What’s the scam with the Federal Court? Is justice blind or bought?

A $60k fee for your own court transcripts? That’s what concert pianist Jayson Gillham is seeking in his lawsuit against the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for more than $45,000 in damages in exchange for a 15-day trial. What is the fraud in the claim that justice is available to everyone?

As reported here, the Federal Court awarded Simon Turner, the coal miner who sued BHP, almost $2,000 in damages in his own case for half a day’s transcript of his own evidence. The fraud is that, as in Gilham, the transcription service is privatized and the money goes to a foreign multinational company (VIQ Solutions) for a digitized artificial intelligence service that the Court itself can provide.

It is difficult to escape the conclusion that courts are deliberately trying to price ordinary people out of the justice system. Lawyers are taking advantage of the specter of court costs in mediation tactics. Just like you do. It is, of course, the duty of the courts to ensure a level playing field or simply to adhere to their own sacred pretensions, namely the principle of open justice.

And the money goes to a multinational company!

Freedom of Expression On Trial at Melbourne Symphony | West Report