With a UN Seat, Australia Needs to Rectify Indigenous Injustice
Australia won a seat on the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on October 17. One of the five pillars of the Australian campaign for a position on the leading human rights body was a pledge to improve the rights of Indigenous peoples. This...
Making Medicinal Cannabis Accessible: An Interview with Senator Richard Di Natale
Currently, there’s a private senator’s bill before the House of Representatives that will provide terminally ill patients with rapid access to medicinal cannabis products. But, there are fears the Turnbull government will vote it down. Australian Greens leader Richard Di Natale...
Time to Support West Papua: An Interview with Independence Leader Benny Wenda
On September 26, West Papuan leader Benny Wenda presented a petition to the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation (C24) calling for an internationally supervised vote on West Papuan self-determination. The petition was signed by 1.8 million West Papuan people, which...
Moving Away from the War on Drugs: An Interview with Dr Alex Wodak
The war on drugs in not over yet. But there seems to be some glimmering light at the end of the tunnel, with the major drug law reforms that have been taking place globally over recent years. The US once...
Skewed Priorities: Two Vacant Properties for Every Homeless Person in NSW
On October 18, Australian Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon posted the following statement on her Facebook feed: In NSW, 28,190 people are homeless, while 68,000 properties sit vacant. The senator then posed the question, “Is this fair?” Of course, the overwhelming...
The Threat of Nuclear War Looms
As US president Donald Trump landed in Japan last Saturday to begin his tour of five Asian nations, North Korea’s nuclear weapons program was a primary focus. In September, Pyongyang carried out its sixth nuclear test, which led Trump to...
The Need for a Bill of Rights: An Interview with UNSW Professor George Williams
First published 4 November 2017 On October 17, Australia won a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council: the international body responsible for the protection of human rights around the globe. It’s hoped the nation’s new position might improve rights issues...
Turnbull’s Homelessness Scheme Will Do Nothing to Address the Problem
One out of every 200 Australians is homeless on any given night. The last available Census data found that in 2011, there were 105,237 people experiencing homelessness in Australia. This number had risen from 89,728 in 2006, marking a 17.3...
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...
