NSW Government’s Anti-Terrorism Hotline a “Dismal Failure”
A multi-million-dollar NSW government hotline which encourages the reporting of radicalisation and violent extremism, and provides advice and counselling, has been called a “dismal failure”. Despite costing millions to set up, NSW Minister for Counter Terrorism, David Elliot, says the...
Drug Possession Charge Quashed Due to Illegal Search
A man was recently acquitted of a conviction of drug possession in the NSW District Court, when he appealed his conviction by the Local Court on the ground that a police officer’s search was unlawful. The case reiterates that police...
Child Sex Dolls – Promoting or Preventing Paedophilia?
Australians are one of the biggest purchasers of ‘child sex dolls’ in the world, according to manufacturers in China and Japan. The anatomically correct dolls are designed to resemble children as young as five-years old, and are easily purchased over...
Pill Testing Approved for Aussie Music Festival
Finally, after years of calls from health professionals and members of the public, Australia is about to see its first government-sanctioned pill testing trial at a music festival, with the aim, of course, of reducing the dangers associated with drug...
Good Cop Runs for Parliament
Former Queensland police sergeant and alleged whistleblower Rick Flori has announced plans to run for parliament in the upcoming Queensland state election. Mr Flori is forging ahead with plans for his future, despite the looming threat of imprisonment over allegations...
Defending the Nauru 19: An Interview with Sydney Lawyer Christian Hearn
Nineteen people from the island of Nauru are facing trial accused of public order offences following a protest against the Nauruan government on June 16 2015. Now known as the Nauru 19, the group were part of hundreds of locals who’d gathered...
Explaining the Rohingya Crisis: An Interview with the ARNO
The UN Refugee Agency reports at least 420,000 Rohingya people have fled across the border from Myanmar into neighbouring Bangladesh since violence erupted in their homelands in late August. The refugees are now living in makeshift camps in the Cox’s...
Cashless Welfare Card – National Rollout Set to Begin
Thousands of Queenslanders and Western Australians will be the next to have their Centrelink payments quarantined, as the federal government continues its rollout of the cashless welfare card. The Turnbull-led government announced plans to implement the card next year in...
AOD Media Watch: Correcting Mainstream Media Misinformation About Drugs
On March 31 this year, an opinion piece appeared in the Age with the headline, The zombie apocalypse is here and none of us are safe. The author Wendy Squires relates a confrontation she had with a man, who’d allegedly...
Finland Is Eradicating Homelessness
Over the course of the year, politicians in Sydney and Melbourne have resorted to criminalising homelessness as a way of dealing with the increasing amount of rough sleepers turning up on city streets. Last month, the Berejiklian government passed a...
