Should Magistrates and Judges Be Required to Obtain an Extra Qualification?
NT attorney general Natasha Fyles spoke out about controversial Central Australian Judge Greg Borchers on Thursday, stating she was “most concerned” about his conduct, and that she’d accepted the advice of bureaucrats when deciding not to hold an inquiry into his...
The Startling Truth about AVOs and Family Law
Statistics reveal that 1 in 3 Australian women experience physical violence over their lifetime. Family violence is being increasingly recognised as a widespread and serious issue in Australia with significant negative social, individual and community impacts. A powerful weapon against...
Making GPs Medical Cannabis-Wise: An Interview with Dr David Caldicott
In the mid-90s, Israeli medicinal chemistry professor Raphael Mechoulam discovered the endocannabinoid system. The professor’s earlier research had already led to the 1964 discovery of THC: the psychoactive ingredient of cannabis. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a set of cell receptors, chemical...
Corruption and Misconduct Still Pervade the NSW Police Force
Former NSW police sergeant Nigel Alfred Davey was found guilty of common assault and perjury in Queanbeyan Local Court on December 12. Magistrate Michael Antrum ruled that Davey lied in court in October 2014, when he said a Nowra man was...
Australia: Easy Pickings for Cyber Criminals
The former head of ASIO has warned that Australia is not in a position to deal with cyber-crime and threats to online security. David Irvine, who headed ASIO until 2014 and now chairs the Cyber Security Research Centre (CSRC), has...
Government Wants Greater Control Over Charities
The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) was established in December 2012 to regulate nearly 60,000 charities and other not-for-profit organisations across the country. On 7 December 2017, the federal government appointed long-time anti-charity campaigner Dr Gary Johns as commissioner of...
Police Help Teens Learn to Drive
It’s not often we hear good news stories about police officers these days - with recent headlines dominated by reports of ‘bad cops’, bullying, police corruption and misconduct, right around Australia. But in an act of goodwill, officers in the...
12 Reasons to Choose Sydney Criminal Lawyers®
Being prosecuted for a criminal or traffic offence can be a nerve-wracking experience. You may be unfamiliar with the process, unsure of the best way forward and concerned about the outcome. But whether you are charged with a less-serious matter...
Australia’s Indigenous Suicide Crisis: An Interview with Professor Patricia Dudgeon
Suicide rates among Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander communities are amongst the highest in the world. This is a crisis born of violent dispossession, intergenerational trauma, and ongoing cultural atrocities. In 2016, intentional self-harm was the fifth leading cause of...
Cocaine Testing May Lead to Fairer Drug Driving Laws
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian announced on January 15 that the state government will be toughening drug driving penalties and increasing the number of mobile drug tests (MDTs), which is concerning to many given that the current regime is fundamentally flawed. NSW police...
