Mainstream Media Normalises Vigilantism
In a media ‘exclusive’ this week, 7 News profiled a nationalist organisation called United Patriots Front (UPF) and its plans for blatant vigilantism on the streets of Victoria. Channel 7 painted a glowing portrait of the group as ‘patriots’ who...
1984: Dystopian Prophecies Become Reality
The week after Donald Trump’s inauguration in January last year, George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four became Amazon’s number one selling book. Penguin Books had to order a reprint of 75,000 copies to keep up with the increase in demand. It seemed people...
The Mandela Rules: Minimum Prison Standards Must Be Implemented
Nelson Mandela famously said, “no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails.” And after revelations about the mistreatment and torture of young people inside Darwin’s Don Dale youth detention centre, it must be acknowledged we have...
Norway Benefits from Rehabilitation, While Australia Lags Behind
Studies have consistently found that sending people to prison significantly increases their chances of offending, rather than reduces it, and that alternatives to imprisonment are more likely to put offenders on the straight and narrow than full time prison custody....
Turnbull Attempts to Silence Activist Groups
Last month, the federal government introduced bills to ban foreign donations and require the registration of lobbyists working for foreign interests if they are seeking to influence the Australian political climate. While the Labor party has indicated support for most...
Vigilante ‘Paedophile Hunter’ Faces Court
A self-proclaimed ‘paedophile hunter’ is facing criminal charges after performing citizens’ arrests on two men he claims responded to sting operations where he pretended to be a child online. The operations were reminiscent to those performed on the US television...
The Federal Government’s Continuing Attack on Civil Liberties
The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) released its 2017 Legal Rights Audit report on December 27. The report, which is the conservative think tank’s fourth annual audit of Commonwealth laws, found that over the last year the Turnbull government continued to...
Turnbull’s New Laws in 2018
A host of new laws passed by the federal government will come into effect this month. There are changes to social security entitlements, privacy laws, immigration, MP expenses and of course same-sex marriage will become a reality. Here are just...
Holiday Road Toll Climbs Despite Millions Spent on Road Safety
The NSW road toll continues to climb, despite extra spending by the NSW government on programs marketed as road safety initiatives and more police officers on highway patrol. Last financial year, the state government set aside $300 million for roads...
The Duties of Lawyers in NSW
The Legal Profession Uniform Law (Uniform Law) came into effect in both NSW and Victoria on 1 July 2015. It provides the legal framework for the administration of the merged legal systems across the neighbouring states. The market for legal services across...
