Will COVID-19 Police Powers Creep Into Permanency, Just Like Terrorism Laws?
The global spread of COVID-19 is hardly the first pandemic the species has faced. Probably the best known is the Black Death that spread through Europe, Asia and northern Africa in the 1300s. The chief measures to combat it were...
Global COVID-19 Developments: Forced Removals, Indefinite Detention
The COVID-19 landscape is shifting. The epicentre is no longer Wuhan, the capital of China’s Hubei province. After 76 days, that city’s complete lockdown ended on Wednesday: the borders reopened, many restrictions were lifted, however officials warned further infections are...
A Death Sentence for Inmates: An Interview With Sisters Inside CEO Debbie Kilroy
The Berejiklian government passed a suite of emergency laws to get the state of NSW through the COVID-19 crisis on 24 March. These included provisions allowing NSW Corrective Services commissioner Peter Severin to release inmates early on parole. However, more...
The Interlinked Crises of COVID and Climate: An Interview with Health Professor Ro McFarlane
A different aspect within many Australian urban centres over the last summer was the site of locals wearing face masks on city streets due to the intense smoke pollution rolling in from the bushfires that were ravaging the eastern seaboard....
The Need for Parliamentary Oversight is Greater Than Ever
The Morrison government shut down federal parliament due to concerns around the spread of COVID-19 on 23 March. And besides a special reduced sitting day set to take place on 8 April, the chambers in Canberra aren’t expected to start...
No Worker Left Behind: An Interview With the May 1 Movement’s Robert Car
The Morrison government on 30 March announced a $130 billion wage subsidy package as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that qualifying businesses will be provided with a fortnightly wage subsidy of $1,500 per employee over...
The COVID-19 Response Is Undermining the Rule of Law
Australia’s liberal democracy rests upon the doctrine of the separation of powers, which upholds the rule of law. It ensures that the three arms of government - the legislative, the executive and the judicial - remain separate entities. The legislature,...
The Gates Foundation’s Prophetic Coronavirus Pandemic Simulation
On 18 October last year, the Gates Foundation, the World Economic Forum and the John Hopkins Centre for Health Security held a pandemic simulation exercise, with the aim of “educating senior leaders” about an adequate response to the type of...
Innocent Refugees Denied COVID-19 Protection
“This is coronavirus torture. It will come sooner or later,” Mostafa Azimitabar made certain, as he spoke over the phone from his room at the Mantra Hotel. “If one person catches this virus, all of these refugees will get it...
Stop COVID Aboriginal Deaths in Custody: An Interview With the ALS’s Makayla Reynolds
Right now, as COVID-19 cases continue to climb, people are being told not to leave their homes unless it’s a necessity. And authorities nationwide are enforcing these new regulations, ensuring compliance via threat of steep penalties. Yet, despite the potential...
