Julian Assange, the AFP Raids, and the Crime of Dissent
If News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst was watching the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday morning, she might have been surprised to see Peter Dutton discussing the domestic spying proposal that AFP officers raided her home in relation to just thirteen...
Stockpiled Firearms are a Magnet for Thieves
Following a mass shooting in Darwin’s CBD earlier this month, a University of Sydney expert on gun violence has criticised police over their inaction when it comes to tracking shotguns, rifles and handguns in Australia. Darwin shooting It has been...
NSW District Court Judge Slams Brutal Police
Judge Roy Ellis of the New South Wales District Court has made clear there was no excuse for police officers to violently drag 28-year old Indigenous man Carl Hoppner from a police vehicle at Toronto Police Station on Australia Day...
Drivers Face Fines for ‘Normal’ Passenger Behaviour
It’s a law you may not know about, but certainly one worth brushing up on. You’re on a long drive and your front seat passenger is relaxing watching a YouTube clip or a movie on a tablet or smart phone....
Sydney Criminal Lawyers® Weekly Rundown – Articles from 10 to 16 June 2019
In case you’ve missed any of them, here’s a rundown of the past week’s articles: Towards Torres Strait Autonomy: An Interview With GBK’s Ned David There are calls for locals to have greater autonomy over their lands. Click here to...
Cannabis Legalisation Is Creeping Closer for Canberra
The ACT Legislative Assembly health committee last week tabled its report on the legislation that would see the personal possession and use of cannabis legalised in the capital territory. And with a great sigh of relief, the review recommended the...
The Offence of Drug Supply in New South Wales
A South Australian man has been handed an 18-month suspended prison sentence for selling a range of cannabis-infused products, including fairy-floss, hazelnut spread, lollies and lip balm. 32-year old James Stephen Woodward pleaded guilty in the state’s District Court to...
Silencing Dissent: Government Demonises and Targets Animal Welfare Activists
Recently appointed Australian agriculture minister Bridget McKenzie has vowed to continue the Morrison government’s crackdown on animal welfare activists with the fast tracking of new laws aimed at preventing protests being carried out by those she terms as “agri-terrorists”. Prime...
Mother of ‘Incest Family’ Granted Bail
The 52-year old matriarch of a rural Australian family has been granted bail in the Supreme Court of New South Wales after spending 14 months behind bars. The woman, given the pseudonym ‘Betty Colt’, was arrested in April 2018 and...
Welcome to 1984: The Government’s Relentless Assault on Democracy
Many social commentators have drawn comparisons between George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘1984’ and the pervasive nature of surveillance in a several modern nations, labelling the book as prophetic rather than emphasising that it is a work of fiction. Orwell’s book...