The Commentator: Volume 81 –19 December 2010

In the first article for this edition, J. E. Marshall SC, a barrister in Sydney and A. C. Jennings a journalist and law student at the University of Newcastle preview changes to the WADA Code due in 2011.  They argue that the general ban under S0. NON-APPROVED SUBSTANCES is so wide in its scope that neither athletes nor regulatory authorities will be able to determine what is or isn’t banned.  They also point out differences between the plain meaning of the clause and explanatory memoranda. In the second article, Tracy Molloy, Senior Lecturer, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland reviews the legal consequences of the Mangatepopo Gorge incident and the governmental response to this and other fatalities in the outdoor education and adventure tourism industries in New Zealand.  She reviews the findings of the prosecution under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, the Coroner’s Inquest and the Government review following the tragedy. In his President’s column, Ian Hunt reports on his recent visit to Korea where he attended the 16th International Association of Sports Law World Congress at Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea.  Ian reports on the similarity that international issues have with those we face in Australia and New Zealand but also remarks on the sometimes large differences in approach to resolving those issues and the differing degrees of development of sports law in the various countries that presented at the conference. 
In my editorial I talk about fiscal prudence in sporting organisations.