Australian Government Shuts Journalists’ Mouths
World Press Freedom Day was celebrated on May 3, marking the 250th anniversary of the world’s first freedom of information law, which came into effect in Sweden and Finland. And just last year, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull stated that the...
Bank Error in Your Favour: Go to Jail or Collect $4.6 Million?
In the game of Monopoly, one of the Community Chest cards says: “Bank Error in Your Favour, Collect $200.” But, unfortunately, life is not always like Monopoly, as Sydney woman Christine Lee found out this week when she was arrested...
Legalise It, Tax It and Reap the Benefits
The recent United Nations Conference on Drugs (UNGASS) was viewed by many as a missed opportunity to move towards the decriminalisation of drugs, especially cannabis. However, there were indications that a number of countries recognise the social and economic benefits...
Police Commissioner Charged with Perverting the Course of Justice
Former Northern Territory Police Commissioner John Roberts has appeared in Darwin Local Court via video link from his hometown of Perth, accused of Perverting the Course of Justice. The case will return to court in early July, and Roberts’ request...
Tough Bail Laws Cause Rise in Imprisonment Rates
New statistics reveal that the adult prison population in NSW grew by a staggering 9% between April 2015 and March 2016, and is now sitting at a record high of 12,390 inmates. While overall crime rates in NSW have fallen,...
Pill Testing is Coming
With another 40 festival goers arrested over the weekend at Godskitchen in Melbourne, the issue of illegal drug use at music events has hit the media spotlight again. News of the Melbourne arrests coincides with recent media reports which suggest...
Facebook Removes Police Support Page After NSW Police Force Complains
A Facebook page set up to support mentally ill police officers and their families has re-branded and returned to Facebook after being shut down. The original page, called the ‘Forgotten 300’, was removed by Facebook several weeks ago after the...
Teenagers Criminalised for Sexting
Advocacy group Youth Action has made submissions to a NSW Parliamentary enquiry calling for sexting laws to be amended so that young people are no longer criminalised and placed on the sex offenders register for expressing their sexuality in a...
Police May Soon Conduct ‘Random Text Checks’
I don’t know about you, but to me the word ‘Textalyzer’ conjures up intimidating images of Arnold Schwarzenegger at his menacing best in ‘The Terminator’. In New York, road safety authorities are hoping that drivers who text will feel the...
Government Spends Big on Cyber Security
The Australian government is stepping-up our defence against cyber-attacks. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull recently announced a $230 million cyber security strategy in an effort to address the costly issue of cyber-crime. The crackdown is designed to thwart malware attacks, and...
