Man Appeals to High Court After Prosecution Expert is Discredited
In October 1972, Frits Van Beelan was convicted of murdering 15-year old Deborah Leach in Adelaide’s north-west, and sentenced to death. He successfully appealed the conviction, but a jury once again found him guilty in July 1973 after a retrial,...
City of Sydney Shuts Down 24-7 Street Kitchen and Safe Space
Homelessness is a growing problem in Sydney, with hundreds of people sleeping rough in and around the CBD every night. These people have nowhere else to stay, and with the city’s lack of public housing and current housing affordability crisis,...
Victoria Police May Get the Power to Search Without a Reason
Victoria police are pushing the Andrews government to expand police search powers at music festivals, so that officers are able to search patrons for drugs without having a reasonable suspicion to do so. Police claim the powers are necessary to...
The Australian Prison Boom: Taking Care of Big Business
The number of people being detained in Australian correctional facilities is at an all-time high. As of March this year, there were 40,577 full-time adult inmates in this country, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released this month. The Australian prisoner...
Disabled Pensioners: the Government’s New Drug War Targets
The Turnbull government has hit a new low in its war against drugs. Legislation has just been tabled that proposes to deny the pension to hundreds of people who are currently deemed disabled due to their level of drug or...
Manslaughter by Text Message
A US judge has found that Michelle Carter caused the death of her boyfriend Conrad Roy, by sending him a barrage of text messages urging him to kill himself. Ms Carter faces up to 20 years in prison after being...
Prosecuting Potential Predators: Government Passes ‘Carly’s Law’
In 2007, 15-year old Carly Ryan was murdered in South Australia by 47-year old Gary Newman - who created more than 200 fake online profiles of young men to prey on underage girls. Carly’s mother, Sonya Ryan, later established the...
Turnbull Continues Assault on Civil Liberties
On Tuesday, Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull delivered his National Security Statement before parliament. During his speech, the PM focused on the threat of terrorism, declaring that his government was committed to “balancing the priority of community safety with individual liberties.”...
Prison for “Radicalised Inmates”: Protecting the Community or Increasing the Threat?
The NSW government announced last Sunday that it will be investing a further $47 million into the state’s correctional facilities in order to “future-proof” the prison system to prepare for a “new era of terrorist inmates.” The plan includes the construction...
Roll Up, Roll Up: Australia Desperately Needs Cyber Security Experts
Cyber-crime is on the rise. And we’re all at risk. In Australia, we have more mobile phones than people. About 84% of all phones are smartphones. We have a range of devices that connect to the internet – from TVs,...
