Lockout Laws Don’t Reduce Alcohol Consumption
A new study into the Queensland lockout laws have found that they have offered virtually no benefit in reducing violence or curbing dangerous alcohol consumption. Researchers from the University of Queensland, Griffith University and Queensland University of Technology studied the...
Centrelink’s Flawed Robo-Debt System is Killing Our Most Vulnerable
The story of Devi Barker, one of Centrelink’s robo-debt victims has put the flawed Government automated debt-recovery system back into the spotlight. Her story is not dissimilar to thousands of other Australians in the same predicament: accused of racking up...
The Offence of Police Pursuit in New South Wales
A man will face Gosford Local Court today after allegedly leading police on a chase before ramming a police car and causing injuries to two officers. It has been reported that at around 8.45am yesterday, highway patrol officers detected a...
Press Stands United Against Authoritarianism
There is not much that the bosses of News Corp, the ABC and channel 9 would agree upon, representing different segments of the ideological spectrum. But as recently reported, they recently came together to jointly condemn laws which make reporting...
Folau, Morrison and the Christian Right to Discriminate
The PM’s pet campaign to protect religious freedoms has recently converged with the media focus around Israel Folau’s sacking over his vilification of LGBTIQ people, which has brought the national debate to a head over whether Christians have the right...
Media Bosses Demand Protections for Journalists and Whistleblowers
Australian’s media bosses have finally come together to push for changes to laws passed in the name of national security which criminalise whistleblowers for exposing misconduct by state agencies and journalists for reporting it. The actions comes in the wake...
Woman Ordered to Pay $530,000 for “Plainly Untrue” Google Review
We’re living in a time when it’s easy to get caught up in our emotions, and the moment, to consider ourselves ‘untouchable’ keyboard warriors and let our fingertips do the talking with smart remarks online. But, if ever there was...
Police Are Routinely Breaching Strip-Search Laws, As Well As Their Own Protocols
Section 31 of the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 provides that police can carry out strip searches in the field if “the seriousness and urgency of the circumstances make the strip search necessary”. These days, NSW police has...
Owners of Social Media Pages Are Liable for Comments Posted by Others, NSW Supreme Court Finds
A recent decision by the NSW Supreme Court has paved the way for those who are defamed on social media to take proceedings against not only the poster, but also commercial page administrators. The preliminary decision in Voller v Nationwide...
A Creeping Surveillance State: An Interview With the Human Rights Law Centre’s Emily Howie
The ABC has launched a legal challenge in the Federal Court against the validity of the search warrant that AFP agents used to raid its Sydney office on 5 June. The national broadcaster claims the warrant breaches the implied freedom...
