The Homelessness Crisis Is Growing
The 2016 Census homelessness data was finally released on March 14. It confirms what many already knew, that the number of people experiencing homeless in this country is on a steep increase. Indeed, 50 out of every 10,000 Australians is now...
Stop Sniffer Dog Operations: An Interview With the Sniff Off Campaign’s Xiaoran Shi
The campaign against the warrantless use of sniffer dogs in public places by NSW police is moving North. The Sniff Off campaign, which is a collaboration between Greens MLC David Shoebridge and the NSW Young Greens, launched in Newcastle on...
Court Security Screening of Lawyers is Unwarranted
In late February, NSW Bar Association president Arthur Moses SC called a meeting with the head of the Office of the Sheriff of New South Wales, Tracey Hall, to discuss the ongoing frustrations of lawyers who are subjected to time-consuming...
China and NSW Are Increasingly Targeting ‘Future Criminals’
So, what does the far western province of Xinjiang in China have in common with the state of New South Wales? Answer: authorities in both regions are cracking down on future crime, in so far as both are employing policies...
Misgendered Incarceration: An Interview With Scarlet Alliance CEO Jules Kim
A transgender woman is currently being held in solitary confinement in WA’s Casuarina maximum security prison for men. In January, CJ Palmer was found guilty by a Perth District Court jury of committing grievous bodily harm for transmitting HIV. The prosecution claimed...
New Zealand PM Condemns Turnbull’s Policy of Deporting Kiwis
New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern raised concerns over the Turnbull government’s policy of deporting offending New Zealanders at a press conference in Sydney last Friday. In particular, the NZ PM questioned the practice of deporting individuals who have made Australia...
Remembering the Impact of the Strathfield Massacre
First published: 6 March 2018 The idea of arming school teachers may not seem appropriate or warranted in Australia. But in the US state of Michigan, lawmakers are currently considering new gun-related legislation that could establish a scheme whereby trained teachers...
NSW Police Use Anti-Protest Laws to Monitor Tour Groups
Over a weekend in February, a tour group visiting areas threatened by mining in the Upper Hunter was placed under NSW police surveillance. This apparently unwarranted monitoring - reminiscent of totalitarian regimes like North Korea – seems to be yet...
Time to Start Over: An Interview With Medicinal Cannabis Pioneer Lucy Haslam
Lucy Haslam has been at the forefront of the movement to re-introduce the use of medicinal cannabis in Australia since 2013. The Tamworth local was instrumental in engaging the support of politicians to a cause that many were sceptical about....
Cannabis Patients Denied Access: An Interview With MCUA President Deb Lynch
The Australian medicinal cannabis quagmire is heavily impacting patients. The whole debate around the medicine has been about how to get a criminalised plant, which is now widely recognised for its beneficial qualities, into the hands of those that need...
