Portugal’s Experience of Drug Decriminalisation
Around one percent of the population in Portugal was addicted to heroin in 1999. The nation also reportedly had the highest number of drug-related AIDS deaths in the European Union. The government had been waging the usual war on drugs since...
The Netherlands is Helping the Homeless, While We’re Criminalising Them
As in many developed countries, it’s becoming increasing rare for people in the Netherlands to carry cash, as electronic payment technologies are embraced for a wide variety of transactions. However, a section of society that’s being left behind by these...
Melbourne Needs an Injecting Room: An Interview with Australian Sex Party Leader Fiona Patten
There’s a renewed push for a medically supervised injecting centre to be established in Melbourne, amid concerns over continuing overdose deaths on the streets. Leading the campaign is Victorian Sex Party MLC Fiona Patten, who introduced a private member’s bill...
NSW Police Pursuit Results in Another Tragic Death
NSW police have engaged in the pursuit of a vehicle yet again, and this time the chase has led to the tragic death of a teen. Around 2 am last Friday, police tried to stop a ute in Kempsey. But when...
A Return to the Greens Radical Roots: An Interview with Left Renewal
Left Renewal is a group of left-leaning rank and file members of the NSW Greens party that caused a stir amongst the broader Australian Greens, when they announced their presence in December last year and declared their anti-capitalist agenda The arrival...
Australia Will Finally Ratify Law Against Torture
A group of up to 20 teenagers, who are being held in the Grevillea Unit of Victoria’s Barwon prison, rioted on Monday night. The youths have been placed in the unit of the adult prison due to the rioting that’s...
Stop Trying to Make Gay People ‘Straight’: An Interview with Brave Network’s Nathan Despott
The Victorian government has set up a new health complaints watchdog. The Health Complaints Commissioner has the power to place temporary or permanent bans on unethical health providers, and this will include practitioners of gay conversion therapy. The legislation that gives the...
Buddhist Monk Charged with Commercial Drug Supply
Last Sunday night, senior Buddhist monk U Arsara was driving in his Toyota Kluger from Shwe Baho village in southern Maungdaw district, in the northwestern state of Rakhine, Myanmar. At around 6 pm, he was stopped by police at the...
Providing a Future for NT Youth: An Interview with Bush Mob CEO Will MacGregor
Last week, the Northern Territory Supreme Court released Dylan Voller from prison, eight months early. Justice Barr released the 19-year-old Indigenous man, so he can undertake a sixteen week rehabilitation program at the Bush Mob facility in Alice Springs. Mr Voller...
Victorian Youth Justice Crisis: An Interview with Jesuit Social Services CEO Julie Edwards
Fifteen youths from Victoria’s Malmsbury youth justice centre rioted and then escaped from the facility on January 25. This led to what Victoria police called a “small crime wave.” The last two teens were apprehended by police 24 hours after the...
