Keeping Religion Out of Politics: An Interview With the National Secular Lobby’s Peter Monk
As the campaign for marriage equality grew stronger, the debate on religious freedoms rose to the fore, as the state agreeing to grant some in the community the same human rights as others, seemed to irk a number of people...
Continuing Detention Orders in New South Wales
An application has been made to extend the prison sentence of a convicted killer and child sex offender beyond the expiry of his full term of imprisonment. 69-year old former babysitter and gardener Michael Anthony Guider was sentenced to two...
Drug Driving Charges and the Defence of Honest and Reasonable Mistake
A recent decision by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal has ruled that drug driving is an absolute liability offence, which means the defence of being honestly and reasonably mistaken about drugs being in the system does not apply to...
The Law and Penalties for Aggravated Sexual Assault in New South Wales
A man who was found guilty by a jury in Downing Centre District Court of multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping and armed robbery has been sentenced to a full term of 38 years in prison with a non-parole...
Employee Can be Suspended Pending Outcome of Serious Criminal Charges
St George Rugby League player Jack de Belin has lost his bid for reinstatement to the NRL pending the outcome of the sexual assault claims against him. Judge Melissa Perry of the Federal Court recently handed down a judgment in...
A PM’s Faith Shouldn’t Be Steering a Secular Nation
“Australia is not a secular country. It is a free country,” proclaimed our current prime minister Scott Morrison during his maiden speech in federal parliament on 14 February 2008. “This is a nation where you have the freedom to follow...
First Nations Youth Suicide: Our Nation’s Shame
This year has seen the First Nations suicide crisis in this country not only continue its dramatic escalation, but the lack of adequate response only worsens as the rates rise, and it also remains relatively unacknowledged. Over the first third...
A Right Now Politician: An Interview With the Australian Greens’ Matthew Thompson
In many ways, this coming federal election is an anomaly in its disconnect. According to the ABC’s Vote Compass, the number one issue that concerns Australian voters is the environment, which for the most part means climate change at present....
Wrongly Convicted Man Dies in Hit and Run
By Sonia Hickey and Ugur Nedim The victim of one of Australia’s most high-profile miscarriages of justice has been killed in a hit and run incident in Los Angeles. Andrew Mallard was wrongly convicted of the murder of Perth jeweller...
Men Impersonate Police to Rob Currency Exchange
It has been reported that two men remain at large after pretending to be police officers in order to rob a currency exchange store in north-western Sydney. The men - dressed in black suits, black ties and sunglasses – allegedly...
