Free Public Transport for the Homeless in Victoria
Victoria has commenced an initiative which gives free public transport to the homeless and other financially disadvantaged people in the state. The year-long trial is offering weekly and monthly passes to the indigent, with a view to making it easier...
New Senior Counsel Appointed in New South Wales
Nineteen barristers, comprising 15 men and four women, have been elevated to the prestigious rank of Senior Counsel (SC), or ‘silk’, this year. The NSW Bar Association has released its annual list of senior counsel appointments. Prestigious title The title...
New Zealand Customs Can Now Require Your Passwords
New Zealand is reported to have become the first country in the world to pass laws requiring travellers to reveal their personal passwords to electronic devices such as phones and computers at the border, and Australia is likely follow in...
Is Hazing a Criminal Offence?
As stories continue to emerge of dangerous and sadistic initiation rituals on University campuses, it’s interesting to explore where ‘hazing’ stands in terms of the law in New South Wales. Earlier this year, the Red Zone Report into Australian universities...
Pope Defrocks Priest who Sexually Abused Children
In an exceptionally rare but welcomed move, Pope Francis (pictured) has defrocked a Chilean priest convicted of sexually assaulting children. It’s the toughest penalty available to the Pope - with the exception of ex-communication, and a sign the Church may...
Should ‘Dowry Abuse’ be Criminalised?
A Senate Inquiry into ‘dowry abuse’ has heard that a disturbing number of women in Australia are being subjected to mental and physical abuse by their fiances or husbands with a view to having them elicit gifts from their families...
Government Careless with the Private Data of Citizens
The South Australian Government has been forced to shut down guest access to its online land titles registry, after an unidentified overseas ‘guest user’ was able to download the personal details of more than a million Australian home owners. The...
Food Contamination Laws to be Strengthened
The federal government is proposing to increase the maximum prison term for anyone found guilty of contaminating food from 10 to 15 years. It is also seeking to broaden the scope of existing laws, in order to make it easier...
Politician Charged with Forgery, Fraud and Lying Under Oath
Former Western Australian MP Barry Urban has been charged with a dozen dishonesty offences including forgery, giving false evidence and fraud offences following his resignation from parliament. The story so far Former Labor MP, Barry Urban, quit Western Australian Parliament...
ABF and Police Powers to be Further Expanded
As one traveller recently discovered, Australian Border Force (ABF) officers have the power under section 186 of the Customs Act 1901 and its regulations to confiscate the electronic devices of those at the airport for up to 14 days. If...
