Pill Testing Is Long Overdue: An Interview with Victorian MP Colleen Hartland
The current campaign to trial a pill testing service at an Australian music festival began in February 2016. The push was led by prominent harm reduction advocates Dr Alex Wodak, Dr David Caldicott, and Will Tregoning. The impetus behind the renewed...
Protecting Detainees: An Interview With Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass
The Australian government ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture on December 15. Better known as the OPCAT treaty, the international agreement aims to prevent the abuse and mistreatment of people in detention. The treaty builds upon the 1984 United Nations...
2017 Drug Law Reform in Australia: An Interview with Harm Reduction Advocate Nick Wallis
Australia 21 released its report into illicit substances in March this year. Within it the independent public policy think tank made thirteen recommendations aiming to decriminalise illegal drugs, and to minimise the harms associated with their use. Among its recommendations, the report...
New Zealand’s Progressive Medicinal Cannabis Law: An Interview with Advocate Rebecca Reider
The New Zealand government introduced a bill into federal parliament last week that will establish a local medicinal cannabis industry. NZ health minister David Clark said that cannabis medicines could be available in 24 months if the nation follows Australia’s example. However,...
Asylum Seekers Need Help: An Interview With RACS Solicitor Ben Lumsdaine
Australian immigration minister Peter Dutton announced in late May that 7,500 asylum seekers were being given until October 1 to lodge their protection visa applications, or they’d face deportation. He stated that the “game was up” for “fake refugees.” However, what...
Protecting Civil Liberties: An Interview With NSWCCL President Stephen Blanks
At the October 5 Council of Australian Governments meeting, state and territory leaders agreed that a new federal law should be established that would allow terror suspects to be detained for up to 14 days without any charges being brought against...
Pill Testing Is Inevitable: An Interview with MP Shane Rattenbury
Despite the initial set back to Australia’s first government-sanctioned pill testing trial taking place, it appears that those behind the initiative are confident it will go ahead. According to them, the question is not if, but when. On September 22,...
Protesting Pine Gap: An Interview with Peace Pilgrim Margaret Pestorius
Pine Gap is the top-secret US-run military base hidden in the Australian outback, just outside of Alice Springs. Officially known as the Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap, the base was presented to the Australian public as a space research centre,...
Asylum Seeker Rights: An Interview with NZ MP Golriz Ghahraman
The 600 asylum seekers the Australian government is continuing to hold on Manus Island are now staying in transit centres in Lorengau. The facilities aren’t fully complete. There’s insufficient room to accommodate them all. And there’s a lack of water. The...
Country-Based Drug Treatment: An Interview with Professor David Penington
In late October, Victorian premier Daniel Andrews approved a two-year trial of a safe injecting centre for North Richmond. The inner city Melbourne suburb has long been the site of an open street drug market, and 34 overdose deaths have already occurred...
