Youth Suicide: Australia’s Hidden Epidemic
Australia is failing our young men. A new report, called the Australian Youth Development Index (YDI), has found the suicide rate of young indigenous men to be the highest in the world. The report, the first of its kind in...
Police May Pursue Pell in Rome
As Victorian Police contemplate heading to Rome for an interview, Cardinal George Pell continues to deny allegations of child sexual assault levelled against him. A brief of evidence has now been prepared by the Office of the Director of Public...
Police Ignore Desperate Mother’s Pleas for Help
A grieving mother has laid a formal complaint against South Australian Police for not responding with urgency or empathy on the morning her 4-year old son Luca was killed by his father. The moment Julia Trinne realised her husband and...
Magistrates Who Ignore the Law
The ‘scales of justice’ have tipped heavily in favour of the State in recent years, to the detriment of anyone who may be suspected of a criminal offence. Dilutions of the right to silence and presumption of innocence mean that, in...
Judge Tells Defendant “You’re a bit of a c**t yourself”
Judges are meant to have thick-skins, and are frequently disrespected by defendants who cannot contain their anger or feel they have nothing more to lose. But one judge stunned Chelmsford Crown Court in the UK by giving as good as...
‘Not White, Not Right’ – Racist Graffiti Scrawled Across Iconic Bondi
The eastern Sydney suburb of Bondi is a tourist Mecca, attracting millions of visitors from all over Australia and abroad each year. The area showcases the best of our nation - a world famous beach with glowing white sand, a...
Criminal Conviction a Problem for One Nation Senator
This week started with drama for newly elected Western Australian senator, Rodney Culleton, when he was arrested on Monday by Armidale police. The story so far… There has been an outstanding warrant for the Senator’s arrest for several months, issued...
Criminal laws “lead almost to a ‘brain explosion’”, says Supreme Court Judge
Victorian Supreme Court Judge Mark Weinberg has seen a great deal in his 50 years as a lawyer, including the criminal law’s “shift from common law to statute, and in some cases, to codification”. In his speech to the Victorian...
Reclaim Australia Member Charged with Terrorism
Last December, we reported on the case of 31-year-old Phillip Galea, a member of extreme right-wing group Reclaim Australia who was found in possession of five tasers, more than 3000 times the legal limit of mercury (which can be used...
Australian Lawyers Lead the Way in Pro Bono Work
Lawyers are often seen as money-hungry and heartless individuals who live in ‘ivory towers’, with legal professionals being the target of frequent criticism and the butt of many jokes. However, the legal industry is one of the few which consistently...
