Imprisonment Does Not Reduce Crime: An Interview with UNSW Professor Eileen Baldry
NSW is about to reach its highest incarceration rate for the past century. This week, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) released the state’s latest custody statistics, which show that at the end of March the adult...
Replacing Prison Bars with GPS Tracking Devices: An Interview with Professor Mirko Bagaric
The Australian prison system is failing, as incarceration rates are at an all-time high. As of June last year, there were 38,845 adult prisoners in corrective services custody, making the national imprisonment rate grow to 208 per 100,000 adults. The number of inmates...
Woman Faces Prison for Giving Cannabis Oil to Sick People: An Interview with Jenny Hallam
If you ask the South Australian police what they think of Jenny Hallam, they’ll call her a criminal. Ask many others, and they’ll say she’s their angel. Ms Hallam, a marijuana reform activist, is facing up to 10 years in...
The Healing Hand of Restorative Justice: An Interview with ANU’s Dr Miranda Forsyth
The Australian criminal justice system has come under criticism for incarcerating growing numbers of people. With recidivism rates closing in on fifty percent - meaning nearly half of those released from prison are back within 2 years – many believe a punitive...
Always Independent: An Interview with Murrawarri Republic Chair Fred Hooper
This weekend in Brisbane, the Referendum Council is holding the last of the Dialogues: a series of meetings with First Nations peoples to discuss the issue of recognising the nation’s Indigenous people within the Australian constitution. The findings from the meetings...
Free Speech and Exposing Corruption: An Interview with Wendy Bacon
Wendy Bacon was just 23-years old when sentenced to eight days in prison and sent to Silverwater Remand and Reception Centre for her actions following the publication of a poem. Although she was later released, Wendy’s case became a defining...
At the Frontline of Gender Activism: An Interview with Norrie
The rights of transgender and gender diverse people have come a long way over the last decades. Now, high-profile trans celebrities like Laverne Cox and Australian model Andrej Pejić have moved into the spotlight, while Cate McGregor is a high-ranking...
Community Legal Centres in Crisis: An Interview with Australian Pro Bono Centre CEO John Corker
Pro bono legal work plays a vital role in the Australian legal system. It consists of lawyers providing legal services for free or at a significantly reduced cost, “with no expectation of a commercial return.” The “justice gap” - made...
Islamophobia: An Interview with AFIC President Keysar Trad
Practising Muslims pray five times a day. It’s one of the five pillars of Islam, referred to as Salat. When they do so they kneel down and prostrate themselves, resting on a small mat and facing in the direction of Mecca:...
Decriminalising Medical Cannabis: An Interview with NSW Labor MLC Adam Searle
NSW Opposition leader Luke Foley introduced a game-changing medicinal cannabis bill before parliament on March 9, which has largely gone unnoticed. The legislation calls for the decriminalisation of possession of the medicine, as well as establishing “a lawful supply chain.” “We know that for...
