The 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 MoreMr Cope say, “The starting point must be that you don’t need to be a believer to teach mathematics. Religious affiliation or views are irrelevant to who is employed in school outside religious education classes, religious ceremonies and key leadership positions. The government is simply allowing religious groups to impose their views on others. This violates the principal of equality for all in worship.”
Read MoreThe proposal that ‘associates’ can have a Firearm Protection Order made against them simply because the associate ‘knows’ a recognised offender is objectionable because of the width of the provision and the effect that an FPO can have on that associate’s ability to hold rural employment.
Read More. Why then has the police service deployed the resources of a squad specially prepared and trained to meet serious violence in this case? Many members of the public might well conclude from this that these individuals were engaged in terrorism, when plainly they were not
Read MoreThere are new and draconian powers of warrantless stop and search once a person is the subject of a Firearms Protection Order
Read MoreThe police have made it clear that they will be exercising a discretion as to who is searched - they will be “judicious” and elderly people will have nothing to fear. Research from Australia and overseas indicates that police assessments of whom to search or question are often based on generalizations and negative stereotypes that are in part attributable to ethnic bias.The Review found that the use of unwarranted generalizations and stereotypes is what happened during the trial
Read MoreThe Internet should not be regulated as a broadcast medium and yet that is what the Online Safety Act does.
Read MoreWe are particularly troubled by the objectives apparently underpinning the legislation, including exclusion of entire nations from migration to Australia, further criminalisation and exposure to imprisonment and detention of people seeking safety in Australia, and circumvention of the impact of a prospective High Court decision regarding unlawful administrative detention.
Read MoreThe Premier is no better than previous LNP Premier Campbell Newman when he attacks Judges for cheap political gain in order to deal with the current law and order public stoush.
Read More“In the nineteenth century the eight-hour day campaign led to laws that protected the rights of workers to leisure and private time. If steps are not taken modern technology will slowly but surely eviscerate those hard-won rights. This is why we need an effective right to disconnect” says Michael Cope
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“The Premier’s suggestion that Magistrates’ behaviour should be changed when he full well knows it is his Government’s policy as reflected in Queensland’s Youth Justice Act that the law is as pronounced by Magistrate Power reflects the Premier’s weak and unprincipled repetitive attacks on Queensland’s Judiciary”, Mr O’Gorman said
Read MoreIt is a matter of the most critical importance that the Australian Government and the Australian Army make it clear in respect of any military person who is seconded or appointed to any arm of Australia’s Military Forces that they be of the highest calibre and absolutely beyond reproach in respect of their human rights record.
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 MoreIf the Parole Board is being described as broken for victims’ families it is even more broken for prisoners who have done all required rehabilitation programs but who languish in jail often for many months after their parole eligibility dates because of prisoners being unable to obtain parole accommodation.
Read MoreThe rule against double jeopardy is not a rule designed to protect the guilty but to protect the innocent.
Read MoreIt is our position that in order to ensure that Local Councils in the State properly comply with their obligations in this regard, section 5 (4) of the Peaceful Assembly Act ought to be repealed. That way, local authorities in this State would become subject to the same notification and Court review process as the police are.
Read MoreQCCL President Michael Cope said today, “The rule against double jeopardy is not a rule designed to protect the guilty but to protect the innocent.”
Read MoreThe presumption of innocence dictates that the State has no greater obligation to protect its citizens from a person who has been released from custody than it has to protect its citizens from any other member of the public.
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