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In our modern era, social media is absolutely essential to freedom of speech. Both children and adults have a right to freedom of speech. No doubt the right of children to speak is not as broad as that of an adult. No doubt, children are entitled to protection from some of the harms that might flow from freedom of speech. But they do have a right to access social media to communicate with their friends and to seek information.
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Sex offender registries create a false sense of security because most perpetrators of sex offences are known to their victims or their families. In 2015 around 75% of sexual assault victims knew their offender, while one third of victims were assaulted by a family member
In our submission no changes should be made to the rights of victims which undermine the rehabilitation of the prisoners. The only consequence of that would be to create more victims, which surely is not the intention of the review let alone the government.
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The QCCL submits that there is no version of a PPD scheme that limits human rights in this way which could possibly be justifiable in accordance with section 13 of the Human Rights Act
Read MoreAssociations of workers, consumers and residents must have legal standing as a remedy to regulatory capture and lackadaisical administration of laws designed to protect them from the powerful. This fundamental principle cannot be abrogated because of the alleged importance of some particular government interest. To the contrary the pressure that will come on the government to “do whatever it takes” to get have a successful games makes the risk of bad decisions and hence the need for a check on government even greater;
Read MoreThe current project by the Commission ‘ticks all the boxes’ in relation to the primary principles guiding Law Reform Commissions namely independence, transparency, accessibility and coherence.
Read MoreThe removal of the “reasonable suspicion” requirement, or any other objective basis for the search, rendered the citizen extremely vulnerable to an arbitrary exercise of power, restrained only by the police officer's honesty
Read MoreIt is submitted that in relation to the Commission making a public statement both in relation to the corruption assessment stage and at the conclusion of the Commission’s investigations, the Bill should be amended to make it clear that the provision contained within Section 65A(4)(g) namely “whether the statement may unreasonably damage the person’s health, safety or wellbeing or privacy or reputation” should be given significant weight by the Commission in deciding whether to issue a public statement.
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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.
Read MoreWhat is truly extraordinary is that the Attorney, an experienced lawyer, has made a clear admission of the injustices that will be perpetrated in the future with no concerns for consequent human harm. That harm will flow not only to the incarcerated offenders but their later victims.
Read MoreWe 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.
Read MoreNotwithstanding 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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It is legitimate for the government to promote our personal safety by restricting information about how to make your own nerve gas but not legitimate for it to promote our safety by stopping political agitation which could, if unchecked, lead to widespread social conflict
Read MoreThe structure of the Act is intended to preserve Parliamentary sovereignty. However, it is our view that the application of the Act to any order or direction or similar exercise of rulemaking power by the executive which is not approved of or in some way subject to parliamentary scrutiny, does not infringe on parliamentary sovereignty
Read MoreAny set of rights is pretty useless if you do not have an environment in which you can enjoy them. To that end, we do support the inclusion in the Act of a right to a healthy environment
Read MoreThe implementation of a digital identity scheme in Australia is a significant step and it is imperative that this is approached in a way that is measured, transparent, comprehensively safeguarded and that the Australian community is fully informed as to all potential consequences of this path
Read MoreThere are new and draconian powers of warrantless stop and search once a person is the subject of a Firearms Protection Order
Read MoreMost persistent offenders acquire a criminal record, so one option is to increase the rate at which we imprison recidivist juvenile offenders. Even the most optimistic research to date suggests that incapacitation is not a very cost-effective way of reducing juvenile crime. The money we spend incarcerating juvenile offenders would, in many circumstances, be better spent treating or trying to rehabilitate them. There is good evidence that treatment for drug dependence is an effective way of reducing re-offending. There is also good evidence, despite earlier suggestions to the contrary, that it is possible to rehabilitate re-offenders using methods such as conferencing, cognitive behavioural therapy or training in basic life skills.
Read MoreThe rule against double jeopardy is not a rule designed to protect the guilty but to protect the innocent.
Read MoreThe issue is how do we meet the legitimate aims of this legislation whilst protecting the fundamental liberty rights at stake in the criminal justice process.
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