An Australian High Court decision the other day shows just how hugely far behind the legal eight ball Case Load’s country cousins are. Western Australian lawyers had to take the Director of Public Prosecutions to the High Court in order to unfreeze what is generally known as proceeds of crime. Lawyers were naturally keen to see a bit of thaw to pay their bill. What ensued was an incredibly complicated legal joust which makes fascinating reading. Good sense triumphed in the end with the High Court ruling that frozen proceeds could be unfrozen in this case for the very worthwhile purpose of paying legal fees. Case Load’s grinning cobbers down the Lane assured him nothing is so messy or left up to chance in New Zealand where legal fees are protected and guaranteed by s42 of the Proceeds of Crime Act.

(For the full decision refer to High Court of Australia, Mansfield v Director of Public Prosecutions for Western Australia [2006] HCA 38 (20 July 2006).