Turnbull Plans to Dilute Australia’s Race Hate Laws
The political climate has changed around the globe since Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced there would be a Senate inquiry into whether to change section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) in November last year. The tide had already turned since...
Woman Sent to Prison after Spending Unexpected Windfall
Brisbane woman Wendy Baulch has been sentenced to three months in prison followed by a fifteen month suspended sentence, after spending money which was deposited into her bank account by mistake. The fifty-four year old mother-of-four pleaded guilty to one...
Indigenous Incarceration: Australia’s Shame
Indigenous Australians are reported to be the most imprisoned race in the world, and the situation is only getting worse. The proportion of Indigenous inmates in NSW prisons has risen by 35% since the Coalition government came to power in...
Union Leader Encourages Illegal Strikes
The most powerful figure in the Australian union movement has no problem with members breaking “unjust laws” relating to industrial action. The new secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions,Sally McManus, made it clear she supports the decision of the...
Prosecutors Want More Prison Time for Aussie Woman Who Killed Indonesian Policeman
New South Wales mother of two Sara Connor is on tenterhooks now that the Denpasar Prosecutions Office has announced it will lodge an appeal against her prison sentence, arguing it is manifestly inadequate. Ms Connor was sentenced to four years...
Australian Black Panther Woman: An Interview with Activist Marlene Cummins
Marlene Cummins is Australia’s original Black Panther woman. Back in the early 70s, she joined the Brisbane chapter of the Australian Black Panther Party (ABPP) with the likes of Sammy Watson Jnr, Lionel Fogarty and Denis Walker.
Decriminalise Drugs Now, Demand Top Brass
Former NSW premier Bob Carr and former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett launched the new Australia 21 report in Sydney last Monday. Entitled Can Australia Respond to Drugs More Effectively and Safely?, the report outlines thirteen key recommendations aiming to decriminalise drugs and...
Queensland Finally Abolishes the Gay Panic Defence
It’s actually happened. Queensland has abolished gay panic defence. The Criminal Law Amendment Bill 2016 was passed in state parliament on Tuesday night, amending section 304 of the state’s Criminal Code so that an unwanted sexual advance is no longer a provocation to kill...
Predicting and Preventing Crime: An Interview with CTDS’s Dr Roman Marchant
The future is now. Even before you move into your new model home, in that recently-designed outer suburb in metropolitan Sydney, big data is watching you. And it doesn’t need to monitor your movements, or even address your motives, it...
Police Minister Pleads Ignorance of the Law
Just in case you missed the media frenzy this week, NSW Police Minister Troy Grant hit the headlines claiming he did not know that using a mobile phone while driving is unlawful. Mr Grant was a police officer for 22...
