Home Affairs Hypocrisy: Department Praises AFP Raids While Claiming to Support Press Freedom
It has been reported that Home Affairs Secretary, Mike Pezzullo, was privately praising the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for raiding the home of News Corporation journalist, Annika Smethurst, while publicly claiming to support press freedom. The raid Last year, Ms...
Cartel Offences in Australia: The Crime of Anti-Competitive Conduct
Japanese shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd - also known as K-Line - was fined $34.5 million over cartel conduct in the Federal Court last month. K-Line admitted to engaging in anti-competitive conduct with other shipping companies between July 2009...
NSW Police Officer Charged with Sexual Assault
A 22-year old Sydney Police officer has been accused of raping one woman and groping another in separate incidents that are alleged to have occurred last year. The probationary constable was arrested at Granville Police Station following an investigation by...
“A Step Too Far”: Morrison Moves to Criminalise Cash Payments
Right now, the Morrison government is finalising legislation that will criminalise large cash transactions made to or accepted by individuals and businesses for goods and services transactions. The cash payment limit that will soon warrant prison time if breached is...
What are the Mental Elements for Criminal Code Act Offences?
There are hundreds of Commonwealth Acts which contain criminal offences, perhaps the most notable of which is the Criminal Code Act 1995 (‘the Act’) - the stated purpose of which is ‘to codify the general principles of criminal responsibility under...
Should Jurors be Informed of a Defendant’s Criminal Record?
The Queensland government is proposing to broaden the situations where fact-finders - such as juries - are permitted to hear about a defendant’s criminal record, in a move which representatives of the legal profession argue will undermine the presumption of...
Victoria to Decriminalise Public Drunkenness
The Victorian government has announced it will decriminalise public drunkenness, just days before the CoroniaI Inquest into the death of Indigenous woman Tanya Day. The death of Tanya Day The 55-year old Yorta Yorta woman caught a train from Echuca...
Coroner Criticises Police ‘Shoot to Kill’ Policy
South Australia’s Deputy Coroner, Anthony Schapel, has criticised the policy of police to shoot persons who pose “high-risk threats” in the torso, suggesting each situation should instead be assessed and killing used only as a measure of last resort. During...
Are There Situations Where a Person Who ‘Confesses’ Should Plead ‘Not Guilty’?
Tim Watkins was only 22 years old when he was left for dead by the side of Wilsons Creek Road earlier this year. He was riding his bicycle home from a mates’ house shortly after midnight on a road he...
George Pell’s Appeal Against Convictions for Child Sexual Abuse Fails
A majority of a panel of Supreme Court justices has rejected the appeal by George Pell against his convictions for child sexual abuse. The decision means that Mr Pell, who has already spent 24 weeks in prison, has been ordered...
