Richmond Injecting Centre Approved: An Interview With YDHF’s Greg Denham
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has finally approved the two-year trial of a safe injecting centre in North Richmond. The announcement came in the wake of newly released figures that show 34 overdose deaths have already occurred in the local council...
NSW Police Future Crime Program: An Abuse of Power
Since February 2000, NSW police has been carrying out a secretive program to prevent future crime that targets reoffenders and individuals police merely consider to have the potential to commit crimes. The Suspect Targeting Management Plan (STMP) was developed by the...
Domestic Violence Video Statements Aren’t Increasing Convictions
On June 1 2015, NSW became the first Australian jurisdiction to allow pre-recorded videos to be used as evidence in domestic violence cases. The Domestic Violence Evidence-in-Chief (DVEC) reforms allow the evidence in proceedings to be presented in either a video...
Neville Wran’s Daughter Received Lower Sentence Due to Media Attention
A little after 7 pm on 10 August 2014, Brett Fitzgerald opened the door to his ground floor unit at a public housing complex in Redfern, where he lived with Daniel McNulty. It was known by some in the local...
Dying With Dignity Laws on the Horizon
Terminally ill Victorians will have the right to take their own lives from 2019 onwards if end-of-life legislation passes through the upper house. Following a four day debate in the Legislative Assembly, a landmark assisted dying bill was approved on...
Decriminalise the Sex Work Industry Now
The second Law and Sex Worker Health (LASH) report was released last Friday. And the study demonstrated overwhelmingly that the criminalisation of the sex work industry continues to negatively impact the health, safety and well-being of sex workers. The initial...
The High Cost of NSW Sniffer Dog Operations
Recently released figures show taxpayers are forking out exorbitant amounts to fund the use of sniffer dogs at music festivals. And despite the evidence police searches increase dangerous drug use at these events, festivalgoers are now the main focus of...
Australia Needs a Bill of Rights: An Interview with MP Andrew Wilkie
Over recent years, both the federal and state governments have enacted countless laws that encroach upon the basic liberties and legal safeguards of Australians. At the national level, the right to privacy has been sacrificed under the federal government’s mandatory metadata...
It’s Time for Politicians to Implement Sensible Policies: An Interview with Nevena Spirovska
The ACT government made a forward thinking move in September by approving the country’s first pill testing trial at a music festival. But a few weeks later, organisers of the Spilt Milk festival said they were unable to continue with...
Legalising the Inaccessible: An Interview with Medicinal Cannabis Advocate Dr Teresa Towpik
A medicinal cannabis bill that would make it easier for terminally ill patients to access imported cannabis medicines passed through the Senate on Thursday. However, it’s expected the Turnbull government will vote it down in the lower house. This really...
