'Necessary' Interferences With the Implied Freedom of Political Communication in the Australian Constitution: How Proportionality is Reducing Judicial Review

This article considers the use of the 'necessary' principle in the context of proportionality analysis regarding the implied freedom of political communication. It argues that in recent years, the way in which the concept of 'necessity' has been interpreted has meant that it is now very difficult to successfully challenge a law on the basis of the implied freedom. While adoption of proportionality analysis promised more robust and transparent judicial review, as applied by the Court it has led to impoverished judicial review.