Previous Convictions for Gay Sex to be Expunged in NSW
Thirty years after the decriminalisation of homosexuality, those convicted under out-dated laws are going to be able to apply to have their convictions expunged. Victoria recently announced that it was going to remove all historic convictions from those who were...
Six Police Charged following an ICAC Investigation
The latest in a long string of ICAC investigations has surfaced in South Australia. Today’s headlines announced that six South Australian police officers were charged with serious offences and faced court today. The investigation by ICAC and the state’s anti-corruption...
ICAC Requests New Anti-Corruption Laws
According to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), current laws are not enough to prosecute public figures who are accused of protecting their own financial interests. The head of the ICAC, Megan Latham, recently requested that the Crimes Act be...
Navy Officer Falsely Claims that ‘Men of Middle Eastern Appearance’ Assaulted and Threatened to Behead Him
A 41-year-old member of the Australian Navy claimed that he was attacked outside his home in Bella Vista, North-West Sydney, while wearing his navy uniform. He claimed his attackers were two men of middle-eastern appearance and that he suffered bruising...
Should ASIO be Trusted with even More Power?
The ASIO officer drew a ‘Y’ in the sand with a stick. He looked across at the 21-year-old university student and pointed to the intersection of the Y. He said: “We’ve got two choices. We can go down the difficult...
Fact or Fiction? Errors, Evidence and the Neill-Fraser Case
In Neill-Fraser v Tasmania [2012] TASCCA 2, the island state’s Court of Criminal Appeal expressed its certainty that, while Susan Neill-Fraser’s sentence might be altered, an appeal against conviction would certainly not succeed. The Court was at pains to remind us...
Father Convicted After Buying Gifts For His Son
Australia has perhaps the strictest quarantine laws in the world. We even have the TV show Border Security, where we can watch people get into trouble for infringing them. The long list of things that are not allowed into the...
18C is here to Stay
Tony Abbott recently announced that the proposed repeal of 18C will no longer be going ahead. His plan had met with community backlash, with protesters hitting the streets to show their opposition. This provision of the Racial Discrimination Act makes...
Proposed Anti-Terrorism Laws Causing Concern
There is growing speculation that Prime Minister Tony Abbott is considering new anti-terrorism measures to apply to those returning to Australia after spending time in Iraq or Syria. This is due to the risk of Australians returning home after fighting...
DPP v Mathews-Hunter
Although police powers have been increasing in legislation, the judges are still firmly upholding fundamental common law rights in the courtroom. Just ask Mathews-Hunter, an eighteen year old who was recently in front of the NSW Supreme Court, after being...
