The Violence of the Frontier Wars Has Never Really Ended
Two police officers entered the home of a First Nations family in the remote NT community of Yuendumu in early November. One of them allegedly shot an unarmed 19-year-old Warlpiri man. This incident is now classed as one of the...
Suspicious Circumstances: Detained Eddie Murray Was Not in a State to Hang Himself
Eddie Murray was found dead, hanging in a cell at Wee Waa police station at around 3.00 pm on 12 June 1981. The 21-year-old Gamilaraay man had been detained by officers about an hour earlier for public drunkenness, under now...
NT Sex Workers Finally Have Decriminalisation: An Interview With SWOP NT’s Coordinator Leanne Melling
Date of publication: 5 December 2019 Sex workers across the NT let out a collective cheer last week, as that territory’s Legislative Assembly passed the Sex Industry Bill 2019. After long-term campaigning from within the industry, sex work in the Northern...
The Focus Should Be on Reducing Deaths: An Interview With Jennie Ross-King
Last summer’s music festival season was unnecessarily devastating. Five young Australians died in drug-related circumstances either trying to avoid police detection or from taking drugs that they had no way of ascertaining the contents of. Harm reduction experts have been...
It’s Time to Get Your Priorities Right, Scott Morrison
Imagine, it’s 1912, and you’re a passenger on the cruise liner the Titanic, heading towards New York. It’s evident something’s amiss, as the ship seems to be going down. People are freaking out, but then the captain appears before them,...
George Pell’s High Court Appeal: Last Throw of the Dice
The High Court of Australia will hear George Pell’s application for ‘special leave’ (permission) to appeal, which if granted will provide him with the last throw of the dice to have his convictions for historical child sexual offences overturned. High...
Honest Cop Wins Appeal
Many Australians are cheering today, with the news that honest cop Rick Flori has won his appeal in Brisbane Supreme Court. It’s one of many battles the former Queensland police officer has fought, as he took and maintained a stance...
NSW Justice Amendment Package Part 1: Expanded Police Powers and More Criminal Offences
The state’s chief law officer, attorney-general Mark Speakman, has been busy thinking of ways to strengthen and expand laws which criminalise citizens and empower police officers. As a result, our state parliament recently passed what might be described as a...
Drug Rehabilitation Programmes Reduce Reoffending Rates
The ACT will begin a new trial for drug and alcohol sentencing this week, favouring rehabilitation over prison time. The alternative sentencing arrangement will accept 35 people when it begins, giving these offenders the opportunity to spend time in rehabilitation...
Pregnant Mum Pleads Guilty to Multiple Fraud Offences
A pregnant mother of two has pleaded guilty to multiple fraud offences in Wollongong Local Court after police raided her home and found a criminal to-do-list sticky taped to her bedroom wall. The list detailed the criminal activities she would...
