McBride’s Crucifixion Highlights the Need for Whistleblower Protections in Australia
David McBride, a former Australian soldier and military lawyer, had little choice but to plead guilty to criminal charges including theft of property from a Commonwealth entity and unlawfully giving away defence information after his planned public interest defence - that he...
Stranded: Australia Cuts Lifeline to Remaining PNG Offshore Detainees
Of the 4,194 people who arrived by boat in Australian waters seeking asylum after the Gillard Labor government recommenced offshore processing in 2012 on the pretext that refugees would be resettled in third countries, there remains 60-odd detainees seeking asylum in Papua...
Activists Blockade Pine Gap Facility Due to Evidence of Complicity in the Gaza Genocide
Peace activists blockaded the access road leading to the Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap on Monday morning, making it the second time the nonviolent direct action has been staged since the outbreak of the Israeli perpetrated genocide upon the Palestinians...
Getting Arrested at the Nation’s Largest Civil Disobedience Action for Climate
Getting arrested used to be something that the general public considered a mark of disgrace. But that’s changed now that the people understand that government ministers aren’t making decisions that consider the viability of a future for generations to come...
The Offence of Reckless Foreign Interference in Australia
A Sydney businessman accused of unlawfully selling information to Chinese spies has vehemently denied the allegations and is vowing to defend the charges. 55-year old Bondi marketing director, Alexander Csergo, was charged earlier this year with one count of reckless...
Sydney Criminal Lawyers® Weekly Rundown – Articles from 20 to 26 November 2023
In case you’ve missed any of them, here’s a rundown of the past week’s articles: McBride’s Guilty Plea Has Sent a Chill Down the Spine of the Australian Polity The former defence force lawyer prosecuted for exposing war crimes was...
‘Stealthing’ Amounts to Sexual Assault in New South Wales
Perhaps needless to say, it is not a crime to have unprotected sexual intercourse with a consenting partner – provided of course they have reached the age of consent, have the mental capacity to provide consent and have in fact...
Sextortion Laws In Australia
There have been a rise of attempts in Australia of ‘sexual extortion’, abbreviated to ‘sextortion’, with social media sites being used to target and blackmail victims, many of whom are young men concerned about compromising images being distributed to friend,...
Plibersek’s Murray Darling Reform Bill Completely Excludes First Nations Water Rights
The Murray Darling Basin is the most important river system on the continent. The waters traverse four southeastern states and the Australian Capital Territory. And the region, which currently has a population of 2.3 million people, is also home to...
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...
