Police DNA Bungle Clears Alleged Child Abusing Priest
Victorian Police have admitted a major bungle of DNA evidence that led to several key suspects being ruled out as suspects in the brutal 1980 murder of Melbourne mother Maria James. The murder investigation hinged on a bloodied pillowcase, which...
NSW Police ‘Shoot First and Ask Questions Later’
The NSW Police Force Handbook is meant to be the gospel when it comes to policing in our state. It is a comprehensive, 518 page document which provides information, advice and guidance on practically every aspect of policing. The publicly...
South Australia Set to Decriminalise Sex Work
South Australia currently has some of the most repressive sex work laws in the country. However, a bill that passed through the South Australian upper house on July 6, has brought the decade’s long push to decriminalise the state’s sex...
Silencing Dissent: Myanmar Authorities Arrest Journalists
At around 3.30pm on June 26, a group of seven people were arrested by Myanmar authorities at a military checkpoint in the country’s conflict-ridden northern Shan state. Three local journalists were among the group who were detained in Namhsan township...
Cardinal Pell Charged with Multiple Child Sex Offences
Victoria Police have confirmed that Australia’s highest ranking Catholic has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault, including one of rape, in relation to allegations of criminal conduct in the 1970s. The charges follow months of speculation about whether police...
Prosecuting Potential Predators: Government Passes ‘Carly’s Law’
In 2007, 15-year old Carly Ryan was murdered in South Australia by 47-year old Gary Newman - who created more than 200 fake online profiles of young men to prey on underage girls. Carly’s mother, Sonya Ryan, later established the...
Australian Government Refuses to Defend Julian Assange
In 1987, a plucky, young lawyer from Sydney fronted the British press and rallied against the government’s censorship of free speech. The young lawyer’s argument? That former MI5 agent Peter Wright’s novel, ‘Spycatcher’, should be published because people had a...
Serial Sex Offender’s Sentence Reduced Due to Judge’s Error
A DNA profile taken from Michael Dimian in September 2013 matched the sperm fraction of two swab samples taken from the victim of a 1993 rape case. Mr Dimian had already been convicted of several other sexual assaults and was serving...
Luke Lazarus Acquittal Demonstrates Need for Education on ‘Consent’
Luke Lazarus was recently acquitted of ‘sexual intercourse without consent’ after a retrial over an incident which took place in 2013 near a nightclub owned by his father. On the night in question, Mr Lazarus met the complainant inside the...
Cardinal George Pell May Never Face Trial in Australia
Earlier this week, Victorian police confirmed they had received advice from the State’s Director of Public Prosecutions regarding historic allegations of child sexual assault against former-Sydney Archbishop George Pell. While police are yet to announce whether formal charges will be...
