Is the gagging of NSW CLCs a breach of the implied freedom of political communication?
[My Constitutional Law is rusty and so this is an attempt to start a conversation, not to make a definite argument on this issue. I really welcome thoughtful debate.] The NSW government has recently issued new ‘Principles for Funding of [...]
Nestle and the human right to water [part 1]
There is a video doing the rounds at the moment of Nestle Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe declaring that water isn’t a human right and arguing that the best way to ensure fair distribution is through privatisation and assigning a market value [...]
No vaccine, no school?
The federal president of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Steve Hambleton, has suggested that children who are not vaccinated should be held back from attending school. I think this is a terrible suggestion. Let me explain why. First of all, education [...]
Framing the drug law debate
For anyone who’s paid any attention whatsoever to expert opinion on the issue, the Australia 21 report on illicit drug policy is profoundly unsurprising. Prohibition has failed, and imposes massive human and financial costs on all of us.
What does it take to justify murder?
The recent chin-stroking by various people regarding Trayvon Martin’s death at the hands of a vigilante crank is shameful. I was reminded of Maia’s commentary on the victim-blaming attending the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case. (In an astonishing coincidence, both Martin and [...]
Behind the Seams: Regulating Coal Seam Gas
Crikey’s website is down today, so we’re publishing the latest Coal Seam Gas: Behind the Seams posts here. NB: You might like to consider donating to support the work of FAQ Research on our Coal Seam Gas project. The project [...]
News Corp: Sun Accused of Culture of Illegal Payments
During testimony Monday, it was said that journalists in search of scoops had allegedly made payments to officials in the police force, military, health, government, prison services and other areas of public life.
Old-school police culture strikes back
After the controversy surrounding the two past Victorian police commissioners, it seems that traditionalists are going to like Ken Lay just fine. One of his first acts as commissioner was a new dress code that bans officers from having ponytails, [...]
ACLU statement on Obama’s signing of NDAA
“Any hope that the Obama administration would roll back the constitutional excesses of George Bush in the war on terror was extinguished today.”
How to conduct the debate on same sex marriage
It’s inevitable that the debate on same sex marriage, which has reached a new level since the passage in Queensland last week of the Civil Partnerships Bill and the decisions of the ALP National Conference on the weekend, will be [...]
Recent Comments