Paying Cash? You Could End Up In Prison
A proposed new law would make paying more than $10,000 in cash for goods or services a criminal offence. The proposed changes were first announced in the 2018-19 budget, and a draft of the legislation, called the Currency (Restrictions on...
Victoria to Decriminalise Public Drunkenness
The Victorian government has announced it will decriminalise public drunkenness, just days before the CoroniaI Inquest into the death of Indigenous woman Tanya Day. The death of Tanya Day The 55-year old Yorta Yorta woman caught a train from Echuca...
Sydney Criminal Lawyers® Weekly Rundown – Articles from 19 to 25 August 2019
In case you’ve missed any of them, here’s a rundown of the past week’s articles: General Electric Accused of $US38 Billion Fraud The man who warned of Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme years before it came to light has accused General...
Prosecuting Whistleblower Richard Boyle Is Against the Public Interest
Former ATO officer Richard Boyle will stand trial before a jury in the District Court of South Australia on 66 charges - which carry a total maximum penality of 161 years behind bars - for exposing the tax office misappropriating...
Coroner Criticises Police ‘Shoot to Kill’ Policy
South Australia’s Deputy Coroner, Anthony Schapel, has criticised the policy of police to shoot persons who pose “high-risk threats” in the torso, suggesting each situation should instead be assessed and killing used only as a measure of last resort. During...
NSW Police Must Be Stopped From Misusing Strip Searches
Over the last 12 years, the use of strip searches by NSW police has increased 20 fold, according to a just released report commissioned by the Redfern Legal Centre. In the 12 months to 30 November 2006, 277 strip searches...
Are There Situations Where a Person Who ‘Confesses’ Should Plead ‘Not Guilty’?
Tim Watkins was only 22 years old when he was left for dead by the side of Wilsons Creek Road earlier this year. He was riding his bicycle home from a mates’ house shortly after midnight on a road he...
Should George Pell Be Defrocked?
Child sexual abuse victims have all eyes on the Vatican, waiting for swift and decisive action by Pope Francis in the wake of George Pell’s failed appeal against his convictions. Unfortunately for them, they could be waiting for some time....
Protect Our Eroding Rights: An Interview With Human Rights Law Centre’s Tom Clarke
The understanding that human rights aren’t protected under this nation’s federal law is no longer just the domain of lawyers and politicians. There’s now a growing awareness within the general population that something’s amiss when it comes to basic freedoms...
Communities of Resistance: An Interview With an Antifascist Activist
The 2005 Cronulla Riots involved five thousand Anglo Australians converging upon North Cronulla Beach to “reclaim” the strip of sand. And the “Aussie pride” protesters began randomly attacking people of Middle Eastern appearance, who were supposedly trying to “take over”....