High Court Dismisses Appeal Against Attempted Murder Charge
On 28 April 2012, ex-Bandido biker club member Jacques Teamo walked into a Sony store in the Gold Coast’s Robina Town Centre mall accompanied by his two sons. Mark James Graham from rival club, the Mongols, was walking by and noticed...
NSW Government Continues to Remove Legal Safeguards and Protections
The NSW Coalition government is continuing its ongoing assault on civil liberties under the guise of combating terrorism. On October 4, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian announced her government will be introducing the “nation’s toughest terror laws.” Set to be introduced in November, the...
Biometric Surveillance: An Interview with Electronic Frontiers Australia’s Jon Lawrence
Date first published: 14 October 2017 The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting on October 5 marked a new era of mass surveillance in this country, as the leaders of all states and territories signed on to the Turnbull government’s proposal...
Sydney Council Plans to Designate 54 More Alcohol Free Zones
As a general rule, it is not an offence for adults in NSW to drink alcohol in public. But over the years, various councils across the state have introduced alcohol free zones - where the consumption of alcohol is prohibited....
Protecting Online Privacy: An Interview with Digital Rights Watch’s Tim Singleton Norton
The Australian government has been steadily tightening laws regarding the digital environment over the last few decades, frequently in the name of counterterrorism. However, many of these laws have been impacting the civil liberties of all individuals – none more...
Italian Mafia Alive and Well in Australia
A member of the ‘Ndrangheta, or the Calabrian mafia, testified in an Italian court that members of the organised crime syndicate have been sent to Australia for many years to establish and operate highly lucrative drug and weapons trafficking cells....
2017 List of Senior Counsel Appointments Causes Controversy
The 2017 list of Senior Counsel (SC) appointments has been released by the NSW Bar Association, and it’s noteworthy for at least two reasons: Firstly, it’s the smallest number of ‘silks’ appointed in more than two decades. A ‘silk’ is...
Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad to Shut Down as Police Target “Silent Crimes”
The NSW Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad (MEOCS) was established in April 2006 in the wake of the December 2005 Cronulla Riots, which was the culmination of rising tensions between the Lebanese and Anglo-Australian communities. The predecessor of the MEOCS...
Government Again Uses Threat of Terrorism to Justify Greater Control
State and territory leaders agreed this week to disclose driver licence photos to the federal government so it can create a national face-recognition database. At the COAG security meeting, the premiers also agreed to a set of new federal laws,...
WA Police Criticised for Using Excessive Force Against Indigenous Australians
On September 27, a 35-year-old Aboriginal woman called WA police to report a family violence incident at her Joondalup house. On arriving at the residence, the attending officers ran a background check on the mother-of-five and arrested her for fine default....
