The Influence of the Media on Copycat Crimes
The recent strawberry contamination crisis had a devastating effect on berry farmers across the nation. It appears to have started as a relatively isolated incident, where an individual or small group decided to insert needles into berries from two Queensland...
Sydney Police Officer Accused of ‘Vile, Cowardly and Intolerable’ Conduct
A Sydney police officer has been charged under the Criminal Code Act 1995 after allegedly threatening a public official in a phone call to Federal Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young. Ms Hanson-Young says the threats made by the officer were about...
Sydney Police Officer Charged with Child Sexual Assault
A Sydney police officer has been arrested and charged with a range of child sex offences, including attempted sexual intercourse with a child under 10, two counts of sexual intercourse with a child aged between the ages of 10 and...
Preventing Violence Against Women: An Interview With Our Watch CEO Patty Kinnersly
Ten women have been killed violently in Australia so far this month. And according to Destroy the Joint’s Counting the Dead Women Australia project, that brings the total number of women murdered nationwide due to violence against women this year...
Teen Charged with Causing Grievous Bodily Harm
A 17-year-old boy has been charged with acts intended to cause grievous bodily harm, after allegedly confessing to slashing a young schoolgirl’s face. Girl allegedly slashed on the way to school The 12-year old girl is alleged to have been...
Queensland Legalises Abortion, While NSW Continues Criminalisation
In what’s being hailed as a ‘historic vote’, the Queensland parliament has resolved to repeal an antiquated section of the state’s criminal code that considers the termination of a pregnancy to be an “offence against morality”. The code was written...
Court Upholds 30-Year Prison Sentence for Domestic Murder
On 21 September 2018, the Australian Capital Territory Court of Appeal dismissed Magad Al-Harazi’s appeal against the severity of his 30-year sentence for murdering his wife Sabah Al-Mdwali. The relationship The couple met in 2005 and married in Yemen a...
Death Count Soars as Epidemic of Violence Against Women Continues
Since the beginning of this month a total of eight women have been killed violently in Australia. In at least seven of the cases, the victims knew the men who murdered them. And yet, no national outcry has occurred, and...
Pope Defrocks Priest who Sexually Abused Children
In an exceptionally rare but welcomed move, Pope Francis (pictured) has defrocked a Chilean priest convicted of sexually assaulting children. It’s the toughest penalty available to the Pope - with the exception of ex-communication, and a sign the Church may...
Getting Tough on Hate Speech: Section 93Z of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)
Five years on from its initial proposal, the New South Wales Government has finally strengthened the state’s laws against hate speech. On 21 June 2018, the NSW Parliament passed the Crimes Amendment (Publicly Threatening and Inciting Violence) Bill. The object...
