Should traffic fines be based on your income?
If you think traffic fines in Australia are expensive, be grateful you don’t live in Finland or Switzerland - at least if you are a high-income earner! Traffic fines are not a fixed amount in those countries, but rather take...
Is Having Bills to Pay an Acceptable Fraud Defence?
A university contractor under investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) for fraud has told the inquiry that he was unable to pay his water and electricity bills on his $180,000 salary from Macquarie University, which led him to...
Should Headmaster Face Charges for Sexual Abuse Cover-Up?
Royal Commission hearings into the handling of allegations of indecent assault at prestigious Sydney boys’ school Knox Grammar have been told that a former headmaster deliberately withheld information from police about allegations of paedophilia. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses...
Can I be forced to testify against my family?
Receiving a subpoena to appear as a witness in court can be daunting. The experience can be even more stressful if you are called to testify against your loved-one. But there are laws that restrict the prosecution’s ability to force...
Should Sniffer Dogs be Banned?
Those who regularly attend music festivals will be aware that sniffer dogs routinely patrol the events in an attempt to catch would-be drug users and suppliers. Yet despite their presence, it seems that sniffer dogs do little to deter drug...
Do We Need a Domestic Violence Register?
In the lead-up to the NSW state election, Premier Mike Baird has proposed a statewide domestic violence register to record the names of people who have previously been convicted of domestic violence offences. The Premier made the announcement at the...
Should inmates have any access to the internet?
Although spending time in custody is increasingly for punishment rather than rehabilitation, once a convicted person has served-out their sentence, the idea is that they should be able to go back into the community and get their lives back on...
Pinkwashing and Police Brutality– Issues Facing the Gay and Lesbian Community
With the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on later today, several companies have rolled out promotional campaigns getting into the festive spirit. One of those companies is ANZ Bank, which has attracted attention in recent years for its GAYTMs...
Food Contamination: Should there be harsher penalties?
Food contamination can be a serious matter, as the recent Hepatitis A outbreak from frozen berries has shown. At least 13 people across the country have been diagnosed with the virus after eating a certain brand of frozen berry products...
Should those who commit the same crimes get similar punishments? The parity principle
At the heart of our criminal justice system are the fundamental principles of justice, fairness and equality. Their application is especially important when it comes to imposing penalties upon people who are guilty of committing criminal offences. Fairness and equality...
