More than 300 Year 12 school students from around the region took part in the 2012 Legal Studies Conference held at USQ Springfield campus on 24 February.
Organised by the Mrs Debbie Perrett of the Business Educators’ Association of Queensland Inc in collaboration with USQ Law lecturer Dr Noeleen McNamara, the annual event provided Year 12 Legal Studies students from schools in Brisbane and Ipswich with the opportunity to hear from a range of legal experts.
Dr McNamara said the conference was a chance to show students how the topics they had covered in class related to the real world of law.
'One of the great things about having legal studies in schools is that lessons are designed to be very practical,' Dr McNamara said.
'This year the students heard a presentation called Social Networking – The Stranger Beside Me, from keynote speaker and creator of INESS (Internet Education and Safety Services) Mr Brett Lee.
'INESS is a privately owned Australian business that specifically targets the education of children in the dangers of the internet, cyber safety and cyber bullying.
'Mr Lee worked as a Queensland Police Officer for 22 years with 16 of those as a Detective predominantly in the field of Child Exploitation. Brett has been personally involved in the online investigation, arrest and prosecution of numerous offenders, whose medium for preying on children was the internet.
'He completed the FBI Advanced Internet Investigations Course and has worked with the FBI Innocent Images Unit, Maryland USA, the Department of Homeland Security Cyber Crimes Centre, Virginia USA and the San Jose Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, California USA.
'He has also delivered training to members of law enforcement agencies including New South Wales Police, South Australian Police, West Australian Police and Australian Customs and regularly gives presentations to primary and high school students.'
Dr McNamara said another presenter, Professor Anthony Gray of the USQ Law School, challenged students to think about some ethical issues underpinning our legal system, such as gay marriage and whether Australia should have a Bil of Rights.
'The students also heard from representatives of the Qld Police, IDEALAW, First National Real Estate Springfield and a former AFP agent on topics relating to racial vilification, fraud, identification theft and internet scams.'
Dr McNamara said the University was proud to host the conference again this year.
'It was a wonderful opportunity for us to work with the region’s schools and meet with students who have an interest in legal studies. We hope to meet some of them again over the coming years if they decide to follow a career in law and enrol in a law degree at Springfield campus,' she said.
Contact Details:
Jo-Ann Sparrow, USQ Media, +61 7 3470 4119 or 0438 309 096
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