‘Covid Dictator’s’ Days in Politics are Done
New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard is set to retire from politics after three decades in Parliament. While Mr Hazzard was instrumental in facilitating the decriminalisation of abortion in New South Wales in 2019, it is perhaps the years...
Ruby Princess Class Action Commences in Federal Court
The class action against Carnival and Princess Cruise Lines over the Ruby Princess disaster has begun in the Federal Court of Australia, with the court hearing that cruise line’s conduct was ‘not some accident’ but ‘amounted to negligent’, resulting in...
NSW Supreme Court Challenge Could Invalidate Thousands of COVID Fines
A Supreme Court challenge to the validity of penalty notices issued for alleged contraventions of COVID-19 rules has the potential to invalidate thousands of fines. 30-year old Rohan Pank and two other plaintiffs commenced civil proceedings in the Supreme Court...
Government Scraps Paid Pandemic Leave
Covid-19 case numbers are still peaking across the country and it is still against the law for anyone who tests positive to the virus not to self-isolate. Despite this the Federal Government is scrapping paid pandemic leave. A $750 payment...
Local Court to Require Attendances in Person
New Local Court rules in relation to Covid19 came into effect earlier this month, and include all Local Court sittings, including criminal and civil cases. At the height of the pandemic, many court matters were being handled ‘remotely’ that is...
Police Commissioner Under Fire Over Vaccine Mandates
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carrol has come under fire in the Supreme Court over her directive last year compelling officers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to keep their jobs A number of Queensland Police Officers pushed back against...
Over 200,000 Australians Could Be Prohibited from Voting in Federal Election
Understandably, there’s public outrage over a recent decision by the Australian Electoral Commission which could – unless quickly reversed or rectified – prevent more than 200,000 people from voting in this weekend’s federal election. The ruling essentially means that anyone...
COVID Restrictions Have Eased, But the Impact on Mental Health Continues
Now that the Covid -19 pandemic has settled, and while life might ‘appear’ to be returning to some sort of normality, it is far from ‘normal’ for hundreds of thousands of people across Australia - including those who remain homeless,...
The Offence of Contravening an Order to Leave or Not Enter a Court in New South Wales
As New South Wales continues to adjust to the changing nature of the pandemic, new health and safety protocols will be in place in Local Courts until at least 9 May 2022 under the Court Security Act 2005. The legislation...
Vaccine Mandates for School Teachers Are Unlawful, Human Rights Commission Asserts
Although the pandemic panic has subsided somewhat, case numbers remain high and “no jab, no job” vaccination mandates remain in place for millions of workers across Australia. In some cases the definition of being ‘fully vaccinated’ - which once meant...
