NSW Police Are Using Strip Searches to Intimidate
The NSW coronial inquiry into six drug-related deaths at music festivals heard testimony last week regarding a police officer who threatened to make a strip search “nice and slow”, unless the woman being ordered to take her clothes off, confessed...
Extinction Rebellion Activist Imprisoned Over Non-Custodial Offence
As the reality of the climate emergency becomes more widely accepted throughout the community, those who continue to deny it seem to be mainly those in charge. And, as usual, they want to clamp down on individuals who don’t reflect...
New Laws for Rehoming Pets in New South Wales
The New South Wales Government says new laws that apply when you sell or give away a pet are designed with the safety and welfare of our furry companions in mind. But will they work? Or could they lead to...
AFP Admits Accessing Metadata of Australians 20,000 Times in a Year
Australian Federal Police have admitted accessing the metadata of Australians around 20,000 times in just 12 months. The admission came during the AFP’s submission to the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security’s review of the mandatory data retention laws....
Police Press Charges Over Parking Spot Punch-up
It has been reported that two men are facing assault charges arising from an incident on John Street in Cabramatta yesterday, during which they allegedly attacked a driver over a claim to a parking spot. The incident, which was filmed...
Decriminalise Queensland Sex Work: An Interview With Respect’s Janelle Fawkes
Amnesty International adopted a sex work decriminalisation policy back in 2016. It was a move that formally recognised the high rates of human rights abuses in the industry, as well as that many of the harms associated with sex work...
Police Are Failing to Act on Sexual Assault Complaints, Report Finds
A recent report by Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) has found that police are failing to properly record complaints of sexual assault and other forms of abuse. The CCC’s June 2019 audit found that Queensland police were facing an...
Federal Government’s Rights-Erasing Law Bonanza
The 46th Parliament of Australia opened on 2 July to finance minister Mathias Cormann waving about the Tax Relief So Working Australians Keep More of Their Money Bill. One might be forgiven for translating the legislation’s title to “progressively robbing...
The Offence of Armed Robbery in NSW
Between 1982 and 1987, Ian Robert Steele carried out 30 armed robberies in NSW. Known as “The Rabbit”, the career criminal was notorious for hiding his identity via the wearing of a disguise or the dying of his hair, as...
UN to Inspect Australian Prisons
United Nations Inspectors will have ‘unfettered access’ to Australian-run detention centres when they visit Australia in the coming months. It will be the first time inspectors have visited Australia. Such routine visits are one of the obligations of the Optional...
