The NSW Police Force Has a (Strip) Search Quota System
KPIs and quotas are performance indicators that gained prominence in the late 1980s. They involve management setting ever increasingly high performance targets, which can often fail to be grounded in reality and ultimately, produce poor-quality results. In everyday life, key...
NSW Greens Move to Legislate for Life-Saving Pill Testing Services
During the last music festival season, five young Australians died in drug-related circumstances at NSW events. And while the death toll was high, the lost lives were no anomaly, and the potential for more casualties is ever present. Decades of...
A Crime of Compassion: An Interview With Green Light’s Nicholas Morley
Against the backdrop of the ACT having just passed laws to legalise cannabis use, and the pending three year anniversary of the government’s highly derided cannabis medicine licensing scheme, comes a documentary that deals with the reality of medicinal cannabis...
Free Susan Neill-Fraser: An Innocent Woman Behind Bars
A news report dated 9 October 2009 states that Susan Neill-Fraser had appeared in a Tasmanian court that day, regarding the murder of her de facto partner of 18 years Bob Chappell. At the time, she was on remand following...
A Vote for Diversity: An Interview With Law Society Council Candidate Angelo Bilias
Angelo Bilias is a Sydney lawyer, who understands the value of the collective strength of the law profession in this state. That’s why he places such importance in the Law Society of NSW, as the professional association representing the interests...
New Tenancy Laws Give Domestic Violence Victims a Quick Exit
NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) figures released in June, revealed that over the 12 months to March this year, domestic violence (DV)-related murders doubled to 38 people, which was up from 19 homicides that occurred in domestic...
Wodak & Shoebridge on Scipione’s Talk of Drug Law Reform
These days, it’s well understood that the war on drugs has been a monumental failure. And there’s perhaps no one better placed to understand this, than those at the frontline of enforcing the prohibitionist laws that wreak havoc in the...
Facilitating Culturally Diverse Access to Justice: An Interview With the JCCD’s Carla Wilshire
Of late, questions have been raised around ethnic diversity in the Australian judiciary. A quick perusal of the lists of appointed judges and magistrates in this country reveals that they’re top heavy with Anglo Australian representation. Over recent decades, there’s...
Canberra Has Legalised the Possession of Cannabis
As of 31 January next year, it will be legal to smoke cannabis for recreational purposes in the ACT. The territory Legislative Assembly passed laws on 25 September that make using cannabis, possessing up to 50 grams of it and...
Representing the Community: An Interview With Former Senior Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi AM QC
Once described as Australia’s highest flying prosecutor, former NSW Senior Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC had a reputation for determinedly bringing justice. In 1974, Mr Tedeschi’s name was entered into the NSW Supreme Court roll. Three years later, he was...
