Welfare Recipients to be Drug Tested
Things are about to get tougher for welfare recipients under a new demerit point programme unveiled as a part of the federal budget this week. The scheme requires Newstart recipients to spend more time looking for work, and their benefits...
Police Accused of Pressuring Alleged Victims to Withdraw Complaints
The Queensland auditor general has accused the state’s police service of unacceptable practices when collating crime statistics and even distorting crime rates by ‘soliciting’ victims to withdraw complaints. The auditor general’s report, tabled in parliament last week, found that the Queensland...
The Political Sacrifice of Schapelle Corby
Schapelle Corby’s parole period is coming to an end. After spending almost a decade behind bars in Indonesia on a conviction of trafficking cannabis - a drug that is now legal in eight US states - Ms Corby will finally be allowed...
Mental Health in the Social Media Age
Australia used to be known as ‘The Lucky Country’ - with affordable housing and education, employment security, a high standard of living and optimism for the future. Nowadays, many are racked by pessimism, boredom and hopelessness for what the future...
Child Sex Offender Cleared to Become a Lawyer
A former male escort who pleaded guilty to having sex with a minor has won the right to apply for admission as a lawyer. The law graduate, known only as KMB, successfully appealed a decision by the Queensland Legal Practitioner Admissions...
Schapelle Corby Set to Come Home
It has been reported that 22-year old Adelaide woman Cassandra Sainsbury is facing up to 25 years behind bars after being found with 5.8 kilograms of cocaine in her suitcase in Colombia. The personal trainer from Moana was on a...
Good Cop Sues for “Whistleblower Reprisal”
Suspended Gold Coast policeman Rick Flori has lodged a civil claim in the Brisbane Supreme Court, signalling the beginning of his lawsuit against the Queensland Police Service (QPS) for “whistleblower reprisal”. Mr Flori’s claim names eight police officers, including assistant...
Top DNA Analyst Sacked for Allegedly Fabricating Records
DNA evidence has become an increasingly important component of criminal investigations and prosecutions since its use became widespread in the 1990s. Today, police around the country can access the National Criminal Investigation DNA database, which contains the DNA profiles of hundreds of...
Casual Conversations Do Not Amount to Consorting
Since their enactment in 2012, the use of consorting laws by NSW police has come under significant scrutiny. The consorting law legislation was introduced into parliament by the O’Farrell government, ostensibly in response to rising gun violence attributed to motorcycle club members and organised...
RIP Government Accountability in Australia: A Privacy Guide for Journalists
With the scope of online and telecommunications surveillance today, it seems we’re very much living in an Orwellian age. Last week, the complete version of the Australian government’s mandatory metadata regime came into effect. Although the data retention laws were enacted on October 13,...
