Domestic Violence Video Statements Aren’t Increasing Convictions
On June 1 2015, NSW became the first Australian jurisdiction to allow pre-recorded videos to be used as evidence in domestic violence cases. The Domestic Violence Evidence-in-Chief (DVEC) reforms allow the evidence in proceedings to be presented in either a video...
Man Faces Prison for Allegedly Head-Butting Tony Abbott
The man accused of head-butting Tony Abbott during his trip to Tasmania last month has had his charge upgraded. Hobart DJ Astro Labe was originally charged with common assault, but the charge against him has now been upgraded to ‘causing...
Should Complainants Have Access to Paid Domestic Violence Leave?
An average of one woman per week is killed at the hands of their present or former partner in Australia. With reports of domestic violence at an all-time high, there are calls for paid domestic violence leave to become standard...
Rohingya Muslims Face Humanitarian Crisis
Violence has yet again erupted in Myanmar’s north western Rakhine state, as Rohingya insurgents carried out a series of coordinated attacks on 30 police posts and an army base on August 25. Staged in the townships of Maungdaw, Buthidaung and...
Institutional Abuse of Girls in Australian Detention Centres
A report into Western Australia’s Banksia Hill youth detention centre released last month revealed that a number of girls being detained at the facility were “abruptly moved” from the female accommodation precinct and placed in the male-only Harding unit. This...
False Domestic Violence Complaints Ruin Lives
Domestic violence has reached epidemic levels in Australia. The figures show that on average, one person is killed every week at the hands of their current or former partner. Shelters, crisis services, and frontline community legal centres are stretched to...
Appeal Court Finds GBH Sentence Inadequate, But Does Not Resentence
At 6.43 pm on 6 February 2015, Craig Lulham sent a text message to Bill, the husband of his friend Allison’s mother. It stated, “Bring the cops. I don’t care. It won’t stop me from smashing you are [sic] face...
Changing Attitudes: An Interview with Domestic Violence NSW CEO Moo Baulch
Last Saturday, NSW Labor committed to introducing 10 days’ paid domestic and family violence leave. The move follows a campaign launched in July by the Australian Council of Trade Unions to have the leave enshrined in the national employment standards...
NSW Police ‘Shoot First and Ask Questions Later’
The NSW Police Force Handbook is meant to be the gospel when it comes to policing in our state. It is a comprehensive, 518 page document which provides information, advice and guidance on practically every aspect of policing. The publicly...
A Forgotten Genocide: The Congo Free State
In the last decades of the 19th century, the European colonial powers laid claim to vast tracts of land on the African continent, expanding their spheres of influence and plundering natural resources. It’s commonly referred to today as the Scramble for...
