Top DNA Analyst Sacked for Allegedly Fabricating Records
DNA evidence has become an increasingly important component of criminal investigations and prosecutions since its use became widespread in the 1990s. Today, police around the country can access the National Criminal Investigation DNA database, which contains the DNA profiles of hundreds of...
Casual Conversations Do Not Amount to Consorting
Since their enactment in 2012, the use of consorting laws by NSW police has come under significant scrutiny. The consorting law legislation was introduced into parliament by the O’Farrell government, ostensibly in response to rising gun violence attributed to motorcycle club members and organised...
Woman Faces Prison for Giving Cannabis Oil to Sick People: An Interview with Jenny Hallam
If you ask the South Australian police what they think of Jenny Hallam, they’ll call her a criminal. Ask many others, and they’ll say she’s their angel. Ms Hallam, a marijuana reform activist, is facing up to 10 years in...
The Healing Hand of Restorative Justice: An Interview with ANU’s Dr Miranda Forsyth
The Australian criminal justice system has come under criticism for incarcerating growing numbers of people. With recidivism rates closing in on fifty percent - meaning nearly half of those released from prison are back within 2 years – many believe a punitive...
Always Independent: An Interview with Murrawarri Republic Chair Fred Hooper
This weekend in Brisbane, the Referendum Council is holding the last of the Dialogues: a series of meetings with First Nations peoples to discuss the issue of recognising the nation’s Indigenous people within the Australian constitution. The findings from the meetings...
Can I Sue a Lawyer for Incompetence?
By Blake O’Connor and Ugur Nedim Law firm Shine Lawyers is facing civil proceedings in the Queensland Supreme Court for allegedly breaching its fiduciary duties to a client by failing to competently represent him in a compensation case. Adelaide lawyer...
Is War Looming with China and North Korea?
Veteran documentary maker John Pilger’s new film the Coming War on China screened on television last Sunday night. In it, Pilger “breaks the silence” on the US government’s recent military build-up that’s aimed directly at China. The Australian journalist explains that...
RIP Government Accountability in Australia: A Privacy Guide for Journalists
With the scope of online and telecommunications surveillance today, it seems we’re very much living in an Orwellian age. Last week, the complete version of the Australian government’s mandatory metadata regime came into effect. Although the data retention laws were enacted on October 13,...
Decriminalisation and a Regulated Drug Supply Market are the Key to Success
The Portugal model of drug decriminalisation is acknowledged globally as a resounding success. In 2001, the Portuguese government decriminalised the personal use and possession of all illegal drugs. Since then, rates of HIV infections and overdoses have dramatically decreased. And despite what...
Military Might in the Middle East: The Political Posturing of the Powerful
In little over a week, US president Donald Trump has carried out three acts of military aggression that appear to be targeting not only the countries directly involved, but also send a clear message to an alliance of nations that traditionally...
