Woman Ordered to Pay $530,000 for “Plainly Untrue” Google Review
We’re living in a time when it’s easy to get caught up in our emotions, and the moment, to consider ourselves ‘untouchable’ keyboard warriors and let our fingertips do the talking with smart remarks online. But, if ever there was...
Police Are Routinely Breaching Strip-Search Laws, As Well As Their Own Protocols
Section 31 of the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 provides that police can carry out strip searches in the field if “the seriousness and urgency of the circumstances make the strip search necessary”. These days, NSW police has...
Owners of Social Media Pages Are Liable for Comments Posted by Others, NSW Supreme Court Finds
A recent decision by the NSW Supreme Court has paved the way for those who are defamed on social media to take proceedings against not only the poster, but also commercial page administrators. The preliminary decision in Voller v Nationwide...
A Creeping Surveillance State: An Interview With the Human Rights Law Centre’s Emily Howie
The ABC has launched a legal challenge in the Federal Court against the validity of the search warrant that AFP agents used to raid its Sydney office on 5 June. The national broadcaster claims the warrant breaches the implied freedom...
Against Animal Atrocities: An Interview With Animal Justice Party MLC Emma Hurst
Newly-appointed federal agricultural minister Bridget McKenzie has vowed to crack down on “agri-terrorists”. Indeed, following nationwide nonviolent animal welfare protests in April, McKenzie said she wanted to see laws similar to the US, where animal activists face steep prison time....
ABC Launches Legal Challenge Against AFP Raids
The ABC has launched legal proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia, challenging the warrant which enabled the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to search for, and record, fingerprints found at the premises and to take samples from the ABC for...
Punishment Disguised as Safety: The Injustice of Drug Driving Laws
Enpsychedelia presenter Nick Wallis hosted a roadside drug testing forum on 4 May at the Nimbin MardiGrass, with panellists that included Reason Party leader Fiona Patten, HEMP Party secretary Andrew Kavasilas and renowned medicinal cannabis practitioner Dr Andrew Katelaris. During...
Australia Talks Tough on Khashoggi Killing
Australian foreign minister Marise Payne has labelled the alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Arabian embassy in Istanbul as “outrageous” and says Australia will closely consider a recently released report into the incident before deciding whether to...
Forced Organ Removals in China Continue Unabated, Tribunal Finds
The China Tribunal has just released its judgement on organ harvesting in China. After a year-long investigation, the independent London-based panel set out on 17 June that it has no doubt the organs of prisoners of conscience are being forcibly...
Carjacking: An Offence Against People and Property
A little after 2pm on 5 May, a young man approached a 51-year-old woman as she was getting into her vehicle in the carpark of the Beresfield Bottle Barn and Tavern on Anderson Drive in the Newcastle suburb of Beresfield....
