Dutton Confirms Blindly Following the US into a “Devastating” War With China
Defence minister Peter Dutton continues to heighten the likelihood of warring on China with the US, as, over the weekend, he told the Australian that Beijing has been clear about taking action against Taiwan, and “it would be inconceivable” not...
The PM Champions Pork Barrelling Over Corruption Watchdog With Teeth
“It’s certainly not a model that we ever consider at a federal level,” said prime minister Scott Morrison in relation to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption, or ICAC, just days following the resignation of Gladys Berejiklian from the position...
NSW Police Shoot and Kill Gomeroi Man Stanley Russell
Australian police have killed yet another First Nations person. Once again, there was an outstanding arrest warrant involved, and it happened as officers entered the premises where the man was staying, similar to other such killings. Gomeroi man Stanley Russell...
Israeli Pegasus Spyware Gifts Governments Extralegal Surveillance Powers
The powerful software is being used to illegally hack the mobile phones of human rights defenders. The mobile phones of six Palestinian human rights defenders operating in the Israeli-occupied West Bank were hacked using the NSO Groups all-pervasive Pegasus spyware,...
Drop the Collaery Prosecution: An Interview With the Human Rights Law Centre’s Kieran Pender
Bernard Collaery was back before the courts on Wednesday, as attorney general Michaelia Cash had her lawyers arguing that she wants to introduce new “super-secret” evidence that’s so sensitive in nature that the ACT barrister wouldn’t be able to look...
Government Is Stalling on Rights Abuses in Detention: Senator Lidia Thorpe on OPCAT
Following the 2016 revelations involving the abuse and torture of children at Darwin’s Don Dale Youth Detention Centre, then attorney general George Brandis ratified the OPCAT in December 2017. This committed our nation to a UN-governed system to prevent rights...
Rich Nations Are Investing in Militarising Borders to Keep Out Climate Refugees
As the COP26 draws to a close, many climate-conscious citizens of the globe have criticised governments for turning what was seen as “the last chance saloon” to deal with the climate crisis into an international greenwashing event, where nations were...
Morrison’s Diplomacy “Reflex Is Spin”: Wong Casts PM as Global Trump-Lite
“I am simply saying we have seen in recent times, a leader who was prepared to damage alliances and partnerships – and that was Donald Trump,” Labor shadow foreign affairs minister Penny Wong told Fran Kelly on Radio National Breakfast...
Post-Lockdown Strip Searches Are Back, Including the Dreaded Squat and Cough
Sniff Off posted a 5 November warning on its Facebook page, alerting the public that police officers were strip searching Sydney Star Casino patrons at that time. The anti-drug dog campaign did so, as it works on the understanding that...
Vale Lanz Priestley: The Mayor of Martin Place
“When you come across a situation and you look and think, somebody should do something about this,” Lanz Priestley once said, “remember, you are somebody.” And anyone who knew the unofficial Mayor of Martin Place is well aware that he...
