Bail Laws and the Presumption of Innocence in New South Wales
New South Wales Police Minister David Elliott is pressing for a review of bail laws after coming on board with radio ‘shock jock’ Ray Hadley to slam the grant of bail to a man accused of sexual assault. The 35-year...
Climate Activist Imprisoned Over Successful Blockading of Newcastle Coal Port
The heat is turning up on all climate fronts. Keeping below 1.5°C on preindustrial levels is looking increasingly unlikely, while political leaders globally are growing more cunning at presenting their inaction as movement, and climate activists are becoming far more...
The Offences of Child Grooming and Child Procuring in New South Wales
Former New York socialite, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is the daughter of publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, and once the partner of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is due to face court in the United States this week. Ms Maxwell is charged...
The Offence of Providing False Documents or False or Misleading Information Relating to Non-Citizens
Former Federal Labor MP Craig Thomson has been charged over an alleged fraudulent visa scheme worth millions of dollars. The charges follow a joint investigation by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Australia Border Force (ABF), Australian Taxation Office (ATO), AUSTRAC...
National Security Law Permitting the Secret Trial of Witness J Is Under Scrutiny
There has been a sustained national debate about whistleblower prosecutions over the last few years, with a chief concern being the national security laws that permit the trials of Witness K, Bernard Collaery and David McBride to be shrouded in...
NSW Parliament to Consider Raising the Age of Criminal Responsibility to 14
NSW continues to lockup children as young as 10 years old. Indeed, the entire nation of Australia does. And rather than term it as imprisonment, it’s sanitised as youth justice. Over 2019-20, this state detained 105 children 13 years or...
Class Action Launched Over Illegal Strip Searches
A class action lawsuit has been launched on behalf of young people who were unlawfully strip searched at the Splendour in the Grass music festival in 2018. In 2019, the New South Wales Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) began an...
‘Zoe’s Law’ Introduced to New South Wales Parliament
At Christmas time in 2009, Brodie Donegan was eight months pregnant with her daughter-to-be Zoe when she was struck down by a car driven by a drunk driver. While Brodie survived, Zoe tragically didn’t. The driver received a sentence of...
The Offence of Police Neglect of Duty in New South Wales
Neglect of Duty is an offence under section 201 of the Police Act 1990 (NSW) which carries a maximum penalty of 20 penalty units, or $2,200. A police officer is guilty of this offence if he or she “neglects or...
The PM Champions Pork Barrelling Over Corruption Watchdog With Teeth
“It’s certainly not a model that we ever consider at a federal level,” said prime minister Scott Morrison in relation to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption, or ICAC, just days following the resignation of Gladys Berejiklian from the position...
