Articles by Paul Gregoire

Paul Gregoire is a Sydney-based journalist and writer. He has a focus on human rights issues, encroachments on civil liberties, drug law reform, gender diversity and First Nations rights. Prior to Sydney Criminal Lawyers®, he wrote for VICE and was the news editor at Sydney’s City Hub.

Radical Radio

Punishment Disguised as Safety: The Injustice of Drug Driving Laws

By ▪︎ ▪︎

Enpsychedelia presenter Nick Wallis hosted a roadside drug testing forum on 4 May at the Nimbin MardiGrass, with panellists that included Reason Party leader Fiona Patten, HEMP Party secretary Andrew Kavasilas and renowned medicinal cannabis practitioner Dr Andrew Katelaris. During the event, panellists pointed to the injustices propagated by the flawed regime that instead of …
Organ donation

Forced Organ Removals in China Continue Unabated, Tribunal Finds

By ▪︎ ▪︎

The China Tribunal has just released its judgement on organ harvesting in China. After a year-long investigation, the independent London-based panel set out on 17 June that it has no doubt the organs of prisoners of conscience are being forcibly removed to service transplant operations. Despite the secrecy surrounding the practice, the tribunal asserts that …
Carjacking

Carjacking: An Offence Against People and Property

By ▪︎ & ▪︎

A little after 2pm on 5 May, a young man approached a 51-year-old woman as she was getting into her vehicle in the carpark of the Beresfield Bottle Barn and Tavern on Anderson Drive in the Newcastle suburb of Beresfield. The 21-year-old man allegedly pushed the woman up against her black car, before taking the …
US False Flag Predilection

Iran, the Gulf of Oman and the US False Flag Predilection

By ▪︎ ▪︎

As two oil tankers were evacuated after being attacked in the Gulf of Oman on 13 June, the Trump administration was quick to accuse Iran of using magnetic mines to disable the Norwegian and Japanese-owned oil ships. US Central Command released footage that appears to have been taken from an aircraft, which it claims shows …
First Nation's suicide

The Impact of the First Nations Suicide Crisis Up-Close

By ▪︎ ▪︎

Karen West* found her daughter in an agitated state last December and realised she’d taken hundreds of pills. As the 15-year-old girl was so upset, police placed her in the back of a paddy wagon and took her to a hospital in Perth. On arrival, three minutes later, she was unresponsive. Hospital staff revived the …
Nelly’s Healing Centre’s Helen Eason

Preventing Aboriginal Child Removals: An Interview With Nelly’s Healing Centre’s Helen Eason

By ▪︎ ▪︎

The 2019 Productivity Commission report outlines that in June 2018 there were 6,766 First Nations children in out-of-home care in NSW. This means Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids made up 39 percent of youths in state care, while only accounting for 5 percent of the population under 18. Referred to as the continuing stolen …
Peter Dutton

“The Weakest Link”: Australia Providing Assistance and Access to the Five Eyes

By ▪︎ ▪︎

At a ministerial meeting of the Five Eyes alliance held in the Canadian capital of Ottawa on 26 June 2017, those gathered discussed the hindrance that encryption is when they’re trying to access private data. A joint communique released following the meeting noted that encryption was “impeding lawful access to the content of communications during …
Lawyer David McBride

In the Public Interest: An Interview With Former Military Lawyer David McBride

By ▪︎ ▪︎

Former military lawyer David McBride appeared in the ACT Supreme Court on 13 June on charges relating to classified military files that he handed over to an ABC journalist in 2016. The leaked documents formed the basis of the 2017 report The Afghan Files. Mr McBride had previously pled not guilty to five charges, which …

Julian Assange, the AFP Raids, and the Crime of Dissent

By ▪︎ ▪︎

If News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst was watching the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday morning, she might have been surprised to see Peter Dutton discussing the domestic spying proposal that AFP officers raided her home in relation to just thirteen days earlier. Not only did the home affairs minister deny there is a proposal to …

Cannabis Legalisation Is Creeping Closer for Canberra

By ▪︎ ▪︎

The ACT Legislative Assembly health committee last week tabled its report on the legislation that would see the personal possession and use of cannabis legalised in the capital territory. And with a great sigh of relief, the review recommended the bill be supported subject to some amendments. The Personal Cannabis Use Bill was introduced into …