I’m Going to Court for a Criminal Offence. Will I Go to Prison?
“I’ve been accused of a criminal offence, am I looking at a prison sentence?” This question, or a variant of it, is regularly asked by clients who are charged with criminal offences, particularly by those who have been accused for...
The Law Enforcement Problem for First Nation’s People in NSW Escalated When Organised Policing Started
When the British colonised what is now referred to as the state of NSW, the First Peoples of the land, whether that be Gadigal, Dharug or Gumbaynggirr, to name a few, didn’t have police forces and nor did they have...
For the First Time, an Indigenous Woman Has Been Appointed as an Australian Supreme Court Judge
Louise Taylor has been appointed as a judge to the Supreme Court in the Australian Capital Territory, making her the first Indigenous woman to be appointed to a Supreme Court in Australia. Ms Taylor’s appointment is an historic moment for...
Mounting Political Prosecutions Indicate Authoritarian Creep Continues Under Albanese
The Independent National Security Legislation Monitor last week held public hearings regarding the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 (Cth), as it’s inquiring into the impact it’s had on recent cases, especially the prosecutions of Witness K and...
The Criminal Offence of Sexual Touching Without Consent
It has been reported that Tim Mathieson, who is the ex-partner of former Australia prime minister Julia Gillard, will plead guilty in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court to intentionally sexually touching a woman without her consent in Melbourne’s CBD on 13 March...
NSW Police Propose ‘Domestic Violence Diary’ App for Complainants to Record and Log Abuse
The NSW Police Force has recently unveiled an app they say is designed to assist victims to combat domestic violence by recording and logging alleged abuse, but there are concerns about whether this would make any real difference as well...
Dutton at the Helm Would Only Hasten the AUKUS Dive Into Broadened US Control
The fever pitch for war on China continues to grow, as the AUSMIN conference, an annual meeting of the US and Australian foreign and defence ministers, is set to take place in Brisbane this week, as US defence secretary Lloyd Austin...
The Offence of Using a Carriage Service to Procure a Child Under 16 for Sexual Activity
The deputy principal at a high school in Sydney’s south-west has been sentenced to more than three and a half years behind bars for sexting who he believed to be a 14-year old girl. Damian Wanstall’s LinkedIn profile hasn’t been...
Ending Native Forest Logging Is Within Reach: Bob Brown Foundation’s Jenny Weber on the National Campaign
Mid-July saw yet another Australian locked up over an environmental protest. This time it was 47-year-old veterinarian Dr Colette Harmsen, who was protesting mining in northwest Tasmania, which was in breach of a suspended sentence imposed upon her for an earlier antilogging...
UK Proposes Legal Defence for Domestic Violence Victims Who Harm or Kill Their Partners
The United Kingdom is considering sentencing reforms which would provide a legal defence to victims of domestic violence who harm or kill their perpetrators after being subjected to sustained abuse. UK review The proposal comes in the wake of an...
