Profile in NSW Law Society Journal ...

Media mentions: Irfan Yusuf
Sole practitioner
Sydney Lawyers

The story: I was contacted by a 2GB researcher to talk about Haron, a self-styled Muslim cleric currently before the courts. The mainstream media didn't precisely identify the charge, but it's apparently to do with harassing letters to families of Australian soldiers, particularly ones still in Afghanistan, and widows of soldiers.

Why did the media come to you? I suspect they picked me because the host had been involved in defamation litigation against some person they usually talk to, and they'd used stuff I'd written in evidence against that usual spokesman. So they expected me to be friendly, or their way inclined. I wasn't unfriendly, but I didn't play along.

Your background: I've done stints in law offices in government and private practice. Now I do mostly workplace issues. I also write comment in the mainstream and online media, and am the author of Once Were Radicals, which is a memoir, but mostly about young kids of Muslim heritage in Australia.

Your reflections: People see my name and the word lawyer and think lawyers are trained to spin, and so they make assumptions about who and what I am. Community advocacy isn't my favourite role, and I've taken it on only because others I see were doing such a bad job, in Sydney anyway. Usually, when some moron from within the religious establishment, or deemed to be, says something stupid, those who do the talking are middle to older aged men who have very poor English skills and almost no understanding of the broader culture and community.

How did the media treat the case? The initial researcher was sensible - she wanted to find out who this fellow is, and whether he has any religious qualifications or representative credentials. I asked if she'd approached anyone else and she said I was the first person she'd rung. On air, the host asked me why no one in 'your community' stands up and condemns this guy, and why did we have to go to so much effort to find you, and does the conspiracy of silence mean he represents what 'your people' really think? 300,000 Aussie Muslims have otherwise never heard of this guy. Fringe Muslim sheiks say ridiculous things. Why give them the attention they don't get from other Muslims?

Any tips for dealing with the media? Half the issue is to know what's worth talking about, and who's worth talking to. Not every microphone or camera is worth talking to. It's like if someone bowls a ball to you in cricket, you sometimes let it go through to the keeper. If it's a one-off, and you've never heard of the journalist before, look them up and find out what they're like. It's also a good idea to build up relationships and have an experienced journalist as a sounding board, to ask how they would respond.

Published in the December 2009 edition of the Law Society Journal.



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BLOG: Some good reasons for lawyers to be proud of what they do ...

If you want confirmation from Pakistan about why lawyers aren't just about sucking blood and marrow out of the economy, click here.


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WORKPLACE: Parental leave ...

There's an interesting letter concerning maternity leave in the Fin Review on Wednesday 4 March 2009 from a director of a Victorian company. The first paragarph really says it all ...

No small business employer will say so openly, but any attempt to extend maternity leave, requiring employers to keep jobs open for additional costs, will inevitably result in strengthening the preference for older women and confine more of those of childbearing age to casual roles.

Could increased regulation designed to protect women's job security have the opposite affect? As it is, we have multiple layers of state and federal anti-discrimination and workplace legislation that seem to protect women from discrimination on the basis of sex, discrimination on the basis of being a carer and termination due to proscribed reasons (such as discriminatory conduct). Exactly how this affects women's rights to flexible working arrangements after pregnancy and the birth of a child is difficult to say. Different tribunals apply legislative guidelines in conflicting ways with different results.

Will simplifying and streamlining the system really protect women? Is the current uncertainty providing more certainty for women's employment.

Words © 2009 Irfan Yusuf


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WORKPLACE: An update ...

It's a pain in the backside trying to keep up with the latest changes in Workplace Relations. The Rudd Government has introduced a new Workplace Bill, but it's currently before the Senate and no one quite knows where it will go from there. The Senate numbers are tight, and lobbyists are having a field day trying to puish through their proposed amendments that suit their clients and stakeholders.

So for what it's worth, here's an update:

[01] Some employees will be worse off under the Commonwealth's proposed changes to the federal award system. These employees will be able to apply for top-up payments. Employers aren't happy with this as they claim it will unnecessarily complicate the system.

[02] Fair Work Australia, the new mega-regulator, will enforce the top-up system. Transitional legislation will be introduced into Parliament in around a week's time. Don't expect an English language version to be introduced anytime soon. Transitional legislation is often easier to read when written in Chinese. At least that's what Kevin Rudd would probably say. And anyone who has tried to read and make sense of transitional legislation will probably agree with him.

[03] Employers are rather peeved they aren't getting their own top-up should they suffer increased costs from the system.

[04] The proposed new federal award system being worked through by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) will "modernise" around 4,000 state and federal awards, and could affect some 6 million workers. Hopefully these workers will still have jobs by the end of the process.

[05] According to the Fin Review story "Employers cry foul over cost of awards shake-up" dated Wednesday 4 March 09 (from which this update is largely taken), some awards have been released thus far, and some industries (pharmacy, retail and restaurant) are peeved they have to bear increased costs.

[06] There's some fear of demarcation disputes (as in turf wars between unions covering the same set of workers) which could increase as the Rudd government will allow state unions to register under the federal system.

I'll continue with these updates if for no other reason than that it forces me to keep updated!

Words © 2009 Irfan Yusuf


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