Indigenous Australian Locked Up in Detention
In what could be an embarrassing mix-up for Australian immigration authorities, reports have surfaced recently about a 39-year-old Indigenous man wrongfully locked up in detention. The man, who says his name is Eddie David, is accused by the Department of...
Teaching About Encryption to be Made Illegal
What does the Defence Trade Controls Act have to do with education and research? Quite a lot, under laws due to come into force next year. The Defence and Strategic Goods List (DSGL) is a compilation of technologies and goods...
Getting Damages for Malicious Prosecutions in NSW
If a person believes they have been the subject of unjustified criminal proceedings, they may have grounds to claim back their legal costs or even sue for malicious prosecution. Claiming costs at the end of Local Court proceedings Section 213...
Should We Ban Suspected Jihadists From Using the Internet?
Following the death of 18-year-old Victorian Jake Bilardi in March, there has been a great deal of discussion amongst politicians and police about how we should prevent ‘impressionable’ young Australians from being swayed to join extremist terrorist groups. Now, Victorian...
Whistleblowers Face Prison for Revealing Conditions in Detention Centres
Ever heard of the Australian Border Force Act? Chances are, you probably haven’t. This law was passed recently, quietly, and by both parties of parliament with little fanfare, and will come into effect in July 2015. You probably have, however,...
Which State is the Toughest on Crime?
A new Report by the Judicial Commission of NSW shows that sentences imposed in NSW are generally harsher than sentences for similar crimes in Victoria and Queensland. The Report looked at the period 2006 to 2013 and focussed on five...
Sexual Relationships With Prison Inmates
Back in 2000, three girls were sexually assaulted by a notorious gang led by the Skaf brothers. It may sound incredible, but several years later a prison psychologist, 33 year old Joanne Natalie Senior, started a love affair with one...
Verbal abuse of sheep: Has the world gone mad?
It was a news story that swept the world, with pun headlines to match. ABC Rural published a story about alleged verbal abuse of sheep, raising the question of whether sheep could understand English. It reported that the activist group...
Wrongful Convictions in Australia
Our criminal justice system has been centuries in the making. Generation after generation has taken pride in the safeguards that our system provides to minimise the chance of innocent people being convicted of crimes, with English jurist William Blackstone famously...
Should Everyone Have the Right to Legal Representation?
Radio ‘shock jocks’ and tabloid newspapers are well known for blasting government-funded community legal centres who represent those accused of serious criminal offences, frequently labelling them a waste of taxpayers’ money. Following the Sydney siege last year, even our own...
