James Frederick Staples further papers, 1971-2016

MLMSS 10451

fonds

1971-2016

Textual Records, Photographs

1010826

1.12 metres of textual material (7 boxes)

Justice James Staples was born in Sydney in 1929. While a student at Sydney University he joined the Australian Communist Party but was expelled in 1956 for circulating Nikita Khrushchev’s secret speech denouncing Stalin’s crimes. He was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1960 and became active in the Council for Civil Liberties. Much of his work as a barrister was pro bono, representing underdogs and taking on the Establishment. He took on cases that represented causes such as conscientious objection to conscription for the Vietnam War, abortion law reform and prison reform. In 1975 he was appointed as a Deputy President of the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. After the Commission was abolished in 1989 and replaced by the Industrial Relations Commission, all the then serving judges were re-appointed except for Staples. No official reason was given but his penchant for colourful language and an unconventional approach to dispute resolution had certainly not done him any favours. Throughout his career he championed both civil liberties and prison reform movements in New South Wales. He died in 2016.
Reference: Library correspondence file

Further papers of Justice James Frederick Staples including speeches, letters to the media, papers regarding tax reform, papers regarding human rights investigations, emails and letters to correspondents including Laurie Aarons, Faith Bandler, Mary Gaudron, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, and Michael Kirby. Also includes documents and correspondence regarding businessman and political activist Gordon Barton, papers regarding the Arbitration Commission, and correspondence, documents and photographs regarding the Hallinan case.

BOX 1
Book chapter, 'Prisons…a Legal Vacuum', 1979 to 2008
Notes for an address on legislating for human rights under the auspices of the Council for Civil Liberties of NSW, 3 August 1979
Chifley Memorial Lecture, 'Things Worth Fighting For', 9 Sept 1980
Eleventh Annual John Curtin Memorial Address, 'Courts, Convicts and Labor Governments in NSW - from Cable to Dugan and Beyond', 1981
Speech to National Conference of the Australasian Law Students' Society, 14 May 1981
Paper read to a seminar in contemporary industrial relations issues, 'Directions for Industrial Relations Reform', 9 June 1981
Action for Occupational Health and Safety Beyond Williams - A Conference Opening Address, 29 May 1982
A Review of Four Books on Prisons in NSW for the Legal Services Bulletin. Wilful Obstruction; The Ray Denning Diary; The Prison Struggle; The State of the Prison. 14 September 1982
The A.W. Dickson Memorial Address, given to the Printing and Kindred Insustries Union, NSW, 24 November 1982
A speech at the invitation of the Building Workers Industrial Union, 'Combe, Kissinger, Duncan and Young - The threat to National Security', 22 September 1983
Speech to the Thirteenth Annual Convention of the Industrial Relations Society of Western Australia, 'People, Payments and Results', 15 October 1983
Speech to the ANU Public Affairs Conference 'Commissions, Contempts and Civil Liberties', 'The Case for Compensation for David Combe', 25 February 1984
Speech to the Society of Lawyers of Western Australia 'Free Speech and the 1984 Uniform Defamation Bill', 27 July 1984
2GB interview, transcript, 6 September 1984
A public seminar organised by the Metropolitan East Regional Council of P & C Associations, 'Why State Schools?', 22 September 1984
Speech to a conference on poverty and taxation, 'Tough' Treasurers and 'Responsible' Budgets - The Rubbery Fist in the Velvet Glove', 28 April 1985
In Memorium, Mervyn Leslie Rutherford, 12 July 1985
Book review, David Marr - The Ivanov Trail, 8 June 1984
Speech to meeting about methadone, at Parliament House, 'A Free Market for Heroin - The Lesser Evil', 25 September 1985
Speech at the premiere of "Rocking the Foundations". A film by Pat Fiske about the NSW branch of the Builders' Laboureres Federation 1940 - 1975, 21 November 1985
An address to the delegates at the Country Conference of the Australian Telecommunications Employees Association - Victorian branch, 3 April 1987
Speech at the May Day Dinner of the Newcastle Trades Hall Council, 1 May 1987
A speech given at the National Press Club, Canberra, 'On the Prime Ministers' Answer and Other Things', 23 March 1989
Melbourne, 'Is There a Place for S.45D of the Trade Practices Act in the Statutes of the Keating Government?', 30 April 1993
Speech to a conference on the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) method of financing public infrastructure, Aust. Ctr. For Independent Journalism, 20-21 March 1998
Speech at "Chippo Politics in the Pub", 'George Petersen Remembers - The contradictions, Problems and Betrayals of Labor Government in NSW', 18 October 1998
Speech to the Conference of the Delegates of the National Union of Workers, NSW branch, 17 February 1999
Requiem Mass. Adrian Philpot, St Jeanne d'Arc church, Dijon, France. An account of the mass, 8 August 2002
In Memorium, Harold Marcus Rhys (Hal) James, 24 November 2003
The New Province for Law and Order: 100 Years of Australian Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration, eds Joe Isaac and Stuart Macintyre Response to publication, 18 November 2004
In Memorium, Richard John Staples, 7 February, 2006
Book launch, The Liberating of Lady Chatterly and Other True Stories by D and S Campbell, 17 February 2008
Wake speeches, Tom Kelly, MC; The Hon Michael Kirby; Robyn Catts; Ken Shadbolt; Paul Staples, 24 June 2016

BOX 2
Appointment to Aust conciliation and Arbitration Commission, 10 February 1975
Non-reappointment, Letters, 'On the shafting of a judge', sequence of events, 1 May 1980
NSW Bar Association matters, Transcript of Extraordinary General Meeting of the Bar association, 'The Staples Night', and related letters and speeches, 17 June 1980
Letters to the media, Press release 5 March 1989
Letters to the media, The Age
Letters to the media, The Australian
Letters to the media, The Canberra Times
Letters to the media, The Guardian, UK
Letters to the media, Open Forum
Letters to the media, Sydney Morning Herald
Letters to the media, The West Australian
Tax reform, Further thoughts on a land rental-value recovery regine, 24-August-1998
Tax reform, "Ten tenets of tax reform" in Georgist Quarterly, 24-September-1998
Tax reform, Draft law to limit limited liability, 10-September-2000
Tax reform, "Progressive or reactionary taxation." Concepts at work in Australia - the case for neutrality in the taxation of wealth, 25-March-2004
Tax reform, Correspondence, 31 May 2004 to 10 June 2009
Tax reform, A draft of claims for a peaceful, egalitarian prosperous and democratic Australia, No date
Tax reform, Commonwealth taxation law - at root, a veritable engine of inequality, Sep-13
Tax reform, Reform the electoral and taxation laws of the Commonwealth, 01-September-2013
Human rights investigation, Usa, Canada, Nova Scotia, 1977 to 1978
Human rights investigation, Europe, England, France, 1978 to 1978
Human rights investigation, Correspondence, 1979 to 1978
Human rights investigation, Day book 1978, 1980 to 1978

BOX 3
Emails and letters, Unclear recipient or date
Emails and letters, Aarons
Emails and letters, Adams
Emails and letters, Allan
Emails and letters, Aulich, Cooney & Dunn; Klugman & Scott
Emails and letters, Bandler
Emails and letters, Bowen
Emails and letters, Burton
Emails and letters, Cahill
Emails and letters, Cameron
Emails and letters, Chernov
Emails and letters, Cocks
Emails and letters, Cook
Emails and letters, Cowan
Emails and letters, Ellicott
Emails and letters, Crooke
Emails and letters, Duffy
Emails and letters, Gaudron
Emails and letters, Gleeson
Emails and letters, Giudice
Emails and letters, Gollan
Emails and letters, Hamilton
Emails and letters, Handley
Emails and letters, Hawke
Emails and letters, Hill
Emails and letters, Horin
Emails and letters, Horler
Emails and letters, Johnston
Emails and letters, Keating
Emails and letters, Kirby
Emails and letters, Kitay
Emails and letters, Klugman, K
Emails and letters, Latham
Emails and letters, Levy
Emails and letters, Maddern
Emails and letters, Marr
Emails and letters, McColl
Emails and letters, McCormick
Emails and letters, McLeay
Emails and letters, McPherson
Emails and letters, McQueen
Emails and letters, Miles
Emails and letters, Moore
Emails and letters, Morris
Emails and letters, Mowinkle
Emails and letters, Murphy, D
Emails and letters, Murphy, MD
Emails and letters, Murray
Emails and letters, O'Keefe
Emails and letters, O'Shea
Emails and letters, O'Toole
Emails and letters, Rowlings
Emails and letters, Ryan
Emails and letters, Sallman
Emails and letters, Scott
Emails and letters, Shaw
Emails and letters, Sheehan
Emails and letters, Shurr
Emails and letters, Sibraa
Emails and letters, Sildever
Emails and letters, Simmons
Emails and letters, Steele
Emails and letters, Stein
Emails and letters, Smith, B
Emails and letters, Steketee
Emails and letters, Steuart
Emails and letters, St John
Emails and letters, Sutton
Emails and letters, Walshe
Emails and letters, Warren
Emails and letters, Wheelahan
Emails and letters, Willis
Emails and letters, Wood
Emails and letters, Zdenkowski

BOX 4
Library extract from 1956
Statement on role in abortion law, 1971
"Can Whitlam Beat McMahon"
Invitation to Mick Young's Unions in Crisis launch
Interview transcript, ANU, CPA leading up to an including his expulsion in 1956, 28 May 2002
Invitation to opening of Martin Moot Court, Macquarie University
Free speech, Freedom of the Press'; 'Bill for an Act to secure free speech…'; 'Draft law for free speech…', May 2006 to June 2007
No Name Party, 1997
Invitation to Centenary of Federation dinner, and response, 21 May 2001
Interviews and research project by Theresa Chan, 2000
Agenda, CLA Board meeting, 7 December 2009
Address book pages, 2004
Notes. Wool Stores dispute notes, 2004 to 2010
Documents and correspondence, Gordon Barton, 2005 to 2008
Documents and correspondence, Gordon Barton, 2006 to 2008
Letters to John Howard, Simon Crean, Iraq, 2001 to 2010
Arbitration commission work, Address book
Arbitration commission work, Phone message book 1976
Arbitration commission work, Day book 1979

BOX 5
Hallinan case, Shooting scenario notes and statements, 2001 onwards
Hallinan case, Documents relating to the hearing
Hallinan case, Research into acts related to the Hallinan case

BOX 6
Hallinan case, Correspondence, 2001 to 2008
Hallinan case, Folder of addresses
Hallinan case, J Staples' complaint about Abernethy
Hallinan case, J Staples' complaint about Abernethy 'with errors'
Hallinan case, Correspondence with P Lynch, NSW Attorney General's Office
Hallinan case, Correspondence with ministers, coroner's court, police, crown solicitor and members of parliament, July to October 2001
Hallinan case, Correspondence with Tumut council, police, Paul Lynch, Bob Carr and other, including members of parliament; autopsy report
Hallinan case, Correspondence, May 2002 to July 2002

BOX 7
Hallinan case, Photographs and mixed media, Feb 2001 onwards
Hallinan case, Response to Australian Story program, videos and transcript of the program

Copyright status:: In copyright – life of author(s) plus 70 years
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales

Contents list adapted from inventory supplied by donor.