In Defence of the Fifth Estate: Just Who Is Propagating Disinformation?
The term fake news was popularised by now defunct US president Donald Trump in the days after he took office in early 2017. The notorious billionaire used it to describe the way in which the press reported on him, while...
In Response to the IPCC Report, Morrison Damns Us to Climate Hell
Released last Monday, the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report is the most comprehensive study of its kind, and it’s also the most damning. Gone is the 2015 Paris Agreement target of keeping rising temperatures to below 1.5°C...
Last Chance to Halt Coalition’s Muzzling of Charities and Not-for-Profits
Drafted in February by the executive branch of the government, amendments to the laws governing charities were tabled before by houses of federal parliament on 3 August, and if a disallowance motion doesn’t strike them down, the changes will serve...
Child Removal Suppression Law Is Unconstitutional, Argues Paul Robert Burton
Section 105 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 (NSW) (the Child Protection Act) prevents the publication of the name and identifying details of a child or young person, who’s in state care, out-of-home care or...
“Hell on Earth”: Extinction Rebellion’s Violet Coco on the Urgency of Climate Activism
The Federal Court of Australia declared on 8 July that in deciding on whether to approve fossil fuel projects going into the future, the environment minister has to consider a duty of care “to avoid causing personal injury or death”...
Calls for Canberra to Impose Sanctions on Apartheid Israel
The eleven day bombardment of Gaza by the military forces of apartheid Israel came to an end on 21 May this year. The attacks left 248 Palestinian civilians dead – a quarter of them children – while the death toll...
Hillsong Pastor Brian Houston Charged With Concealing a Child Sexual Offence
Cofounding Hillsong pastor Brian Houston was charged by NSW police on 5 August, over his alleged concealment of child sexual abuse that occurred in the 1970s, when the head of the Pentecostal megachurch became privy to the information in 1999....
A Last Resort? NSW Police Powers to Arrest Without a Warrant
The pandemic era has changed the legal landscape within the state of NSW. The most obvious and abrupt aspect to this are the extra restrictions and offences that have been issued during the course of the COVID-19 outbreaks, as well...
Biosecurity Policing: The Securitisation of Public Health in the Pandemic Era
One of the most prominent aspects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in this country has been an increased police presence on the streets, with officers enforcing an array of new biosecurity powers with gusto. In the pandemic era, Australian police...
In a Time of Mounting Crises, Morrison’s Political Cunning Does Not the Leader Make
The understanding that prime minister Scott Morrison is a cunning political player yet lacks the leadership skills that are needed to run a nation is becoming a common sentiment around the country these days. Labor MP Julian Hill helped popularise...
