False Domestic Violence Complaints Ruin Lives
Domestic violence has reached epidemic levels in Australia. The figures show that on average, one person is killed every week at the hands of their current or former partner. Shelters, crisis services, and frontline community legal centres are stretched to...
MDT Set to Target Cocaine Users
The Australian federal government has been testing the nation’s sewage again in its continued effort to combat organised crime. The National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program tests for levels of thirteen illicit and licit substances present in wastewater at treatment plants around...
NSW Premier Broadens Police Powers to Remove the Homeless
After nearly eight months of operation, Sydney’s 24-7 Street Kitchen and Safe Space was dismantled last Friday. The community of around 60 rough sleepers currently residing there left the camp, which was situated out the front of the Reserve Bank...
Is Trump Tweeting Us Into War with North Korea?
It seems that in the age of Trump, tweeting threats of war has become part and parcel of US foreign diplomacy. On Friday, the US president wrote on the social media platform that “Military solutions are now in place, locked...
Man Charged with Making False Emergency Calls
A Canberra man charged with making a series of allegedly false complaints to emergency services has pleaded not guilty, contending that it is “not a crime” to call triple-0. The allegations 61-year old Henryk Jozwik allegedly called emergency services a...
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...