Navy Officer Falsely Claims that ‘Men of Middle Eastern Appearance’ Assaulted and Threatened to Behead Him
A 41-year-old member of the Australian Navy claimed that he was attacked outside his home in Bella Vista, North-West Sydney, while wearing his navy uniform. He claimed his attackers were two men of middle-eastern appearance and that he suffered bruising...
Should ASIO be Trusted with even More Power?
The ASIO officer drew a ‘Y’ in the sand with a stick. He looked across at the 21-year-old university student and pointed to the intersection of the Y. He said: “We’ve got two choices. We can go down the difficult...
Suppression Orders – How Do They Work?
The ICAC suppressed the emails between Peta Credlin, Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s chief of staff, and Paul Nicolaou, the former chief fundraiser for the NSW Liberal Party, earlier this month after lawyers raised concerns that the information contained within them...
Fact or Fiction? Errors, Evidence and the Neill-Fraser Case
In Neill-Fraser v Tasmania [2012] TASCCA 2, the island state’s Court of Criminal Appeal expressed its certainty that, while Susan Neill-Fraser’s sentence might be altered, an appeal against conviction would certainly not succeed. The Court was at pains to remind us...
Has the NSW Government Lost the Plot on Bail?
The NSW Bail Amendment Bill 2014 appears to showcase the sort of messy governmental decision-making that comes from populist knee-jerk reactions. Within just weeks of the existing Bail Act 2013 coming into operation on May 20 this year, the Baird...
Father Convicted After Buying Gifts For His Son
Australia has perhaps the strictest quarantine laws in the world. We even have the TV show Border Security, where we can watch people get into trouble for infringing them. The long list of things that are not allowed into the...
Euthanasia – Will it Finally be Made Legal in Australia?
Recent events have led to a vast amount of media attention being placed on issues surrounding euthanasia and the law in Australia. Although the euthanasia debate has been ongoing for a number of years, it has recently been reignited due...
Will the Budget Lead to Increased Levels of Crime?
The federal government’s controversial first budget has led to complaints and issues being raised by several welfare and advocacy groups. A number of the budget proposals, including making people wait for six months before claiming unemployment benefits, cuts to welfare...
18C is here to Stay
Tony Abbott recently announced that the proposed repeal of 18C will no longer be going ahead. His plan had met with community backlash, with protesters hitting the streets to show their opposition. This provision of the Racial Discrimination Act makes...
Proposed Anti-Terrorism Laws Causing Concern
There is growing speculation that Prime Minister Tony Abbott is considering new anti-terrorism measures to apply to those returning to Australia after spending time in Iraq or Syria. This is due to the risk of Australians returning home after fighting...
