Failed Facial Recognition Project Costs Taxpayers Millions
The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) has blown $34 million in taxpayer funds, after being forced to abandon its facial recognition project in the wake of a damning review by the Australian National Audit Office. What is ACIC? On 1...
Police Accused of Brutality on Australia Day
28-year old Carl Hoppner is the first to admit his conduct on Australia Day last year was unacceptable, and he certainly paid for it. The Indigenous man was sentenced in Toronto Local Court on Friday to 10 month imprisonment after...
Ben Barba May Be Banned for Life after Being Accused of Domestic Violence
The NRL top brass have been taking an increasingly tough stance on players accused of criminal offences in recent times. Now, CEO Todd Greenberg has announced that star player Ben Barba faces a life-long ban from the game after being...
Police Can Now Issue On-the-Spot Fines for Drug Possession
Since 25th January 2019, NSW Police Officers have been empowered to issue on-the-spot fines for certain drug possession offences. Those who are issued with a fine will avoid a criminal conviction if they decide to pay, rather than contest it...
Getting Honest About MDMA: An Interview With NSW Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann
This music festival season has seen more drug-related deaths and hospitalisations in NSW than ever before. And at the same time, the police presence at these events has also been the heaviest in the state’s history. So, something isn’t adding up....
Beyond Pill Testing: Calls to Legalise and Regulate MDMA
As far as regularly used licit and illicit drugs go, pure MDMA is one of the least dangerous around. This is an idea that might take some by surprise considering the deaths of five young people – who at least thought they...
Government Continues Festival Crackdown and Ignores Pill Testing
Over the long weekend, 25 people aged between 16 and 25 were hospitalised after taking illicit drugs at music festivals around Sydney. This, of course, follows on the deaths of five young people in drug-related circumstances at festivals over the last five months....
Watchdogs Under Fire for Accepting Gifts
The Australian Investment and Securities Commission (ASIC) and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) are under fire for failing to declare gifts from the businesses they’re supposed to be regulating. ASIC is an Australian government body that is empowered to...
QVB Rough Sleepers’ Camp Shines a Light on Sydney’s Homeless Crisis
Last Saturday, evidence of the homeless camp that had sprung up on George Street beside the Queen Victoria Building was all but gone. Where there had once been numerous makeshift beds and furniture earlier in the week, there was only...
Saving Aboriginal Mothers From Prison: An Interview With Free the People’s Debbie Kilroy
In Western Australia, the authorities still incarcerate people for unpaid fines. It’s the only jurisdiction in the country that continues to do so. If an individual can’t otherwise pay off their debt, this system sees it reduced by $250 each day...
