Macquarie Bank to ‘Phase Out’ Cash, Cheques and Phone Payments
Just as Qantas stopped momentarily making headlines for being “out of touch” with its staff and customers, enter Macquarie Bank which is currently dominating news pages over its plans to make banking almost impossible for thousands of people. Phasing out...
The NSW Drug Summit: Where Other Labor Leaders Triumphed, Minns Fears to Tread
A key objective of the 2023 NSW Labor policy platform stated that “a top priority” for the party on election would be to hold a state drug summit, so the experts can “advise on a wide variety of policy challenges”. This would...
Bipartisan Punishment of the Jobless Coexists with Necessary Unemployment Economics
Social services minister Amanda Rishworth was congratulating her government in July, after it budgeted for an unemployment benefit rise, which means that as of 20 September, those on base level JobSeeker will receive a $40 rise a fortnight and with indexation,...
Police Powers to Deal With Intoxicated Persons in New South Wales
Victoria says it will formally decriminalise public drunkenness on the 7th of November 2023, which would leave Queensland as the only jurisdiction in Australia where public intoxication remains a criminal offence. New South Wales formally decriminalised public drunkenness way back...
Offences Relating to Trains and Railways in New South Wales
Commuter statistics in New South Wales suggest Sydneysiders make a combined total of an estimated 1.2 million trips every day on our trains. And while the vast majority of them take place without a hitch – except, perhaps, for the...
A History of Sexual Consent Laws in Australia
Throughout history, sexual consent laws have historically been intrinsically linked with child sexual abuse laws. In recent years, following the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse and the high profile sexual assault trial of Saxon Mullins, both sexual consent and child...
The Rules Relating to Police Interviews in New South Wales
Being asked to attend a police interview can be daunting. It can raise questions like: Do I have to participate? Should I participate? Will participating make it more or less likely that I’ll be charged? What can and can’t I...
Can Obtaining Another’s Consent Be Used as a Murder Defence?
Just a few weeks short of Halloween in 1996, 35-year-old Sharon Lopatka left her home in Maryland USA, leaving her husband a note which simply read: If my body is never retrieved, don’t worry: know that I’m at peace Lopatka...
The Offence of Failing to Vote at an Australian Election or Referendum
On the 14th of October 2023, Australians will have their say in a referendum about whether to change the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing a body called the ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice’. Voters...
The Law, Defences and Penalties for Drug Premises Offences in New South Wales
Along with New South Wales drug offences against the unlawful use, possession and supply of prohibited drugs and plants (including heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and cannabis), there are also unique offences which apply to illicit drug premises. Here’s what landlords and...
