Victory Against Anti-Islam Group: An Interview with Halal Certification Authority Director Mohamed El-Mouelhy
The Q Society and anti-halal campaigner Kirralie Smith have publicly apologised to Mohamed El-Mouelhy, the director of the Halal Certification Authority. At a meeting on Monday, the anti-Islam organisation agreed to make an out of court settlement over the defamation case brought against them....
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 Forest Wars: An Interview with Long Time Forest Campaigner Warrick Jordan
From the 1980s, right up until the early 2000s, the logging of old growth forests was the most prominent environmental issue in Australia. And what’s referred to as the forest wars – a conflict between environmentalist groups and the logging...
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...
A Return to the Greens Radical Roots: An Interview with Left Renewal
Left Renewal is a group of left-leaning rank and file members of the NSW Greens party that caused a stir amongst the broader Australian Greens, when they announced their presence in December last year and declared their anti-capitalist agenda The arrival...
Stop Trying to Make Gay People ‘Straight’: An Interview with Brave Network’s Nathan Despott
The Victorian government has set up a new health complaints watchdog. The Health Complaints Commissioner has the power to place temporary or permanent bans on unethical health providers, and this will include practitioners of gay conversion therapy. The legislation that gives the...
Providing a Future for NT Youth: An Interview with Bush Mob CEO Will MacGregor
Last week, the Northern Territory Supreme Court released Dylan Voller from prison, eight months early. Justice Barr released the 19-year-old Indigenous man, so he can undertake a sixteen week rehabilitation program at the Bush Mob facility in Alice Springs. Mr Voller...
Victorian Youth Justice Crisis: An Interview with Jesuit Social Services CEO Julie Edwards
Fifteen youths from Victoria’s Malmsbury youth justice centre rioted and then escaped from the facility on January 25. This led to what Victoria police called a “small crime wave.” The last two teens were apprehended by police 24 hours after the...
Drop Appeal Against Racial Discrimination Ruling: An Interview with Professor Gracelyn Smallwood
Cameron Doomadgee died in police custody on Palm Island on November 19, 2004. The 36-year-old Indigenous man was arrested for being drunk and disorderly. Soon after being detained, he died from massive internal injuries. After the incident, Palm Island residents were...
Harm Minimisation and the Failed War on Drugs: An Interview with NUAA’s Yvonne Samuel
The Global Commission on Drug Policy released a report on June 2, 2011, that declared “the global war on drugs has failed.” The organisation called on governments to experiment with “models of legal regulation of drugs” to curb organised crime and...