WA Police Criticised for Using Excessive Force Against Indigenous Australians
On September 27, a 35-year-old Aboriginal woman called WA police to report a family violence incident at her Joondalup house. On arriving at the residence, the attending officers ran a background check on the mother-of-five and arrested her for fine default....
The Legacy of Blackbirding: An Interview with WASSIUC President Jacintha Bezgovsek
On August 17 1863, a ship called the Don Juan arrived in Moreton Bay, Queensland carrying 67 men from a group of islands known as the New Hebrides, which is now the Republic of Vanuatu. These Pacific Island people were brought...
The Suspicious Death in Custody of Tane Chatfield
Tane Chatfield was found unconscious in his cell at Tamworth Correctional Centre just after 9am on September 20. Two days later, he died in hospital. The Corrective Services investigation unit announced that the death of the 22-year-old father-of-one was “not...
Drug Decriminalisation Is Logical: An Interview with SSDP Australia’s Penelope Hill
The tough on drugs approach has been shown to actually increase the harms associated with the use of illicit substances. However, successive Australian governments have ignored the evidence and continue to apply zero tolerance policies. Nowhere is this more apparent...
Indigenous Nations Are Set to Become Economically Independent
There are over 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations across the continent known as Australia, and its surrounding islands. Since the British have occupied the land mass, the disparity between First Nations people and the newcomers has grown exponentially....
The US Warns It Will Once Again “Totally Destroy” North Korea
Tensions continue to mount on the North Korean peninsula, as the Trump administration and the regime of Kim Jong-un continue threats to carry out pre-emptive military strikes against each other. On September 25, North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong-ho warned...
The Push for Mandatory Consideration of Aboriginality During Sentencing
In the 2013 case of Bugmy versus the Queen, the High Court of Australia found that social disadvantage should be taken into account during the sentencing process. The court ruled that Aboriginal man William Bugmy’s deprived background should have been...
Drug Driving Laws Are Not About Road Safety
In December 2015, the NSW government announced it was tripling the number of mobile drug tests carried out annually to 97,000 tests by this year. As might be expected, the number of motorists being charged with drug driving offences has also skyrocketed....
LGBTIQ Harm Reduction Innovations: An Interview with Unharm’s Kane Race
Australian authorities continue to take a heavy-handed law enforcement approach to illicit substances. This is despite the evidence that suggests zero-tolerance policies actually increase the harms associated with the use of illegal drugs. Victoria police are currently pushing for expanded...
‘Sugar Slaves’: Australia’s History of Blackbirding
The Queensland sugar industry currently generates $2 billion annually. But, it’s a little-known fact that the industry was built upon the backs of Pacific Island people, who were coerced, deceived and even kidnapped from their islands of origin to work...
