Should We Be Allowed to Carry ‘Prohibited Weapons’ for Self-Defence?
A Queensland senator recently called upon the Federal Government to allow Australians to import and buy pepper spray and Tasers for self-defence. Katter Australia Party’s Fraser Anning, who moved the motion in the upper house, argued it is the government’s...
Beware! Police are Accessing Commercial DNA Databases
Aussies are being warned about the risks of providing DNA to map their family histories, after it recently emerged that genealogy companies are increasingly providing police with access to their DNA databases. Tens of thousands of Australians have already provided...
Medically Supervised Injecting Centre to Open in Melbourne
In the wake of 34 deaths by overdose in the North Richmond local council area in 2015 alone, the Victorian state government responded to community calls for a safe injecting room late last year by approving a two-year trial. Victoria’s...
New Laws Passed Against ‘Modern Slavery’
New South Wales has become the first Australian jurisdiction to introduce legislation against what has come to be known as ‘modern slavery’. The new law The Modern Slavery Bill 2018 (NSW) was introduced into parliament by Paul Green, who was the...
NSW Police Enabled Gay Hate Murders
It was well known during the last three decades of the twentieth century that violent attacks were regularly being perpetrated upon members of the Sydney LGBTIQ community – especially gay men and trans women. ACON, then the AIDS Council of...
Should NSW Have An Indigenous Court?
The NSW Bar Association of and Police Association are jointly calling upon the state government to provide funding for an Indigenous Court, with a view to reducing reoffending rates and the disproportionate number of First Peoples imprisoned in our state....
Canada Set to Legalise Recreational Cannabis
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that recreational cannabis will become legal throughout the country on October 17. Both houses of parliament have voted to repeal drug charges for small possession and limited cultivation, making Canada the first G7...
Woman Who Hatched Helicopter Prison Escape Appeals
John Reginald Killick was being held on remand at Silverwater gaol in March 1999. He was awaiting sentencing after having pled guilty to two counts of armed robbery, as well as one charge of shooting at an off-duty police officer. On...
Prison Guards Caught Assaulting Inmates in WA Prisons
The Western Australian Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) has released graphic footage of inmates being beaten and pepper sprayed by guards in the state’s prisons. The footage, taken in 2016 and 2017, has been released as part of investigations into...
DPP Presses Charges Against Government Whistleblowers
Australia’s reputation as a ‘fair’ country has taken another battering, with revelations that the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) has filed criminal charges against two Australians who allegedly released information that the Howard government had been illegally spying on...
