By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Finally, after years of calls from health professionals and members of the public, Australia is about to see its first government-sanctioned pill testing trial at a music festival, with the aim, of course, of reducing the dangers associated with drug use and ultimately saving people’s lives. Last Friday, ACT ...
Articles by Sydney Criminal Lawyers
Cashless Welfare Card – National Rollout Set to Begin
By Sonia Hickey and Ugur Nedim Thousands of Queenslanders and Western Australians will be the next to have their Centrelink payments quarantined, as the federal government continues its rollout of the cashless welfare card. The Turnbull-led government announced plans to implement the card next year in both the Wide Bay region in Queensland including Bundaberg ...
AOD Media Watch: Correcting Mainstream Media Misinformation About Drugs
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim On March 31 this year, an opinion piece appeared in the Age with the headline, The zombie apocalypse is here and none of us are safe. The author Wendy Squires relates a confrontation she had with a man, who’d allegedly been using ice, in a small park whilst walking ...
The Dutch Turn Empty Prisons Into Homes for Asylum Seekers
By Sonia Hickey and Ugur Nedim Like in NSW, crime rates in the Netherland have been declining for years. But unlike us, the Dutch decline has corresponded with a fall in the prison population, rather than a steep rise resulting from increasingly punitive measures. The Dutch criminal justice system focuses on prevention, diversion and rehabilitation ...
Your Rights When Approached by Police at Music Festivals
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim The hot weather is starting to kick in and with it, the festival season is upon us. Thousands of revellers are gearing up to take in their favourite live music acts, get down to some old skool beats, or spend the weekend partying at a bush doof. But as ...
Defendants With Disabilities Face Injustice At Every Level
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim The Australian inmate population is continuing its steep incline. In June this year, the number of adult inmates detained in the nation’s correctional facilities rose to 41,204, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures. This marks a 7 percent increase over the previous 12 months. The rise is despite ...
Tough New Laws for Child Sex Offenders
The Federal government has announced tough new laws for sex-offenders – purported to be the harshest since the establishment of the Criminal Code Act in 1995. The proposed legislation, called Crimes Legislation Amendment (Sexual Crimes Against Children and Community Protection Measures) Bill, will make it more difficult for alleged child sex offenders to be granted ...
WA Considers Separating from the Rest of Australia
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Western Australia has long debated whether to withdraw from federation, and the issue is once again on the agenda. At the WA Liberal party state conference on September 3, members voted in favour of a motion to investigate whether to secede from the rest of the country. The non-binding ...
Dutton Claims Lawyers Who Represent Asylum Seekers for Free Are “Un-Australian”
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim Australian immigration minister Peter Dutton announced on August 28 that 70 asylum seekers were being issued with new “final departure” visas. These people had their fortnightly welfare payments cut off, and were given three weeks to vacate their accommodation. The move could affect up to 370 former offshore detainees who ...
Police Name and Shame Child Suspects on Facebook
By Zeb Holmes and Ugur Nedim Northern Territory police recently published the photographs and names of two boys aged 11 and 14 on their official Facebook page, advising followers that the boys are “wanted for questioning in relation to recent unlawful entries” and calling for information on their whereabouts. The post was deleted after a ...