If You’re Refused Bail, You’re Likely to Get a Harsher Sentence
The NSW adult prisoner population seems to have stabilised in recent times, after a half decade of dramatic increase, which saw the under 10,000 inmates of 2013 rise to a peak of 13,651 detainees in May last year. And this...
The Coalition’s Silence on Treaty: An Interview With Indigenous Rights Activist Lynda-June Coe
Noongar man Ken Wyatt made history last week when he was sworn in as the nation’s first Indigenous affairs minister. First Nations organisations across the country said that the appointment was one that spoke of hope. This historic first also...
Morrison’s Election Has Sparked an Outbreak of Attempted Suicides on Manus
After being detained for six years in a foreign country by Australia, the around 550 asylum seekers and refugees on Manus Island are now not only part of this nation’s consciousness, but, despite the Coalition’s best efforts, they’re also a...
Strip Searches: State-Perpetrated Sexual Acts
NSW police use of strip searches hasn’t just risen in recent times, but almost become routine. Over the four years ending in June 2018, its general use rose by 47 percent, while last year, 11 percent of persons in respect...
Passive Smoking Defence Exposes Flawed Drug Driving Regime
Magistrate David Heilpern has delivered yet another landmark ruling that reveals the shonky logic underlying the drug driving regime in NSW. The Lismore magistrate accepted last month that a woman tested positive to cannabis because of passive smoking. Nicole Spackman...
Drug Dogs Are No Deterrent & Increase the Harm: An Interview With RMIT’s Dr Peta Malins
These days, commuters alighting the train of an early evening at Sydney’s Central station can be confronted by police with drug dogs. And if a canine makes an indication about one of the citizens on the platform, that individual can...
Keeping Religion Out of Politics: An Interview With the National Secular Lobby’s Peter Monk
As the campaign for marriage equality grew stronger, the debate on religious freedoms rose to the fore, as the state agreeing to grant some in the community the same human rights as others, seemed to irk a number of people...
“We Must Speak Out”: Lawyers Are Obliged to Speak Out About Human Rights
Lawyers stand in a unique position. Their training and practice gives them a keen awareness of how the law functions in our daily lives, as well as the likely impacts of any newly-enacted or amended laws. Often, at times when...
The Adani Mine: Morrison, Albanese and the Growing Rebellion
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was completely right last week when she remarked in regard to the Adani mine that “everyone’s had a gutful”. But, most Australians aren’t feeling it in the bend-over-backwards-to secure-the-mine-opens sort of way that she is. The...
Torres Strait Takes Australia to UN Over Climate Inaction: An Interview With 350’s Glen Klatovsky
Eight Torres Strait Islander representatives from four different islands lodged an official complaint with the UN Human Rights Committee on 13 May against the Australian government over its complete inaction on climate change, which is threatening their island homes. The...
