Catholic Church Forced to Pay Victim of Child Sexual Abuse
A man who was sexually assaulted as a child by notorious paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale will receive up to $3 million in a landmark legal settlement with the Catholic Church. The financial settlement is the in which the church has...
NSW Police Officer Sent to Prison For Blackmailing Women Into Sex
Former New South Wales Police officer, Vaughan Mark Hildebrand is behind bars, serving a 20 year sentence for his “cunning, calculating and manipulative” crimes. The former policeman pleaded guilty to 44 charges, including 11 counts of sexually assaulting four women....
Facilitating Culturally Diverse Access to Justice: An Interview With the JCCD’s Carla Wilshire
Of late, questions have been raised around ethnic diversity in the Australian judiciary. A quick perusal of the lists of appointed judges and magistrates in this country reveals that they’re top heavy with Anglo Australian representation. Over recent decades, there’s...
The Penalties for Possessing Cocaine in NSW
“It’s just a bit of fun, I’m not hurting anyone. Everyone does it. It’s better than getting out of control on alcohol.” Indeed, the use of cocaine - a drug once used in soft drinks like Coca-Cola – is prevalent...
Facebook Group Encourages Dads to ‘Abduct Their Kids’
Thousands of Australian Dads affected by separation and divorce have been encouraged to participate in a mass abduction of their children on the 1st of December. The abduction, being promoted by Australian online group Domestic Violence Against Men, has urged...
Canberra Has Legalised the Possession of Cannabis
As of 31 January next year, it will be legal to smoke cannabis for recreational purposes in the ACT. The territory Legislative Assembly passed laws on 25 September that make using cannabis, possessing up to 50 grams of it and...
Representing the Community: An Interview With Former Senior Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi AM QC
Once described as Australia’s highest flying prosecutor, former NSW Senior Crown Prosecutor Mark Tedeschi QC had a reputation for determinedly bringing justice. In 1974, Mr Tedeschi’s name was entered into the NSW Supreme Court roll. Three years later, he was...
Roadside Drug Testing Devices Are Unreliable, Study Reveals
Over the last five years, as the NSW Liberal Nationals government has been ramping up roadside drug testing - doubling the number of tests to 200,000 by next year - so too has the chorus of criticism about the testing...
Watchdog to Investigate Strip Search of Teen
The New South Wales Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) is set to investigate the strip search of a sixteen year old girl at last year’s Splendour in the Grass music festival, as part of a public hearing into strip searches....
The Colonisation of First Nations Land Is Far From Over
“It wasn’t me. That happened 200 years ago,” is a refrain everyone who lives in this country has heard an Anglo Australian remark at one time or another, when the subject of the dispossession of this continent’s First Nations people...
