Articles by Paul Gregoire

Paul Gregoire is a Sydney-based journalist and writer. He has a focus on civil rights, drug law reform, gender and Indigenous issues. Along with Sydney Criminal Lawyers®, he writes for VICE and is the former news editor at Sydney’s City Hub.

Indiscriminate Slaughter: The Leaks that Led to the Targeting of Assange

By ▪︎ ▪︎

Right now, Julian Assange is languishing in south London’s Belmarsh maximum security prison. He’s facing up to 12 months inside for breach of bail. And he’ll appear in Westminster Magistrates Court via video link on 2 May for a hearing related to his possible extradition to the US. It’s common knowledge that US authorities are …

It’s Time to Regulate Cocaine and MDMA: An Interview with Transform’s Steve Rolles

By ▪︎ ▪︎

The debate around legalising recreational cannabis in this country is growing louder. What once seemed to Middle Australia like a far-out idea held by some rural hippies, nowadays, isn’t such a distant concept as the news of successful legalisation in 10 US states funnels in over the internet. Currently, there’s a piece of legislation under …

Free Assange: Incarcerated for Exposing the Truth

By ▪︎ ▪︎

The US government arrested an Australian citizen in a foreign country last week for a crime he allegedly committed on foreign soil. And the response by prime minister Scott Morrison and his cronies was to slap each other on the back and collectively express the view, “Look at the boss go.” As the Ecuadorian embassy …

On Legalising and Regulating Cocaine: An Interview With Dr Julian Buchanan

By ▪︎ ▪︎

The NSW police drug detection dog program has been widely criticised, as it gets it wrong between two-thirds to three-quarters of the time. And the 2006 Ombudsman report pointed out that when searches are successful, most only turn up small amounts of cannabis. In 2013, a passenger disembarking at Sydney’s Redfern Station was six and …

Morrison Targets Animal Rights Activists, While Nazis Go Unhindered

By ▪︎ ▪︎

A vegan rally against the society-wide exploitation of animals took place in Melbourne’s CBD on 8 April. And it captured the essence of what a protest is supposed to be about. It was unannounced. It surprised people. It caused delays and inconvenience. And thus, it got its message across. The close to one hundred peaceful …

Scott Morrison: The Dumbing Down of Kirribilli

By ▪︎ ▪︎

Unelected prime minister Scott Morrison announced last Thursday that the next federal election will take place on 18 May. And if the Coalition’s 52nd consecutive Newspoll loss on Sunday is anything to go by, it’ll be his last big announcement in the position he’s been busily sabotaging. During his speech, the PM mentioned his government’s …

Protecting the Sacred: An Interview With the Djab Wurrung Embassy’s Zellanach Djab Mara

By ▪︎ ▪︎

VicRoads and Major Road Projects Victoria have plans to construct a four lane strip of highway between the towns of Ararat and Buangor in southwestern Victoria, as part of its $672 million Western Highway duplication project. This basically means that the Andrews government proposes to build this part of the road next to a pre-existing …

Christchurch Terrorist Attack: Perpetrated by a ‘Law-Abiding Firearm Owner’

By ▪︎ & ▪︎

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has made good on her much-lauded promise to tighten her nation’s gun laws in the wake of the Christchurch terrorist attack. On Thursday, her gun law reform bill passed in parliament, with 119 votes for and just one against. It bans most semi-automatics, semi-automatic conversion parts, some shotguns, as …

Berejiklian’s Moves Quickly to Consolidate Power and Silence Dissent

By ▪︎ ▪︎

The Berejiklian government seems to have taken its election win as an indication from the NSW electorate that it has carte blanche over its governing of the state, as in a little over a week after its return to office, it made some unprecedented moves to consolidate power. Under the Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Public Service …

Raise the Rate: An Interview With the Australian Unemployed Workers Union’s Jeremy Poxon

By ▪︎ ▪︎

The concept of welfare has its basis in 7th century Islam. In its modern European form, welfare provisions began to emerge in the 19th century. These were systems that acknowledged a government’s responsibility to provide for all of its citizens, and in turn, benefit the whole of society. In the Australian setting, the social security …