Faced With Multiple Domestic Crises, Morrison Picks a War With China
As the prime minister launched the 2020 Defence Strategic Update on 1 July, he assured those gathered at the Australian Defence Force Academy that the plan “will guide our nation through one of the most challenging times we have known...
Further Reports of Australian War Crimes in Afghanistan
As the nation awaits the findings of an investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan, there’s new evidence that Australian Forces killed up to 10 unarmed Afghan civilians during a 2012 raid in Kandahar Province. Australian sources and Afghan witnesses have...
If Immigration Detainees Aren’t Released, a COVID Outbreak Seems Imminent
For a moment there, many Australians thought the COVID-19 pandemic was over. Even now, as the number of cases in Victoria rises dramatically, other regions around the country, like Queensland and the Northern Territory, are reopening their borders. Whereas Sydneysiders...
Australia Resumes Deporting Kiwis
Australia has resumed its controversial policy of deporting New Zealanders who fail the ‘character test’ back to their country of birth, reigniting tensions before the former ANZAC allies. About 30 New Zealanders will be sent home via a charter flight...
Australia Gives the Nod to Israeli Expansion in Occupied Palestine
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated on 30 June that his country’s newly established coalition government will be pressing ahead with plans to annex up to 30 percent of the occupied West Bank, despite missing the original 1 July commencement...
Canadian Activists Hand Out Free Drugs to Highlight Overdose Crisis
Drug User Liberation Front members appeared at an intersection in the Canadian city of Vancouver on 24 June and handed out free clean cocaine and opiates to highlight the issue of rising overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic, as a result...
What is the Offence of Grooming a Child for Unlawful Sexual Activity?
The Jeffrey Epstein case has all the hallmarks of the conduct exposed by the #MeToo movement: A wealthy man in a powerful position taking advantage of vulnerable young women. But there is a significant difference. In the case of Jeffrey...
Alternatives to Calling the Police in New South Wales
The police killing of George Floyd in the United States has led to protests across the globe calling for changes to policing - including an end to police brutality and the targeting of certain groups, as well as better training....
Beijing Imposes Draconian Laws to Stamp Out Dissent in Hong Kong
At 11 pm on 30 June, Beijing revealed its secretly-drafted National Security Law to the citizenry of Hong Kong, the city where the new legislation applies. The suite of anti-sedition laws took effect at that same time, and they’re already...
Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone: An Activist-Run Police-Free Sector of Seattle
A black plastic tarpaulin sign hanging out the front of the now defunct Seattle Police Department East Precinct Building reads, “This Space Is Now Property of the Seattle People”, as the city and its local police abandoned the building on...