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Pill testing saves lives.  David Crisafulli as the aspiring Premier-to-be should be taken to task in respect of his party’s double standards on knives wanding and pill testing” Mr O’Gorman said.

“The effect of this legislation is to make ACMA the ultimate arbiter of what is information and what is not.”

“These laws have clearly been rushed and should be withdrawn until there is further and more substantial consultation” says President Michael Cope

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.

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

QCCL President Michael Cope, today said that the Council condemns the failure of the Federal Government to implement the key recommendations of the review of the Privacy Act. “The Privacy Act was passed in 1988 and has not been substantially amended since then. In privacy terms 1988 is the stone age” said Mr Cope

It is this Council’s position that there is a problem in Queensland in relation to Police shootings

“Any Inquiry should concentrate heavily on the 23 Police shootings in Queensland from 2021 to 2024 to ascertain why Police shootings in Queensland are among the highest in the nation and what can be done to significantly reduce the high numbers of Police gun use in Queensland”, Mr O’Gorman said.

Australians are generally entitled to remain anonymous while walking down the street or spending time in a public space. The police have no general power to require Australian citizens to provide identifying details or information.

“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.

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

Any 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

The 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

Mr 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.”

The 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.

. 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

There are new and draconian powers of warrantless stop and search once a person is the subject of a Firearms Protection Order

The 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

The Internet should not be regulated as a broadcast medium and yet that is what the Online Safety Act does.

We 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.

The 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.

“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

“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

It 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.

Most 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.

If 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.

The rule against double jeopardy is not a rule designed to protect the guilty but to protect the innocent.

QCCL President Michael Cope said today, “The rule against double jeopardy is not a rule designed to protect the guilty but to protect the innocent.”

The 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.