Books

Books Peter Breen is the author of

‘The Book of Letters’ (Allen & Unwin),
‘Advance Australia Fair’ (Cape Byron Press),
‘Life as a Sentence’ (Independent Justice Forum)
‘Murder Principals’ (Cape Byron Press) and
‘Candidates Disease – A Political Memoir’ (Wilkinson Publishing).

Copies of the books are available from the author, except for ‘Life as a Sentence’ which is no longer in print.

	‘Candidates Disease – A Political Memoir’ A serial candidate for election to state and federal parliaments for nearly 50 years, Peter Breen looks back on a political career which was sometimes controversial but never dull. He was a member of both major parties and numerous minor parties representing most points of the political compass. Between bouts of his political illness, Peter wrote a few books, practised law (‘writing that pays the bills’) and worked as an adviser to crossbench senators in the Australian Parliament. His memoir is a rare insight into what happens behind the scenes in a representative democracy where the gene pool for the major parties is shrinking while minor parties receive more votes, more influence and more than their fair share of chaos and discombobulation.
	‘Murder Principals’ Labor politician John Newman is shot dead in the driveway of his home at Cabramatta in Sydney’s western suburbs. His fiancée, Lucy Wang, witnesses the crime. Police charge three Vietnamese Australian men who live and work in the Cabramatta area with Newman’s murder. Murder Principals is a powerful and timely story of legal and political intrigue that critically examines the evidence against Australia’s first alleged political assassins.
	‘Life as a Sentence’ The abduction, rape and murder of bank teller Janine Balding in 1988 is a terrible crime – a wasted young life with so much potential. Her killers were children, and without diminishing the horror of what they did, Life as a Sentence questions a justice system that treats child offenders acting impulsively the same as adults who cold-bloodedly plan their crimes. The book also asks whether Stephen ‘Shorty’ Jamieson, a victim of foetal alcohol syndrome and one of the accused, is the right ‘Shorty.’
	‘Advance Australia Fair’ Australia has inherited a legal system that guarantees to politicians supreme law-making power. Provided they comply with the Australian Constitution, members of the Commonwealth and States’ Parliaments have unlimited authority to reduce or extinguish fundamental human rights. Advance Australia Fair looks at the history of the many failed attempts to introduce a human rights charter or bill of rights into Australian law. Why is Australia the only common law country in the world that fails to protect the basic human rights of its citizens?
	‘The Book of Letters’ First published by Allen & Unwin in 1986, The Book of Letters has sold more than 50,000 copies, and it remains a perennial best-seller in Australia. More than just a guide to writing effective letters, the book is an important starting point for anyone with a legal problem. Often the right letter will nip the problem in the bud, but the wrong letter could inflame the situation and expose the writer to a damages claim. Don’t write a word without consulting the latest edition of this must have book.