Blog Articles

Man and domestic violence

Domestic Violence – How Many More Rhonda Bakers Have to Die?

By ▪︎ ▪︎

Rhonda Baker’s story is an all too familiar one. It’s disturbingly plagued with all of the ‘obvious’ elements of a typical partner violence situation that resulted in her death. 31-year old Onitolosi Etuini Atiai Latu was recently sentenced to a maximum of 28 years in prison for assaulting Rhonda Baker so badly in August 2016 …
Sydney Criminal Lawyers®

Sydney Criminal Lawyers® Weekly Rundown – Articles from 5 to 11 August 2019

By ▪︎ ▪︎

In case you’ve missed any of them, here’s a rundown of the past week’s articles: The Offence of Sexual Assault in New South Wales A Sydney doctor has been sentenced to a minimum of 11 years in prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting his patients. Click here to read the article PM Promises …
Workers

Government’s Union-Busting Laws Will Cement Wage Stagnation

By ▪︎ ▪︎

Australia has some of the most restrictive industrial relations (IR) laws in the Global North. In contravention of international labour standards, these anti-protest laws determine when actions can take place, provide enhanced abilities to stifle them, and curb unions from supporting each other. How this translates is work stoppages in this country are at their …
Missing person

People, Not Just Numbers. Missing Persons’ Week

By ▪︎ ▪︎

For many of us, they’re just sad headlines, but for the families of those who’ve gone missing, the trauma of uncertainty can be permanent. Every day in Australia, people disappear without a trace. Which is hard to fathom in this day and age when technology is able to track so much of our lives. But …
Extinction Rally

Occupy Sydney on the Extinction Rebellion: The Lessons Learnt

By ▪︎ ▪︎

Tuesday saw Extinction Rebellion (XR) protesters taking to the Brisbane streets with the aim of causing peaceful disruption to bring about societal change, so that a global climate catastrophe can be averted. And over 70 rebels were arrested, as they put themselves on the line for the cause. Meanwhile, south of the border, climate actions …
High Court of Australia

Public Sector Workers Can Be Sacked for Political Posts

By ▪︎ ▪︎

Since 2013, Michaela Banerji has been fighting her former employer, The Australian Federal Government, in an attempt to defend her freedom of political communication – a freedom that is implied in the Australian Constitution. This week, she lost her case in the highest court in the land, the High Court of Australia, in a landmark …
Māori Land

The Ihumātao Occupation: In Protection of Māori Land

By ▪︎ ▪︎

The more than three-year-long occupation at Ihumātao in Māngere, south Auckland, has come to a head over recent weeks, with police numbers stepped up at the Ōtuataua Stonefields Historic Reserve, where the local Māori protectors of the area are camped. Ihumātao is significant as it is an ancient burial ground dating back to the 14th …

Investigation Into Alleged War Crimes by Australian Soldiers Commences

By ▪︎ ▪︎

The recent AFP raids were conducted as a result of a complaint by the Department of Defence about the leaking of documents which contain harrowing accounts of alleged war crimes perpetrated against civilians by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. The former legal officer of the Australian Special Forces who leaked those documents, David McBride, told Sydney …
Bruce Shillington

Saving the Rivers from Corporates: An Interview With Water Activist Bruce Shillingsworth

By ▪︎ ▪︎

News of the environmental devastation taking place along the Barwon-Darling river system in north western NSW hit the city last summer, when reports of several mass fish kills near the town of Menindee made headlines. Part of the larger Murray-Darling river system, the Barwon-Darling runs down from the NSW-Queensland border right through the main cotton …
Fair work rally

Union-Busting Legislation Passes Lower House

By ▪︎ & ▪︎

The Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Ensuring Integrity) Bill 2019 has passed the lower house of Federal Parliament, with the Coalition hoping to capitalise on the recent controversy surrounding CFMEU Victoria leader John Setka to gain power to control and even deregister trade unions. Parliament rejected a similar bill in 2017, but is vying for …