Abortion to Remain a Crime in Queensland and NSW
Welcome to Australia, 2017, where abortion is still a crime. And it will remain that way for at least another two years in Queensland after reform legislation was pulled from parliament. Independent MP Rob Pyne has withdrawn two private member’s...
Archbishops Slam Catholic Church for Covering-Up Widespread Child Sexual Abuse
Five of Australia’s most senior Catholic figures fronted the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Sexual Abuse, all of whom condemned the Church’s failure to protect vulnerable children. The archbishops of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth were questioned about how...
Say FU2 Racism – Attitudes Towards Race in Australia
Today marks the start of ‘Face Up to Racism week’, which seems like the perfect time to look at our attitudes towards race in Australia. Since the end of the Second World War in 1945, Australia has welcomed more than...
From the Pulpit to the Bench: An Interview with Chris Geraghty
After years of tension with his seniors at the Catholic Church, Chris Geraghty walked away from the priesthood in October 1976. He’d served 15 years in the Archdiocese of Sydney, after training in the seminaries since the age of 12. Right from...
The Cop Who Helped Reduce Street Crime
Rather than employing heavy-handed tactics and a punitive approach when dealing with anti-social teens, police in the Western Sydney suburb of Blacktown have been tackling youth crime a different way. And the results speak for themselves. When police superintendent Mark...
Using Technology to Get Around Court Orders
Tracking devices placed in cars, in baby strollers and even in walking sticks. Electronic “gifts” with spyware or location apps enabled. The use of sophisticated technology to listen to telephone calls and hack into email and social media accounts. The...
Hang Paedophiles, demands Philippines President
By Blake O’Connor and Ugur Nedim The death penalty was abolished in the Philippines in 2006, partly due to pressure from the powerful Catholic Church. However, controversial Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte is reported to have called for the reintroduction of death by hanging...
Melbourne Needs an Injecting Room: An Interview with Australian Sex Party Leader Fiona Patten
There’s a renewed push for a medically supervised injecting centre to be established in Melbourne, amid concerns over continuing overdose deaths on the streets. Leading the campaign is Victorian Sex Party MLC Fiona Patten, who introduced a private member’s bill...
Preventative Programs are Primarily Responsible for Decline in NSW Crime
A Sydney criminologist believes that the implementation of preventative and diversionary strategies is the primary reason for most categories of crime declining across the state in recent years. Dr Garner Clancey, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney, points...
Australia Will Finally Ratify Law Against Torture
A group of up to 20 teenagers, who are being held in the Grevillea Unit of Victoria’s Barwon prison, rioted on Monday night. The youths have been placed in the unit of the adult prison due to the rioting that’s...
