Courts Show No Leniency Towards Drug Addicted Offenders
A recent case in Downing Centre District Court illustrates the way in which the courts deal with drug addicted people who commit crime to support their habit. In R v Ligaiviu [2015], the offender’s addiction to crystal methamphetamine, or ‘ice’,...
Tasmania Proposes to Ban Smoking
Smoking: it’s a habit that divides the nation, with many smokers feeling heavily controlled by a ‘nanny state’, while many non-smokers are frustrated by exposure to harmful second-hand smoke. For several years, Australia has been the world leader in regulating smoking....
Roseanne Beckett Wins Compensation for Malicious Prosecution
Roseanne Beckett spent an unimaginable decade in prison for crimes she did not commit. Ms Beckett was accused of soliciting others to kill her husband, Barry Catt, as well as attempting to poison him with lithium. She was also charged...
Smoking Now Banned in NSW Prisons
When Victoria rolled out its ban on smoking in prisons last month, riots broke out in the Metropolitan Remand Centre. The riots lasted for hours and a lockdown of all prisons in Victoria followed. Up to 300 inmates were allegedly...
Smoking While Pregnant and Criminal Kids
Smoking while pregnant is frowned upon, with experts warning that it increases the risk of ectopic pregnancies, premature labour, miscarriages and developmental problems in children. But a new study has found it may have other hidden risks; with the Australian...
Should We Allow ‘Pill Testing’ At Music Festivals?
Australia has long advocated a zero-tolerance approach to drug use, imposing heavy penalties with lasting consequences for those who are caught with drugs in their possession. But these disincentives have done little to dissuade the 10.9% of Australians aged 14...
92 Charged with Drug Offences at Splendour in the Grass
Another year, another Splendour - and for the 30,000 music lovers who donned gumboots and braved the copious amounts of mud and rain, the event was a great success, with artists such as Tame Impala, Florence and the Machine, Mark...
Obama Frees Drug Offenders: Is Clemency Ever Justified?
In what has been hailed a remarkable act of mercy, President Obama last week used his power to order the release of 46 inmates who were serving sentences for non-violent drug offences. The move came as part of Obama’s promise...
Ten Celebrity Arrests
They might live a life of glitz and glamour, but A-list stars have a knack of finding themselves on the wrong side of the law. The mega trials of Michael Jackson, OJ Simpson and the ‘Blade Runner’ are known to...
Should Welfare Recipients Get Cashless Cards?
There has been much discussion in the media about how to effectively manage welfare payments, with conservative columnists and radio-hosts accusing welfare recipients of ‘blowing money on alcohol, drugs and gambling.’ Those personalities will be happy to hear that the...
