Crime

• Display of Nazi symbol now a jailable offence in NSW

  19th Jan 2023

  In response to an increase in right-wing extremism, NSW has joined Victoria in criminalising the public display of Nazi symbols without a reasonable excuse. Michael McHugh of Stacks Law Firm, Tamworth, discusses the new law, including the legal difficulties.

• Youth crime crackdown will not create safer Queensland communities

  9th Feb 2021

  Measures announced today designed to address youth crime will not work to make the community safer, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Sentencing, over-policing, STMP and crime reduction in NSW

  6th Aug 2020

  Mark Warren analyses statistics to determine the effectiveness of NSW sentencing reforms on prison population, police and crime reduction, and STMP technology.

• The High Court and the ‘aliens’ power

  12th Mar 2020

  Professor Megan Davis explains that on the key issues animating public attention – an Aboriginality test and sovereignty – a close reading of each judgment in Love; Thoms reveals that there are no majority pronouncements that change the status quo. The decision does not create a new category of person, nor does it create special rights. What it does do, however, is bolster the argument for constitutional reform.

• National industrial manslaughter legislation would save lives

  17th Oct 2019

  Jasmina Mackovic repeats calls for a national approach to industrial manslaughter laws following the recent tragic death of a worker in Sydney’s Port Botany, pointing to the lack of consistency across jurisdictions and the NSW government's unwillingness to introduce its industrial manslaughter laws in NSW.

• NSW prison population and the new sentencing laws – an update

  10th Oct 2019

  Mark Warren looks at the impact of the new sentencing regime in NSW, introduced in 2018, on the types of sentences being imposed in NSW. While all the data is not yet in, there appears to be a trend towards community-based sentencing, such as Intensive Correction Orders, and away from short-term prison sentences. 

• The use of secret evidence in criminal and civil proceedings

  5th Oct 2017

  Court procedures aim to ensure fairness between parties. In criminal matters, the intention is to ensure that the party with the most to lose, the defendant, is assured a fair trial, to avoid punishing innocent people for crimes they have not committed. This requires setting out the case against an accused clearly enough that they can refute it. In civil matters, these procedures seek to ensure fairness between the parties, including ensuring that both sides have access to relevant evidence. 

• Evidence shows crimes committed by our government on Nauru and Manus

  26th Oct 2016

  Evidence of crimes committed by the Turnbull Government on Manus and Nauru is compelling, say Greg Barns and Anna Talbot from the Australian Lawyers Alliance. 

• Changes to prisoner related compensation a cause for concern

  30th Jul 2015

  While the Wrongs Amendment (Prisoner Related Compensation) Act 2015 (VIC) has received some populist approval, criminal law specialist Nicole Spicer explains why it is concerning for a number of reasons.