As NZ Legalises Pill Testing Permanently, Australian MPs Watch the Death Toll Rise
New Zealand health minister Andrew Little announced on 9 April that the 12-month-long interim laws permitting legal pill testing at festivals will be made permanent prior to their expiration, as the services have been making a positive impact. Passed in...
Federal Labor Commits to War Powers Inquiry: An Interview With AWPR’s Dr Alison Broinowski
The release of the Brereton report shocked the nation. The investigation uncovered alleged war crimes perpetrated by Australian SAS troops in Afghanistan, of which 39 were recommended for possible prosecution. The inquiry also exposed the “warrior culture” operating within special...
First Nations Deaths in Custody Must be Independently Investigated: An Interview With David Shoebridge
The 15th of April was a sombre day this year, as it marked 30 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody handed down a set of comprehensive recommendations designed to bring a halt to Indigenous fatalities under...
Holgate’s Demonisation Was Due to Her Resistance to Privatisation, Not Watches
Continuing their get-rich-quick-and-damn-the-future approach to governance, Morrison and Co have been considering selling off Australia Post. And it appears that the PM’s shaming of former CEO Christine Holgate over Cartier watches may have actually been about her resistance to privatisation....
Light Up This 420 as the Edifice of Global Cannabis Prohibition Continues to Crumble
Today, 20 April, is 420: a global day when cannabis legalisation advocates mobilise against the ongoing prohibition of the herb. Although, these days, the number of jurisdictions around the planet where this action still holds relevance is dwindling. Pot, weed,...
Aim to Establish First Nations Political Party, as Still No Justice Thirty Years On
“It’s certainly what’s being called for in Meanjin,” said Dr Chelsea Watego, in response to a question put regarding getting rid of prisons and investing in community-based justice solutions. “Sister Ruby talks about justice not being about putting them in...
The Unholy Alliance Between Latham and Berejiklian Endangers Our Diverse Society
NSW One Nation Leader Mark Latham’s 8 May 2019 maiden speech in the NSW Legislative Council begins fairly innocuously. He rattles off the usual belief in “a fair go”, acknowledges the value the upper house has in state parliament, and...
Legalise Cannabis WA Takes Two Upper House Seats: An Interview With MLC Sophia Moermond
In a sign that the global trend towards legalised cannabis markets is likely to hit Australian shores in the not-too-distant future, the Legalise Cannabis WA (LCWA) Party took out two Legislative Council seats in the 13 March Western Australian state...
“A Sword and Not a Shield”: Professor Simon Rice on Latham’s Religious Freedom Laws
That people should not be discriminated against because of their religious beliefs is something that a majority living within our secular society would agree upon. Indeed, persecuting someone because of adherence to a particular faith is akin to discrimination on...
A “Totalitarian Regime With a Sunny Climate”: McBride on Whistleblower Persecution
“I am appalled by what our country has become,” said former ADF lawyer David McBride. “I grew up in the shadow of the Second World War. I believed all that. And my disgust and anger to find that most of...
