Australia
The son of the former shah believes he can bring democracy to Iran. Iranians have heard similar promises before.
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Noah Eliot Vanderhoeven, Western University
Concern over ICE’s role in the 2026 Men’s World Cup loom over the tournament given the events unfolding in Minneapolis and across the U.S., heightening calls to boycott the tournament.
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James Trapani, Western Sydney University
The Soviets came to Cuba’s aid in the 1960s. It remains to be seen whether Russia can do the same now.
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Steve Turton, CQUniversity Australia
Last year, intense rains saw Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre close to full. As Central Australia braces for floods, the salt lake could fill again.
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Philip Laird, University of Wollongong
The latest announcement follows more than 40 years of previous plans that amounted to nothing. Will this time be any different?
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Alexander Gofton, CSIRO
If you’re bitten by a tick and eat meat, you may not get any symptoms for hours. Here’s what to look out for.
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Fiona Longmuir, Monash University; Tim Delany, Monash University
Teachers need to spend a lot of time face-to-face with students. But they also do a significant amount of work beyond the classroom.
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Jodie Avery, Adelaide University ; Alison Deslandes, Adelaide University
Surgery is not always necessary but can be helpful in some instances. Here’s what the evidence says and what to consider before you decide.
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A cautionary tale
“Far-right parties seem to thrive on voter dissatisfaction with their political rivals. But how often do these parties deliver real solutions when they come into power? Just look at the United States right now. They embody everything they once professed to abhor, and instead of reform, they delivered chaos. The question facing voters is not whether a party shares our concerns and grievances, but whether they have serious, proven skills capable of addressing those concerns.”
Steve Amesbury
Cut them some slack
“Some politicians espouse the belief that many migrants come to Australia because they want to undermine the country, or because they want to recreate a replica of their homeland in Australia. On the contrary! Migrants undertake the arduous move to their new country — a move that is materially and emotionally costly — because they admire Australia, because they want to integrate and because they want to benefit from what Australia offers. Further, as to being irredeemably soiled by the supposed corruption and decay of their homelands, to such an extent that they will 'infect' Australia: migrants come to Australia because they want to escape from those
situations and make new and better lives.”
Dr Brian Harlech-Jones, Kincumber South, NSW
Bring them home
“What has not been mentioned in this debate about “Isis brides” is that many, if not most of them, had no say in whether they followed their husbands overseas when the men went off to fight in any of the numerous wars that enticed them there. They and their children are Australian citizens and should be issued with passports and allowed to return to Australia. I have every confidence that the Australian security agencies will keep tabs on them when they return. Let’s extend some compassion to these women and children, Australian citizens, who have been stuck in appalling camp conditions, and let them come home.”
Elaine Langshaw 
We'd love to hear from you. You can email us with your thoughts on our stories and each day we'll publish an edited selection.
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The Conversation AU/NZ
Melbourne Victoria, Australia
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