Premier Minns, All NSW Wants for Christmas Is Drug Decriminalisation
The transition from 11 years of Liberal Nationals governance in NSW to that of a Labor government, following the March state election, has all been smooth sailing, as the new administration hasn’t attempted to rock the boat in any way...
Your Rights at Music Festivals in New South Wales
Music festival season is upon us, and with it, you can rest assured there’ll be plenty of police officers and sniffer dogs targeting patrons who are in possession of prohibited drugs. So it’s perhaps timely to know about your legal rights...
Sydney’s Veteran Drug Law Reformists Call for Decriminalisation of Drug Possession
Sydney has a well-established and well-oiled drug law reform/harm reduction community made up of a group of experts, many with lived experience, who, despite the unwillingness of politicians to see the light, have long been pointing to its direction at...
Defending Drug Charges: Putting the Prosecution to Proof and Raising Available Defences
If you have been charged with a drug offence, it is vital to be aware that each of these offences contains several ‘essential elements’ (or ingredients) which the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt – the prosecution will fail if...
The Right to Party in Peace: NSW Heavy-Handed Drug Law Enforcement Is Unjustified
The NSW Police Force has spent $46 million dollars over the last decade in order to run its drug detection dog unit. This expenditure has led police officers to conduct 95,000 searches of civilians over the last ten years, with only...
Richard Branson Calls on NSW to Decriminalise Drugs, “For God’s Sake”
“For God’s sake, do something about it,” global entrepreneur Richard Branson told NSW premier Chris Minns, as he ended a video message sent to the constituencies of the ACT and this state, after having pointed out that our part of the...
Strip Searches: Minns Probes Whether Sexual Assault by the State Is Right for Kids
Redfern Legal Centre released figures on 17 October, outlining how many children - 10- to 17-year-olds - NSW police officers have strip searched over the 24 months to June this year, which revealed that 107 kids had been made to...
What is the Knowledge Requirement for Drug Importation in Australia?
The Australian Federal Police arrested a man at Melbourne International Airport last week, over allegations he attempted to import 6 kilograms of heroin concealed in his luggage. The 67-year old Canberra resident was returning from a trip to Manila, Thailand...
Minns Continues to Follow Coalition Playbook on Drug Law Reform: This Time Positively
The last few weeks had seen newly-minted NSW premier Chris Minns reverting back to the 2018-19 Liberal Nationals rhetoric on drug reform, which was the summer that saw five people die in drug-related circumstances at festivals, and spurred an inquiry into...
The NSW Drug Summit: Where Other Labor Leaders Triumphed, Minns Fears to Tread
A key objective of the 2023 NSW Labor policy platform stated that “a top priority” for the party on election would be to hold a state drug summit, so the experts can “advise on a wide variety of policy challenges”. This would...
