Facial Recognition Database Could Lead to Wrongful Arrests
State and territory leaders have agreed to hand over driver licence photos to enable the federal government to create a national database for biometric face-matching. It is claimed the technology will be able to instantly ‘match’ CCTV images with those...
Government Again Uses Threat of Terrorism to Justify Greater Control
State and territory leaders agreed this week to disclose driver licence photos to the federal government so it can create a national face-recognition database. At the COAG security meeting, the premiers also agreed to a set of new federal laws,...
WA Police Criticised for Using Excessive Force Against Indigenous Australians
On September 27, a 35-year-old Aboriginal woman called WA police to report a family violence incident at her Joondalup house. On arriving at the residence, the attending officers ran a background check on the mother-of-five and arrested her for fine default....
Sydney Lawyer Accused of Insurance Fraud
Marcel Joukhador was admitted as a NSW lawyer on 14th July 2000. He was later employed for several years as a solicitor with Thomas Booler Lawyers. On 4th March 2010 while still employed at the firm, Mr Joukhdor was formally...
The Legacy of Blackbirding: An Interview with WASSIUC President Jacintha Bezgovsek
On August 17 1863, a ship called the Don Juan arrived in Moreton Bay, Queensland carrying 67 men from a group of islands known as the New Hebrides, which is now the Republic of Vanuatu. These Pacific Island people were brought...
The Suspicious Death in Custody of Tane Chatfield
Tane Chatfield was found unconscious in his cell at Tamworth Correctional Centre just after 9am on September 20. Two days later, he died in hospital. The Corrective Services investigation unit announced that the death of the 22-year-old father-of-one was “not...
The Law Treats De Facto Partners Differently to Married Couples
It is frequently claimed by opponents of same-sex marriage that homosexual couples already enjoy the same legal rights as those who are married. But that is not actually the case - there are a range of laws which clearly distinguish...
Drug Decriminalisation Is Logical: An Interview with SSDP Australia’s Penelope Hill
The tough on drugs approach has been shown to actually increase the harms associated with the use of illicit substances. However, successive Australian governments have ignored the evidence and continue to apply zero tolerance policies. Nowhere is this more apparent...
Should Ten-Year Olds Face Criminal Liability?
A leading Professor of Criminology at the University of New South Wales has renewed calls for Australia to change laws which allow children as young as ten to be locked up in juvenile detention centres, saying it sets them up...
Indigenous Nations Are Set to Become Economically Independent
There are over 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations across the continent known as Australia, and its surrounding islands. Since the British have occupied the land mass, the disparity between First Nations people and the newcomers has grown exponentially....
