Sydney Man Appeals Conviction for Swearing
A Sydney man was arrested for swearing at a NSW police officer, and is now fighting his Local Court conviction for using offensive language. When 29-year-old Filip Black was stopped by police, they asked him what he was doing in...
Good Cop Resigns from Force
In an open letter to the Queensland Police Service (QPS), former police sergeant Rick Flori has resigned stating he has ‘lost faith’ in the culture of the force and has ‘no confidence’ in its management. The former Gold Coast officer,...
Misconduct Rife Amongst Victorian Police
By Sonia Hickey and Ugur Nedim A damning report on the Victorian Police Force has described several instances of serious misconduct including assaults, harassment, stalking and predatory sexual misconduct. Among other matters, the Police Registration and Services Board reported hearing...
The Need for a Bill of Rights: An Interview with UNSW Professor George Williams
First published 4 November 2017 On October 17, Australia won a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council: the international body responsible for the protection of human rights around the globe. It’s hoped the nation’s new position might improve rights issues...
Turnbull’s Homelessness Scheme Will Do Nothing to Address the Problem
One out of every 200 Australians is homeless on any given night. The last available Census data found that in 2011, there were 105,237 people experiencing homelessness in Australia. This number had risen from 89,728 in 2006, marking a 17.3...
Richmond Injecting Centre Approved: An Interview With YDHF’s Greg Denham
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has finally approved the two-year trial of a safe injecting centre in North Richmond. The announcement came in the wake of newly released figures that show 34 overdose deaths have already occurred in the local council...
Why Aussie drug smuggler Cassie Sainsbury got off ‘lightly’
Cassie Sainsbury was facing 30 years in a Colombian prison. She’s been sentenced to a maximum of six, and could be released in as little as two years and five months from now. When Sainsbury was detained in Colombia earlier...
‘No’ Campaigners Fear Being Forced to Service Gay Weddings
Opponents of same-sex marriage are pushing for exemptions from discrimination laws which would require businesses to carry out services for gay weddings. The Coalition for Marriage claims that service providers such as bakers, caterers, florists and photographers are concerned about...
NSW Police Future Crime Program: An Abuse of Power
Since February 2000, NSW police has been carrying out a secretive program to prevent future crime that targets reoffenders and individuals police merely consider to have the potential to commit crimes. The Suspect Targeting Management Plan (STMP) was developed by the...
Domestic Violence Video Statements Aren’t Increasing Convictions
On June 1 2015, NSW became the first Australian jurisdiction to allow pre-recorded videos to be used as evidence in domestic violence cases. The Domestic Violence Evidence-in-Chief (DVEC) reforms allow the evidence in proceedings to be presented in either a video...
