LAW EXTENSION COMMITTEE

01 LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

WINTER 2014

ASSIGNMENT 2

INSTRUCTIONS
In Legal Institutions, there are TWO COMPULSORY ASSIGNMENTS. The first assignment is for
practice and feedback. Comments will be provided, but no marks assigned other than
satisfactory or unsatisfactory. The second assignment will be marked.
Assignments must be submitted by the due date unless an extension has been granted.
Extensions need to be requested by email prior to the assignment due date and specific
supporting evidence provided. Late assignments attract a penalty of one mark out of 20, or 5%
of the total marks available, per day. A pass mark is 50%. Assignments that are received more
than ten days after the published due date will not be accepted. Please note that students
granted an extension must still submit their assignment within ten days of the original
assignment due date.
Assignments are assessed according to the Assignment Grading and Assessment Criteria
outlined in the Guide to the Presentation and Submission of Assignments. Prior to the
examination, assignments will be returned to students and results posted on students
individual Results screen of the LEC Webcampus. Students are responsible for checking their
Results screen and ascertaining their eligibility to sit for the examination.
The rules regarding the presentation of assignments and instructions on how to submit an
assignment are set out in the Guide to the Presentation and Submission of Assignments
available on the LEC Webcampus. Please read this guide carefully before completing and
submitting this assignment.
The maximum word length for this assignment is 1200 words (inclusive of all footnotes but not
bibliography). Penalties apply for exceeding this limit by 10% or more.
Completed assignments should be lodged through the LEC Webcampus by 11:59pm on
Sunday 13 July 2014.

Please download the Assignment Coversheet. The coversheet will be the first page of your assignment.
Save it with the name you intend to use for the assignment, and begin your answer on the second page. Make
sure you complete the Assignment Coversheet by entering in your Full Name and Address Details and the Date
you lodged your assignment on the Webcampus. Next to Signed, type your name to acknowledge that the
assignment is your own work.

COMPULSORY ASSIGNMENT 2
An editorial in the Sydney Daily Chronicle in July 2012 bemoaned the increasing
amount of litter in public spaces. In part, it trumpeted:
We have become a city of litter bugs, dropping our mess wherever we choose. We
dont even bother to put our rubbish into the numerous bins which are provided. If we
consistently refuse to take responsibility for our own actions, then sadly, the
Government must step in. We need sanctions against public littering to bring this
problem under control.

Page 1 of 2

As a response to the problem identified by the Sydney Daily Chronicle, the NSW
Government introduced the Control of Public Rubbish Bill. When introducing the Bill
to the Legislative Assembly, the Minister noted:
This beautiful State is being besmirched by the actions of irresponsible litterers. We
need to remind our citizens of their responsibilities with respect to rubbish. This bill
introduces a two pronged response public education and severe sanctions. We
need to achieve cultural change so that people no longer throw rubbish carelessly in
the general direction of a bin, but that they place it carefully where it belongs. This Bill
is a step towards achieving this cultural change.

The Bill passed both houses and received the Royal Assent on 1 January 2013.
It provided, in part, as follows:
3. Definitions
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
deposit means place rubbish wholly within a designated rubbish receptacle;
designated rubbish receptacle means any bin with the word rubbish located on it in
a prominent position;
litter means any rubbish which is lying on any surface outside a designated rubbish
receptacle;
rubbish means any wrapper, covering, paper or other item used in connection with
food, but which is not part of the food to be consumed;
10. Littering
(1) All persons shall deposit all rubbish in a designated rubbish receptacle.
(2) Any person whose rubbish is found as litter is guilty of an offence.
(3) Penalty for breach of this section: fine not exceeding $500.
Jeremy and Daniel are walking through the park on 1 February 2013 on their way
home from basketball. Jeremy is eating an iceblock and Daniel is munching on an
apple.
When they are finished eating, Jeremy drops his iceblock stick in the general
direction of the marked rubbish bin, but misses and it lands on the ground. Daniel
tries to slam dunk his apple core. He makes the bin, where it rebounds inside and
then bounces out of the bin and lands on the grass.
A park ranger, noticing this behaviour, arrests both boys. Using the rules of
statutory interpretation, advise Jeremy and Daniel.

Page 2 of 2