Of the many valuable insights offered in the course of exploring his theme, some of the most fascinating relate to Burnside himself, who is undoubtedly a complex figure. Despite his now-impeccable progressive credentials, he has walked an unusual path on his way to becoming one of the leading legal voices on the left. Indeed, his formative years as a lawyer were spent not at the coalface of public interest law, but instead in the rarefied environs of Melbourne’s commercial bar. It was, famously, his role as counsel for the Maritime Union of Australia in the landmark 1998 waterfront dispute which sparked Burnside’s political awakening, and which led to his spending an increasing proportion of his time on pro bono work. Against this backdrop, then, it is remarkable to learn that Burnside’s convictions are now so strong that he has, for years, strived to answer every item of hate mail that his public pronouncements have attracted. The tone of Watching Out is lightened by several extracts from these only-somewhat-literate missives, along with Burnside’s responses. It is even more surprising and heartening to learn that, in a great number of cases, a correspondence ensued which ended with the interlocutor being persuaded of Burnside’s views.

Watching Out is at its best when addressing the matters closest to Burnside’s heart. Those who have closely followed the fraught fortunes of the push for a national human rights instrument will be well familiar with the arguments and issues canvassed by Burnside in the chapter dedicated to an examination of Australian law’s protection of human rights. Yet even the most jaded observer of this long-running debate will find much of value in Burnside’s masterful restatement of the case for such a reform. The same is true of Burnside’s analysis of the legal rights and protections afforded to refugees – the issue on which Burnside has written and spoken most fervently and eloquently. All those familiar with the long-running moral fiasco that is Australia’s treatment of refugees will be well-acquainted with the infamous 2001 incident involving the MV Tampa, which Burnside briefly revisits. Yet Burnside also weighs in upon more recent developments in respect of asylum-seeker policy, such as the constitutional challenge to the Commonwealth’s legal power to fund offshore detention, and the passage of the Australian Border Force Act (2015). The result is a humane and topical exploration of the current challenges in the struggle for refugees’ rights.

Julian BurnsideIf the greatest strength of Watching Out is the acuity of its moral vision in prosecuting the cause of human rights and the rule of law, its chief weakness lies in its rosy view of lawyers and the legal profession. Burnside has long been known for his astringent assessments of the records of parliaments and politicians on the subject of human rights. Yet he is far more forgiving when it comes to lawyers, who are, in Burnside’s view, ‘simply the mechanics who tend and implement the system for the benefit of their clients’. Although Burnside is undoubtedly right in sheeting the bulk of the blame for Australia’s abysmal human rights record to the political class, it is quite wrong to ignore altogether the fact that some elements of the legal community could do more to ensure the legal system secures justice. Indeed, as Burnside acknowledges, one significant barrier to the attainment of justice for ordinary people is the prohibitively high cost of legal advice and the relatively limited availability of legal aid. This access-to-justice dilemma is one which gives rise to regular bouts of hand-wringing throughout the legal profession, but in respect of which real progress seems elusive. Burnside is quite right in calling for a renewed commitment to legal aid on the part of governments, but the responsibility to ensure ordinary people can access affordable legal advice falls equally on the shoulders of practising lawyers.

Of course, this one lacuna in Burnside’s analysis does little to detract from the force of his work as a whole. In highlighting the gap between law and justice, Watching Out makes an invaluable contribution to public debate in respect of law reform and social policy. Burnside’s technical legal mastery is brought to bear in limpid prose imbued with a rare empathy and moral intelligence. It deserves to be read and reread by all those with a concern for justice.