Back in March, the Premier and Finance Committee launched a NSW parliamentary inquiry to examine the state’s cannabis laws, focusing mainly on whether to decriminalise the popular but still illegal plant. On the first day of the hearings, August 1st 2024, Premier Chris Minns made it clear in a press conference that he went into the election promising not to change the law on decriminalisation, and he’s not planning to break that promise now.

On that same day, top legal experts, including the state’s longest-serving Director of Public Prosecutions, Nicholas Cowdery KC, and Australian Lawyers Alliance spokesperson Greg Barns SC, spoke up in support of the inquiry.

Public opinion in NSW has shifted so much that in the 2023 election, for the first time ever, a Legalise Cannabis NSW representative, Jeremy Buckingham, was elected to the state upper house, and now he’s chairing the inquiry.

Alex Greenwich MP’s equality bills that would reduce faith-based discrimination in schools, remove the current requirement for a person to have a surgical procedure to update the sex on their birth certificate, and give courts the power to issue a parentage order for children born out of commercial surrogacy outside of NSW has been delayed yet again.

This morning the Legislative Assembly passed a Bill extension motion moved by Sydney MP Alex Greenwich to prevent this important legislation from lapsing. We understand that the Bills will now not be considered until October. We call on the Premier to explain this unreasonable delay which in practice means that these important reforms are still not in place to recognise and protect the LGBTIQA+ community.

Nicholas Cowdery, a former NSW Director of Public Prosecutions, told an NSW parliamentary inquiry on August 1 that action was needed now to decriminalise cannabis use.

Cowdery, a former president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) said it had long believed that criminal law is “ill-suited to deal with drug use in the community”.

Every year in NSW more than 700,000 people “from all walks of life” use cannabis, Cowdery said.

“There is consistent evidence that decriminalisation doesn’t encourage cannabis use or increase cannabis taking in the community,” he said, adding that decriminalisation “may have the opposite effect” as more people access advice, support and treatment if they need it.

People with problematic drug use needed a health and social support response rather than a criminal justice one, he added.

Today former President of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties and former NSW Director of Public Prosecutions, Nicholas Cowdery AO KC, appeared before the inquiry into the impact of the regulatory frameworks for cannabis in NSW.

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties has long called for decriminalisation coupled with regulation of cannabis across Australia. We believe that the criminal law is ill-suited to deal with drug use in the community.

NSW Council for Civil Liberties has expressed strong opposition to the new Campus Access Policy, with President Lydia Shelly calling for its "immediate reversal." In a statement, Shelly described the policy as "an affront to the democratic principles universities should be fostering – not banning."

The policy mandates that all demonstrations must notify the university at least 72 hours in advance. It outlines "unacceptable activities," including protests without prior notice, and categorizes certain actions, such as using megaphones and amplifiers or hanging banners from University buildings, as "activities that require approval."

Violations of these restrictions may lead to protesters being removed from campus, having property confiscated, or being detained by campus security and handed over to NSW Police.

Listen to Nicholas Cowdery, former NSW Director of Public Prosecutions and long time Committee member of NSWCCL on ABC's RN Drive: Most of us trust the police, but courts not so much.

Check it out!

This year the NSW Labor Conference provides an opportunity for the Government to abandon the draconian policies relating to bail laws, the suite of anti-protest laws and the harmful drug laws that are unfair and unjust and must be changed.

NSW Labor has a proud 130-year history of convening this annual democratic assembly. We urge the Labor parliamentary team to listen to its members and put into practice the democratic ideals of the party’s founders.

This Labor conference should be a place where the government emerges with a plan for a more positive future for everyone in NSW. Labor’s policies should leave no-one behind. We urge the Minns Labor Government to seize this moment and reframe the future for NSW through a lens that is evidence based, democratic and upholds the Labor values that our oldest political party should be so proud of.

The NSW government has finally scheduled its long-promised Drug Summit, which will take place over four days, including regional sessions in October and hearings in Sydney in December. 

Announcing the summit on July 12, the government emphasised its aim to gather insights from medical professionals, law enforcement, individuals with personal experience, drug user organisations, families, and other stakeholders. This forum aims to foster a consensus on addressing drug use and its associated harms in NSW.

The summit raises hopes for progressive drug law reforms, echoing the precedent set by former Premier Bob Carr’s 1999 Drug Summit, which led to significant changes, including the establishment of the now-permanent medically supervised injecting room in Kings Cross.

On July 18, Palestinian activist Sara Shaweesh was arrested at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's electorate office in Marrickville. Shaweesh, who is a citizen and whose local member is the Prime Minister, has been part of a peaceful picket outside the office for almost six months, helping to initiate it.

The arrest occurred after she attempted to inquire about the denial of visas for her family members in Gaza. Police cited "trespass" as the reason for her arrest, confiscated her phone, and detained her at Newtown Police Station for more than three hours before charging her.

For nearly six months, a group of peaceful protestors have maintained a vigil outside Anthony Albanese’s electorate office in Marrickville. The vigil is noteworthy in that the organisers, their families and attendees are diverse in their religious beliefs and cultural heritage. Importantly, the organisers and many of the protestors live in the local electorate of Grayndler.

Six months on, they are still seeking a meeting with their local member of parliament to discuss Australia’s obligation in preventing the further suffering of Palestinians which includes forced starvation, mass displacement and the unprecedented violence in Occupied Territories of Palestine and Gaza.

Unfortunately, Mr Albanese has refused to meet with his constituents. Yesterday, Mr Albanese’s office issued a letter to the peaceful protestors, demanding that the peaceful vigil be conducted elsewhere.

NSW Council for Civil Liberties wrote to the Prime Minister in April urging him to meet with his constituents. We recognise this vigil as a legitimate exercise of democratic freedoms available in Australia. To date, no response has been received.

NSW Council for Civil Liberties position is unequivocal - the democratic rights of peaceful protestors must be protected and the Prime Minister has an obligation not only to uphold the right to protest, but to meet with his constituents.

We will always defend the right to protest and the protestors who choose to exercise this right.