School Chaplaincy in the High Court (Guest: Plaintiff Ron Williams)

Episode 1,   Jan 01, 2021, 06:43 AM

Federal funding for school chaplaincy lost twice in the High Court, but still exists today. This episode features a conversation with plaintiff Ron Williams about why he brought the case, what it was like challenging the Commonwealth, and what his thoughts are with the benefit of hindsight.

"Williams I": Williams v Commonwealth of Australia, [2012] HCA 23 (available at: http://www6.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/HCA/2012/23.html).

"Williams II": Williams v Commonwealth of Australia, [2014] HCA 23 (available at: http://www6.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/cases/cth/HCA/2014/23.html).

Jeremy Patrick, 'Religion, Secularism, and the National School Chaplaincy and Student Welfare Program' (2014) 33(1) University of Queensland Law Journal 187-219 (available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2344599).

Theme Music: "Sunbeams in the Stained Glass" Oleksandr Viktorovych Lukyanenko, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons