Review of the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Act 2021

In our submission, these powers should cease at sunset because they remain disproportionate to human rights protections in Australia, their (limited) use does not justify their continued existence and ultimately, they are better repealed to be the subject of the outcome to the Electronic Surveillance Framework.

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Commonwealth Campaign Finance Reform

“Restrictions on political expenditure are plainly restrictions on freedom of speech. However, restrictions on electoral expenditure are akin to the rules of debate in a meeting which restrict the length of speeches and provide for rights of reply. This feature of expenditure caps makes them more acceptable than donation bans or caps.”

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Pretrial Publication Of Criminal History - Complaint

In making this complaint it is recognised that the event which caused the death of the person driving the car that was hit by the accused person is a significantly and deeply tragic event. It is because of the understandable public outrage that follows such an event that the pretrial publicity rule forbidding publication of an accused’s criminal history exists.

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Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024

We begin by acknowledging that a physical assault or threat of such in relation to an individual does not give rise to any issue of freedom of speech, as we will come back to in relation to proposed section 80.2 BB. Threats are not in any proper sense part of the communication of information or opinion which is protected by freedom of speech.

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Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024

Notwithstanding our submission that doxing offences in the form contained in the Bill should not be introduced, we submit that; if it were to be introduced, doxxing should be an offence only to the extent it can be equated to harassment or stalking as the unacceptable behavior and consequences are similar.

 

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Rhyming sound bites won't fix problems with youth justice system

“Mr Crisafulli should tell Queenslanders what he is going to do to remedy the serious failure to rehabilitate young offenders in Queensland juvenile jails and what he is going to do to address the multiple problems in juvenile justice as outlined in Mr Worrall’s Report”, Mr O’Gorman said.

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