********************************************************************* NEWS FROM AUSTLII http://www.austlii.edu.au/ Wednesday 21st February 1996 ********************************************************************* WELCOME! As one of our inaugural subscribers, welcome to 'News from AustLII'. Over 300 users have subscribed since last week's announcement. Initially, we hope to send out a news bulletin once every week or so, but we will send out immediate bulletins when major or very topical new resources become available. ------------------------------ HIGH COURT BULLETIN *New* http://www.austlii.edu.au/hca/bulletin/hcab9601.html Our latest release is the High Court of Australia Bulletin, a new weekly publication by the High Court Library. Bulletin No.1 1996 is now available. The Bulletin lists the status of all cases before the Court where the judgment is reserved or reasons are to be published, and where special leave was granted or reserved. ------------------------------ PRIMARY MATERIALS UPDATED http://www.austlii.edu.au/primary.html Thanks to another download from the Commonwealth Attorney General's Department we have now updated the majority of our primary material databases. The imminent arrival of a new AustLII employee is another step towards frequent and regular updates of all AustLII databases. Details and a welcome in the next 'News from AustLII'. ------------------------------ AUSTLII USAGE KEEPS INCREASING AustLII usage peaked yesterday at 13,000 'hits' (access requests) in one day, with usage coming from over 900 separate sites. As universities are not yet back in session, it will be interesting to compare these figures in a few weeks time. ------------------------------ RECONCILIATION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE LIBRARY http://www.austlii.edu.au/car/ The most significant addition to AustLII so far this year has been the Reconciliation and Social Justice Library, developed by AustLII for the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (whose home pages are also on AustLII). The Library contains over 100 MB of important texts concerning the law as it affects Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, including all 97 volumes of the Reports of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The Library was launched by the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Robert Tickner, at Parliament House, Canberra, on February 5. Reporting the launch, John Hilvert in 'The Australian' newspaper's computer section (February 6 1996, p28) said: 'The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (CAR) has surprised industry sources with the launch of the cheapest major presence on the Internet. ... informed sources say a bid by [another party] to mount the site was five times the price offered by AustLII.' ------------------------------ SPEECHES BY JUSTICE MICHAEL KIRBY http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/speeches/kirby_farewell.html http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/speeches/kirby_swear.html Justice Michael Kirby's speeches at his farewell from the NSW Court of Appeal and on his swearing in as justice of the High Court have attracted a great deal of interest from AustLII users. They were available on AustLII the day after the swearing-in ceremony. ------------------------------ AUSTRALIAN LAW ON THE NET *Suggestions appreciated* http://www.austlii.edu.au/austlii/austral_law.html The February update to 'Australian law on the net' went up last week with 40 new items, and the next update will be done in another couple of weeks. If you are aware of any Australian or New Zealand law resources on the net that we have missed, suggestions for additions would be most appreciated. Please mail graham@austlii.edu.au or just mail to our feedback address ------------------------------ Please feel free to distribute 'News from AustLII' either electronically or in print form. Please try to avoid cross-postings to news groups or e-mail lists. To subscribe or unsubscribe to AustLII news: http://www.austlii.edu.au/news/ ------------------------------ Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII) http://www.austlii.edu.au/ PO Box 123 Broadway NSW 2007 AUSTRALIA Ph: (02) 281 2699 (intl +61 2 281 2699) Fax: (02) 281 2127 (intl +61 2 281 2127) Graham Greenleaf (Co-Director UNSW) graham@austlii.edu.au Andrew Mowbray (Co-Director UTS) andrew@austlii.edu.au Geoffrey King (Manager) geoff@austlii.edu.au ----------------------------- End of News from AustLII