Sydney Criminal Lawyers® Weekly Rundown – Articles from 28 August to 3 September 2023
In case you’ve missed any of them, here’s a rundown of the past week’s articles: The Offence of Causing Grievous Bodily Harm By Misconduct in New South Wales A Sydney man has been charged over crash that killed his nephews...
Your Guide To New South Wales MDMA (‘Ecstacy’) Laws
The substance known scientifically as 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine is commonly known as MDMA or ‘ecstasy’. The drug has been around for decades, and remains a popular party drug, particularly amongst young adults. According to the latest national statistics 12.5% of Australians have...
The Law, Defences and Penalties for Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion in Australia
The terms tax fraud, tax evasion and tax avoidance or minimisation are often used interchangeably, but it is important to be aware there are important differences which can impact on the way enforcement agencies such as the Australian Taxation Office...
NSW Premier Says No to Drug Decriminalisation, as the ACT Embarks on Bold Health Approach
Finally, this week, drug decriminalisation came to Australian shores. Laws passed by a Labor Greens government in the ACT came into effect on Monday. This will mean less drug-related deaths, less normally law-abiding citizens arrested, and more time for police...
Queensland Government Referred to UN Committee Against Torture
The Queensland Government has been reported to the United Nations Committee Against Torture over its decision to ‘suspend’ its Human Rights Act so that it can detain children in adult watch houses. Last week the Queensland Government suspended its Human...
Qantas Slammed Over Shady Business Practices
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has filed legal action in the Federal Court, accusing Qantas of ‘false misleading or deceptive conduct’. The consumer watchdog alleges Qantas engaged in such conduct when it advertised tickets for flights it had actually...
Why a Criminal Case Review Commission Is No Panacea
The recent pardon of Kathleen Folbigg has reignited discussions regarding the appropriate mechanisms to review and remedy wrongful convictions in Australia. One reform put forward by lawyers, academics and former High Court Justice Michael Kirby is an Australian Criminal Case...
“We Won the Battle But the War Continues”: Opera House Cannabis Activists Zammitt and Stolk on Their Day in Court
For almost a decade now, cannabis activists Alec Zammitt and Will Stolk have been brightening the Sydney scene with their elaborate protest actions that employ guerilla theatre tactics to agitate for the legalisation and regulation of cannabis in this country....
The Finance Department’s Digital ID Explanation Still Seems to Suggest Mass Surveillance
Sydney Criminal Lawyers posted the article The Coming Biometric Digital ID Will Facilitate Nationwide Surveillance on 3 August 2023. It outlined the bipartisan proposal to establish a national digital ID system with the Albanese government set to release draft exposure legislation this...
Wage Peace Receives Global Antiwar Award for Persistent Protesting of Weapons Industry
World Beyond War is a global peace organisation that advocates for the eradication of war. And not just the conflict of the day, but “the institution itself”. And while there are those who shake their heads at such a notion,...