The Racism in Australia’s Response to the Coronavirus
There’s no denying the seriousness of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which recently originated in the city of Wuhan in China. As of 6 February, there had been an estimated 24,557 confirmed cases worldwide, while it had taken the...
Time to Overhaul Unfair Criminal Confiscation Laws Nationally
Criminal confiscation laws allow government to seize wealth derived - or suspected to be obtained - from criminal activities. In place in all Australian jurisdictions, these types of laws are often said to be draconian in their application, with none...
Trump’s Israeli “Deal of the Century” Shafts Palestinians
Donald Trump released his administration’s Middle East “peace plan” - dubbed “the deal of the century” - on 28 January. And as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu stood beside the US president, it was apparent that no Palestinian representation was there...
Are All Body Modifications Legal in Australia?
From horn implants to split tongues and scrotal injections - extreme forms of body art, sometimes called ‘body modifications’, are becoming increasingly popular and gaining greater social acceptance. But Australian law doesn’t seem to be keeping up with changing attitudes...
Child Sexual Abuse and Trafficking are Prevalent in Australia
When you hear about child trafficking and child exploitation, you tend to think of poorer nations, particularly those in Asia that have long been well-known for both. But a new Australian report suggests that it’s more prolific here than most...
Federal ICAC Now: An Interview With Wake the F%cK Up Australia’s Alex Devantier
As thousands of climate protesters gathered out the front of Parliament House in Canberra this week, hovering above them was a 6-metre-high bespectacled effigy of a familiar Australian figure that’s been dubbed Bullshit Boy. As one gazes upon this image...
Is Possessing Pornography Permitted In Prison?
According to some estimates, around three quarters of men (76%) and over one-third of women (41%) regularly view pornographic material. However, there remains one place where consumption of porn is strictly prohibited: prison. Pornography is currently banned across Australian prisons,...
Tell the Truth: An Interview With the People’s Climate Assembly’s John Wurcker
The People’s Climate Assembly (PCA) is an alliance of action groups that have joined forces to stand against the continued climate denialism that the Liberal Nationals government has been propagating over the last decade. And to coincide with the first...
The Australian Constitution Does Not Protect Our Rights
The AFP raids last year brought the issue of press freedoms front and centre. The bushfires led to heated debate over the potential for a class action against the government’s climate inaction. And concerns over the right to privacy have...
“They Lie All the Time”: An Interview With the News Corp Lie-In’s Brad Pedersen
As unprecedented bushfires raged across NSW in early January, and the furore over the climate denial stance of government and its mainstream media backers was rising, a photo of Sydneysider Brad Pedersen lying down out the front of the Sydney...