Police Against Drug Prohibition: An Interview with LEAP’s Greg Denham
In 2001, the Uniting Medically Supervised Injecting Centre (MSIC) was established in Sydney’s Kings Cross, in response to a spate of heroin overdoses. Ten years on, studies found that the facility had been a resounding success. Ambulance call-outs were down by 80...
Government Proposes to Give Lawyers Access to Metadata
Date of first publication: 6 January 2017 The Turnbull government is currently considering whether to allow civil litigation lawyers access to its controversial mandatory data retention regime. This means that lawyers working on civil cases would be able to access...
NYE Bashing of Two Asylum Seekers on Manus Island
Two Iranian asylum seekers were beaten by up to 10 Papua New Guinea (PNG) police and immigration officers on New Year’s Eve. The pair were then taken to the Lorengau police station on Manus Island, where they were held in custody...
The Murder of Police Whistle-Blower Sallie-Anne Huckstepp
A man was walking his dog through Centennial Park in Sydney on the morning of February 7, 1986 when he noticed the body of a woman floating in Busby Pond. After police were alerted, two uniformed constables rowed out and dragged...
Neddy Smith: A Career in Crime
Standing at 6ft 6in, Arthur “Neddy” Smith – the infamous standover man - had a menacing aura. He was a leading underworld figure during the mid-1980s Sydney drug wars. And he drove fear into all he encountered. Today, the 72-year-old...
Lest We Forget: The Indigenous Defence of Land
The Frontier Wars raged across the continent of Australia from 1788 – the year European occupiers arrived – right up until 1934. For the most part these battles, massacres and acts of resistance have been forgotten and remain unacknowledged to...
The Delay in Prosecuting the Death of Lynette Daley: A Nation’s Shame
Lynette Daley was already dead by the time paramedics arrived at Ten Mile Beach in northern NSW. It was around 7 am on January 27, 2011 and the 33-year-old mother-of-seven’s body lay bloodied and brutalised. Two men, Adrian Attwater and...
The Santa Claus Slayer: You Better Watch Out!
At 11:30pm on Christmas Eve, 2008, a man dressed as Santa Claus knocked on the door of a house in Covina: a small town 35 kilometres east of Los Angeles. An 8-year-old girl answered the door to find Santa holding...
The Santa Claus Bank Heist
Santa Claus walks into a bank brandishing a pistol. He’s also got a sack, but he’s not looking to distribute any gifts. He’s flanked by three helpers, but they’re hardly elfish-types. Two of them are ex-cons, while the other is...
Indigenous Treaties: An Interview with Narungga Elder Tauto Sansbury
Many are calling it a historic event, while others are saying it’s about time. Several state governments around Australia are finally entering into treaty discussions with the nation’s First Peoples. The South Australian government announced last week that it will begin...
