Helping Migrants Understand the Legal System
Migrants and refugees often come to Australia from war-torn and poverty-stricken countries in search of a better life for themselves and their families. Their birth countries may experience high levels of corruption, with police and government officials willing to turn...
Why would anyone want to become a Jihadi bride?
Living under religious fundamentalism often means that women are treated as second-class citizens – relegated to household work and raising children without the opportunity to pursue higher education, paid employment and activities of their own choosing. Those who are born...
Should Citizens have the Right to Arrest? Citizen’s Arrest Goes Wrong
Every Australian citizen has the right to make a citizen’s arrest if they witness a crime taking place, but along with that right comes certain responsibilities. Police have strict guidelines governing the use of force when making arrests, but the...
Battered Woman Syndrome: A Help or Hindrance?
Acting in self-defence is a well-known way to beat a murder charge. It is a complete defence, which means that a person charged with murder will be found not guilty of both murder and manslaughter if self defence is successfully...
Should We Be Following the USA? The Americanisation of the Australian Criminal Justice System
With 5% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s prison population, America has firmly cemented its position as the leading advocate for mass incarceration. But with Australia increasingly adopting Americanised law and order approaches, there are serious concerns...
Thank You for (Not) Smoking: Is Plain Packaging Effective?
Smoking is one of the leading causes of disease and death in Australia, killing around 15,000 people each year and costing the country around $31.5 billion. In a bid to tackle these issues, Australia led a world-first initiative which saw...
Nothing to Hide but Everything to Fear – Part 2 of our Special Series on the New Metadata Laws
Yesterday, we published part 1 of our two-part blog series about the Federal Government’s proposed meta-data retention laws which are now very close to being passed. The laws have been championed by Federal Attorney-General George Brandis as a key tool...
WA Police ‘Putting Numbers Before Results on Breath Tests’
Police forces across the country are often accused of revenue raising by trying to nab as many motorists as possible for driving offences, and a new survey from the WA Police Union shows that even police officers would agree. The...
Nothing to Hide but Everything to Fear – Part 1 of our Special Series on the New Metadata Laws
There has been a great deal of political rhetoric lately about the federal government’s proposed meta-data retention laws, which would require internet and phone service providers (ISPs) to store your personal data for 2 years and make it available to...
Showing Cause under the New Bail Act
The Bail Act 2013 commenced in May 2014, replacing the old Bail Act 1978 which had been amended over 80 times and was widely criticised as unfair and unworkable. If you’ve been following our blogs, you’ll be aware of the...
