Australian Critical Decisions

The 1980s was a time of tumultuous social, political and cultural change for communities all over the world. In Australia law was pivotal to those changes. This book brings together for the first time two famous High Court decisions of the 1980s- Koowarta v Bjelke-Petersen and the Tasmanian Dams case - to explore not only their legal relationship and legacy, but how the experiences of Australians with their law, on matters of race and the environment, shaped the times. The book’s contributors explore the drama of how these cases were brought before the court and decided- as well as reflect on the cases’ ongoing significance in Australian life, law and history.