Informed Public Prefers Rehabilitation Over Punishment
Politicians often invoke ‘tough on crime policies’ to win votes, and mainstream media outlets frequently publish sensationalised and highly misleading crime reports to muster an audience. The popularist rhetoric invoked by these power structures is often designed to create hysteria,...
Religious Exemption Laws: An Interview With Professor Marion Maddox
Philip Ruddock’s inquiry into whether Australian laws adequately protect religious freedoms began last Wednesday. Malcolm Turnbull announced the controversial review in late November, in response to the concerns of his colleagues and ‘No’ voters over same-sex marriage laws. The expert panel assisting Ruddock...
Mainstream Media Normalises Vigilantism
In a media ‘exclusive’ this week, 7 News profiled a nationalist organisation called United Patriots Front (UPF) and its plans for blatant vigilantism on the streets of Victoria. Channel 7 painted a glowing portrait of the group as ‘patriots’ who...
NSW Drivers Will Be Tested For Cocaine
With the New South Wales road toll at its highest in eight years, the state government is introducing tough new measures including doubling the number of mobile drug tests (MDTs) and adding cocaine to the list of tested substances. 397...
Medical Marijuana Innovation: An Interview With Andrew Kavasilas
In late 1930s Australia, dozens of cannabis-based medicines were widely available, either by prescription or over-the-counter. One of the most popular was Dr J Collis Browne’s Chlorodyne, which was a preparation made from Nepalese cannabis resin. When a Victorian MP...
Norway Benefits from Rehabilitation, While Australia Lags Behind
Studies have consistently found that sending people to prison significantly increases their chances of offending, rather than reduces it, and that alternatives to imprisonment are more likely to put offenders on the straight and narrow than full time prison custody....
Turnbull Attempts to Silence Activist Groups
Last month, the federal government introduced bills to ban foreign donations and require the registration of lobbyists working for foreign interests if they are seeking to influence the Australian political climate. While the Labor party has indicated support for most...
NSW Police Officer Found Guilty of Assault and Perjury
A New South Wales police officer who tasered a man three times and then lied about the circumstances in court has been found guilty of both common assault and perjury. The story so far In June 2013, former police sergeant...
Turnbull’s War on Welfare Recipients
As you sit at home in your Point Piper mansion, and it’s getting close to end of year celebrations, what else would one think as prime minister of Australia, but, “Who am I gonna take a swipe at next? Ah,...
Sydney Lawyer Struck Off for Defrauding Elderly Client
Sydney lawyer Victor Berger has been removed from the roll of legal practitioners after over-charging an elderly client $137,543. The solicitor made regular phone calls to the frail woman in her nineties, checking on her health, her relationship with her...
