Sir Bob Jones: Common sense from Australia

Recently I signed an everyday, minor event statutory declaration for the Australian government, this as is customary, requiring a lawyer’s witness signature. Except in fact, no longer so.

I say that as the form was accompanied by a government leaflet re the Aussies’ Statutory Declaration Act which advised that the witness to my signature could now be any registered practitioner in a lengthy range of activities, such as a doctor, nurse, Police officer, MP, pharmacist, veterinary surgeon and so on.