Coronial Inquest Into First Nations Teen in State Care Triggers Concerns of Systemic Abuse
The recent Coronial inquest into the 2018 death of George Campbell heard that the Yuin Dunghutti and Tharawal teenager, who’d spent the majority of his seventeen years in state care, had likely been a casualty of systemic abuses within the...
The Advantages of Activists Self-Representing: An Interview With NT Lawyer Russell Goldflam
Over the last 12 months, several states tightened the screws on the ability of climate and environmental activists to raise awareness around these issues, via nonviolent civil disobedience actions that disrupt business as usual to capture public attention. The NSW Coalition...
Former Sexual Assault Suspect Sues Media Giants for Defamation
A man whose career and reputation were ruined through heavily-biased media coverage of a claim of sexual assault in Parliament House, Canberra, has commenced defamation proceedings against mainstream media companies and its reporters. Bruce Lehrmann has filed two civil claims...
Out of the Coalition Playbook: Albanese Blocks Deportation Loophole in Migration Law
The Albanese government quietly released 100-odd noncitizen detainees from immigration detention over Christmas-New Year 2022, with no official reason as to why. Instead, it was left to advocates to explain to the media that the move was connected to a recent court...
Wong Rules Out War Powers Reform, Despite Parliamentary Inquiry Underway
At its March 2021 national conference, federal Labor determined that, if elected into government, it would hold a parliamentary inquiry into whether war powers should be a whole-of-parliament decision and not, as is the case now, the choice of the prime...
The Duty of Care Owed by Corrections Officers Towards Prisoner Inmates
The preventable death of Indigenous woman Veronica Nelson at the Dame Phyllis Frost Detention Centre in Victoria, has understandably provoked concerns by prisoners (and their loved ones) over their safety whilst in custody. The law recognises that prison officers owe...
What is the Definition of Sexual Consent in New South Wales?
The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Sexual Consent Reforms) Act 2021 came into effect on 1 June 2022 (NSW), repealing the definition of sexual consent contained in section 61HE of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) and inserting a new Subdivision 1A into Division...
Towards Rights-Based Bail, and the Chilling Effect of Extreme Conditions on Climate Action
The last 12 months have been marked by a new tactic taken towards nonviolent direct actions carried out in the defence of climate and the environment, which has seen jurisdictions, such as NSW, Victoria and Tasmania, dramatically escalate the punishments...
Peter Hollingworth to Face Secret Hearing for Allegedly Enabling Child Sexual Abuse
Former Governor General Peter Hollingworth is facing an internal tribunal hearing held behind closed doors within the Anglican Church - to determine whether he should be defrocked over his alleged role in covering up child sexual abuse within the church. ...
Is BDSM a Criminal Offence in New South Wales?
New South Wales man James-Robert Davis is facing several fresh criminal charges after having already spent 21 months behind bars on remand over what has been described as an “obedient BDSM relationship” with numerous women. The alleged leader of ‘House...
