Aussie Teens Turning Away from Drugs
There’s some positive news in the latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) – most notably the fact that drug, alcohol and tobacco use appears to be declining amongst our nation’s teenagers. The NDSHS survey of 24,000 people, which was...
New Rules for Disqualified Driving
On 14 August, NSW attorney general Mark Speakman announced a suite of new reforms to driver licence disqualification laws. The changes, that will begin operation in late October, include pathways for driving whilst disqualified drivers to apply for their licence to be reinstated at...
Institutional Abuse of Girls in Australian Detention Centres
A report into Western Australia’s Banksia Hill youth detention centre released last month revealed that a number of girls being detained at the facility were “abruptly moved” from the female accommodation precinct and placed in the male-only Harding unit. This...
Government Says Tough New Penalties Are All About Road Safety
They’re a familiar sight on the road these days. Sometimes alone, other times in pairs or groups. There’s no doubt there’s been an upsurge in the popularity of cycling, but having more cyclists on the road has done little to...
Indigenous Nations Secure Their Economic Future
While the Australian government continues to be the only Commonwealth nation not to have established a treaty with First Nations people, some Indigenous nations in northern Queensland have entered into a first of its kind international treaty with a Chinese...
Former Police For Cannabis Legalisation: An Interview with Weeded Warrior’s Damon Adams
Growing concerns over the opium trade were central to the League of Nations establishing the 1925 Geneva Convention, which imposed global restrictions on the production and use of opium and coca. Cannabis was added to the agenda at the last...
The Hurtful Side of the Marriage Equality Vote
Critics of the federal government’s twice blocked marriage equality plebiscite – which has now morphed into a non-compulsory postal vote – have long warned that such a move would unnecessarily subject the LGBTIQ community to a hateful and discriminatory ‘no’...
Ending Execution: An Interview with Reprieve Australia’s Julian McMahon
In the early hours of the morning on April 29 2015, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were executed by firing squad by Indonesian authorities. The two men were part of the Bali Nine: a group of Australians convicted of drug...
Woman Convicted for Attempting an Abortion in NSW
A Sydney woman has been convicted of self-administering a drug in an attempt to terminate her 28 week pregnancy. Cue outrage – and let the chant of ‘her body, her choice’ ring loud and clear. But the important thing to...
Former Police Support Harm Reduction: An Interview with LEAHN’s Greg Denham
The 2017 National Drug Strategy was released last month. It provides a framework for preventing and reducing the harms associated with substance use. Since its first iteration in 1985, harm minimisation has formed the basis of Australia’s official policy. Harm minimisation is...
