Collaboration on historic Legal Opinions book and website
On Tuesday 28 May 2013, the Attorney-General the Hon Mark Dreyfus QC MP launched the third volume of Opinions of Attorneys-General of the Commonwealth of Australia with opinions of Solicitors-General and the Attorney-General's Department. It tells the national story in the period 1923–45 from a unique perspective. The legal advice published in this volume grapples with the significant challenges to the welfare of Australia's people during this time, including the Great Depression and the Second World War.
The publication is a joint project of the Attorney-General's Department and Australian Government Solicitor (AGS), which is now the principal body providing legal advice and services to the Commonwealth government. It is available for sale at a recommended retail price of $175 through the Opinions book order form.
The first and second volumes were published in 1981 and 1988 respectively and, until now, were only available in print. However, with the publication of this volume, the content of all three volumes – covering selected opinions from Federation and the creation of the Commonwealth in 1901 to shortly after the Second World War in 1945 – will be published online at the new Legal Opinions website as a combined project of AGS, the Attorney-General's Department and the Australian Archives.