Public Servants Gagged by New Social Media Rules
New social media rules released by the Australian Public Service Commission seek to prohibit public sector employees from criticising government policies on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. The rules The new rules were published on 7 August 2017 under...
Playing it Safe on the Dance Scene: An Interview with HRV DanceWize’s Stephanie Tzanetis
Victoria is renowned for its vibrant dance party scene. There’s the bush doofs held out in regional areas, the music festivals that come with the summer season, and the old skool rave scene. And at these events, not all, but...
The High Price of Australia’s Flawed Criminal Justice System
Incarceration rates in Australia are at an all-time high. The sharp increase in the number of people being imprisoned in this country began back in the 1970s. In June last year, there were 38,845 adults being held in Australian correctional facilities,...
English Proficiency Test for Visas Assessed By a Computer
It sounds like a joke you might hear at the pub…. About the Irish vet who couldn’t pass an English-speaking test. But it’s not. It’s actually the real-life story of Louise Kennedy, an equine vet who has been living in...
Changes Brought In by the New National Firearms Agreement
First published: 10 August 2017 Last week, we featured a piece on the mass shootings that led to tighter gun controls in Australia, such as the Hoddle Street and Strathfield massacres. There were others. Frank Vitkovic killed eight people and then himself...
Police Caught Planting Evidence
Two different groups of Baltimore police officers have been accused of planting evidence at supposed crime scenes, after incriminatory body camera footage came to light. The videos have forced Baltimore prosecutors to drop dozens of cases involving one of the...
The Campaign Against Drug Testing of Welfare Recipients
As part of the May budget, the Turnbull government announced its controversial plan to drug test people who are in receipt of social security. Australian treasurer Scott Morrison described it as a “modest drug testing trial” for 5,000 new Youth Allowance and...
Man Charged Under Carly’s Law
The federal parliament passed Carly’s Law in June of this year, and police have just used it for the first time. Police in South Australia have brought charges against a convicted child-sex offender who is facing a string of fresh...
Turnbull Drags His Heels on Same-Sex Marriage
Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced on Monday that his government was reintroducing legislation to enable a national plebiscite on same-sex marriage. The bill – which is to be debated this week -is expected to be rejected by the Senate once more, as...
Martin Place Rough Sleepers Agree to Move, But There’s Nowhere to Go
It seems the City of Sydney has had a change of heart in regards to the Martin Place homeless camp. Rather than trying to move them on, Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore announced on Monday evening that she’d negotiated a solution...
