Lack of Post-Release Support Leads to Indigenous Deaths and Re-offending
When it comes to the prison population in Australia, the Indigenous are heavily over-represented. As of 30 June 2015, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people comprised 9,885 out of 35,845 people incarcerated in Australian correctional facilities. Australia’s First Peoples make up 3...
Eight Rounds in Eight Seconds: the Adler Is Coming to Australia
Date published: 7 March 2017 The Australian federal, state and territory governments have amended the National Firearms Agreement (NFA), but haven’t announced it to the public. Instead they recently posted the 2017 agreement on the attorney-general’s website. Neither George Brandis nor Australian justice...
Aboriginal Resistance is Mounting: An Interview with FIRE’s Laura Lyons
Over recent years, there’s been a resurgence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander resistance movements. Localised Indigenous groups have reached out to others across the country, forming a network united under the common causes of treaty, sovereignty and decolonisation. This unity could...
The Poor Are Criminalised, While the Crimes of the Rich Are Overlooked
The world’s eight richest people have accumulated more wealth than the poorest four billion, a recently released Oxfam report reveals. And since 2015, the richest 1 percent has owned more than the rest of the world’s 99 percent. The gap between rich...
The Long Road to Becoming a Lawyer
A Queensland magistrate sentenced a 33-year-old man to three months in prison for pretending to be a lawyer. Nicolas Braid was also ordered to pay back the money he charged an unsuspecting client for legal services, when he appeared in court...
Should Trans People be Permitted to Use Bathrooms of Their Choice?
In the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory last November, a wave of hate crimes spread across the US. Perpetrated against minority groups, those who bore the brunt of the attacks were Muslims, Latin Americans, black people and members the LGBTIQ...
Overcrowding in Women’s Prisons – Working Towards a Solution
Melaleuca Remand and Reintegration Facility is a new maximum security prison for women in Canning Vale, Western Australia. Opened in December last year, the prison is located beside the Hakea prison for men and has the capacity to hold 254...
Victory Against Anti-Islam Group: An Interview with Halal Certification Authority Director Mohamed El-Mouelhy
The Q Society and anti-halal campaigner Kirralie Smith have publicly apologised to Mohamed El-Mouelhy, the director of the Halal Certification Authority. At a meeting on Monday, the anti-Islam organisation agreed to make an out of court settlement over the defamation case brought against them....
Government Bureaucracy Impedes Access to Medicinal Cannabis
Australian health minister Greg Hunt announced last week that medical marijuana will be more readily available within the next eight weeks. He said the government will ensure the fast tracking of the importation of cannabis based medicines. This relaxing of the laws...
From the Pulpit to the Bench: An Interview with Chris Geraghty
After years of tension with his seniors at the Catholic Church, Chris Geraghty walked away from the priesthood in October 1976. He’d served 15 years in the Archdiocese of Sydney, after training in the seminaries since the age of 12. Right from...
