‘Robo Cops’ Are Being Used Worldwide – But Does the Public Want Them?
A pilot programme using a robotic police officer in San Francisco has ended as quickly as it began after the machine waged a war on the homeless. The idea seemed sound enough: The San Francisco animal rescue group SPCA, (a...
Norway Benefits from Rehabilitation, While Australia Lags Behind
Studies have consistently found that sending people to prison significantly increases their chances of offending, rather than reduces it, and that alternatives to imprisonment are more likely to put offenders on the straight and narrow than full time prison custody....
Release Yanto Awerkion: An Interview with Free West Papua’s Raki Ap
West Papuan independence activist Yanto Awerkion is set to stand trial on charges of treason in Timika District Court tomorrow. Mr Awerkion was due to go before the court in West Papua last Tuesday, but the trial was postponed, as the...
New Zealand’s Progressive Medicinal Cannabis Law: An Interview with Advocate Rebecca Reider
The New Zealand government introduced a bill into federal parliament last week that will establish a local medicinal cannabis industry. NZ health minister David Clark said that cannabis medicines could be available in 24 months if the nation follows Australia’s example. However,...
Emojis Inside the Courtroom
Think the small expressive image at the end of your text or Facebook post is just an adornment? Well the law may think otherwise. Courts have found emojis to be relevant as evidence in a wide range of cases. In fact,...
Asylum Seekers Need Help: An Interview With RACS Solicitor Ben Lumsdaine
Australian immigration minister Peter Dutton announced in late May that 7,500 asylum seekers were being given until October 1 to lodge their protection visa applications, or they’d face deportation. He stated that the “game was up” for “fake refugees.” However, what...
‘Black Pete’ Christmas Tradition Is Dividing the Netherlands
The Netherlands has a tradition of white people dressing up in ‘blackface’ to celebrate Christmas. Black Pete is the character they’re portraying. His costume may also comprise exaggerated red lips, a curly afro wig, and huge gold earrings. At celebrations,...
Norway Is Decriminalising Drug Possession
The global shift towards a health-based approach to the use of illicit substances continues, as Norway becomes the first Scandinavian country to decriminalise the use of illegal drugs. The move is yet another admission that the almost fifty-year-old war on...
The Modern Slave Trade is Alive and Well
A CNN report about West African migrants being sold in open-air slave markets in Libya sparked outrage around the globe last month. Although, reports about the growing slave trade in the North African country have been emerging since early 2017. Published on...
Protesting Pine Gap: An Interview with Peace Pilgrim Margaret Pestorius
Pine Gap is the top-secret US-run military base hidden in the Australian outback, just outside of Alice Springs. Officially known as the Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap, the base was presented to the Australian public as a space research centre,...
