It's hair shirt time down under, it would seem - at least judging by a report in The Australian. Our Aussie counterparts report that state attorneys-general 'are moving to stamp out taxpayer-funded lawyer junkets to northern hemisphere tourist destinations taken under the guise of professional development training courses'. Linda Lavarch, the Queensland Attorney-General, is quoted as querying 'as "not a good look" the Paris Law Conference being promoted by Queensland Law Society to coincide with next year's Rugby World Cup'. The 21-day trip includes an academic programme that apparently consists of just three morning sessions, plus tickets to games. However, as the society is a private body, there's not much Ms Lavarch can do. Meanwhile, Rob Hulls, Attorney-General for Victoria, has also ordered a review of lawyer conferences. According to the report, this coincides with a Victorian Bar Association conference on 'Access to justice: how much is too much?' taking place in June in... Tuscany. Here at Obiter Towers we are happy to report that no such restrictions are planned for journalists' junkets. Indeed we can confirm availability for seminars on securitisations, acquisition financing law or indeed any other interesting facet of German law between 9 June and 9 July this summer.