Police could be able to stop and search people for a weapon without reasonable suspicion or a warrant under laws being considered by the NSW government.

NSWCCL does not support giving police more powers. We believe this would amount to nothing more than a "knee-jerk response to a series of violent and distressing but isolated incidents".

“We should all be accustomed by now to government promises – before and after elections – being broken or modified and this seems to be just another example,” former NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Nicolas Cowdery said, regarding the go-slow on promised state drug law reform.

“Last year, I was assured by a very senior member of the government that a drug summit would be held in February 2024,” this state’s longest serving DPP continued. “Now there are rumours of October 2024. I have also heard it said that this may be a second term commitment.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns won the March 2023 state election with a platform that included drug law reform, to be initiated through a NSW drug summit.

This approach follows a successful precedent set by the Carr Labor government's 1999 NSW Drug Summit, which was considered groundbreaking for its outcomes.

Since 2018, the push for drug law reform has been prominent, driven by several drug-related deaths at festivals, a methamphetamine crisis, significant inquiries such as the Special Commission into Ice, and a global consensus on the failure of the drug war.

Minns' pre-election commitments came as a logical response to public concerns. He not only vowed to convene the summit but also enthusiastically promised his fellow Labor MPs advocating for drug law reform that he would legalise cannabis.

The Labor for Refugees group has criticized the emergency migration laws introduced by the Albanese government, asserting that certain provisions violate the ALP national platform and deepen divisions within the party.

The group's NSW/ACT branch, expressed concern over the legislation, which grants the immigration minister authority to compel non-citizens to depart Australia and restricts arrivals from entire nations. Describing the bill as "flawed," the group urged MPs to oppose it. Specifically, they objected to mandatory prison terms ranging from one to five years for non-compliance, arguing that this contradicts the ALP's stance against mandatory sentencing.

Additionally, they cautioned against expanding the immigration minister's powers, which they believe undermines the national platform's commitment to robust and transparent processes for protection visa claims.

Yesterday, the NSW Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) presented before the NSW Electoral Matters committee, calling for the elimination of existing constraints on prisoners' voting rights.

Despite First Nations people constituting 3.2% of Australia's population as of June 2022, they comprise 30.4% of NSW's adult prison population.

Under the NSW Electoral Act 2017, individuals convicted of an offense and serving a sentence of 12 months or more are barred from voting.

"The Council strongly believes that any exclusion of a person’s right to vote is a grave curtailing of the right to participate in a healthy democracy,” said NSWCCL in a statement released yesterday.

President Lydia Shelly said, “The right to vote is just one of a range of human rights such as freedom of speech and rights to associate, assemble and protest that are fundamental to democracy.

The parents of a teenager who tragically lost his life in a knife attack in 2019, prompting the implementation of "wanding" regulations in Queensland, are advocating for similar measures to be adopted in New South Wales.

Referred to colloquially as "Jack's Law" in honor of the victim, 17-year-old Jack Beasley, these regulations allow police to utilise metal-detecting wands for warrantless searches in specified zones, including certain shopping centers.

Brett Beasley, Jack's father, disclosed to ABC Radio Sydney recently that he spoke with NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley last year regarding the adoption of Jack's Law in NSW.

NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley has confirmed that senior members within the government are currently discussing implementation of knife laws.

The New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties is concerned about media reporting alleging that NSW Police are lobbying the State Government to introduce new laws that would create criminal offences for the parents of minors found with weapons, including knives.

BOSCAR data indicates that knife crime has declined in New South Wales over recent consecutive years. The position of NSW police does not reflect the current research on the prevention of crime. We strongly urge the State Government to resist populist calls for legislative change that will not make our communities safer.

The Council urges all levels of Government to invest in our public mental health care system, public mental health supports and resources (including in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities). This includes committing to a date for the proposed ‘whole of government’ Drug Summit, which remains one of the unfulfilled election promises to the people in New South Wales that could meaningfully impact weapons related crime.

Currently, individuals incarcerated in NSW serving sentences of 12 months or more are ineligible to vote in state elections. However, federally, these restrictions only apply to those sentenced to at least three years of imprisonment. This discrepancy has prompted questions from civil rights groups in NSW, who are now urging the government to address this disparity and advocate for equal voting rights for all incarcerated individuals, regardless of the length of their sentence.

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties is among these groups. NSWCCL holds the position that inmates should not be denied the right to participate in this fundamental democratic process. Not only is this denial contrary to any potential rehabilitative outcomes that detention might serve for an inmate, but it also harms society as a whole.

Our president talks to The Project about search laws in NSW in the wake of the recent tragic attacks in Sydney involving knives.

37 civil rights, union, and environmental organisations, together with the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL), are calling on NSW Labor to repeal the draconian protest laws first introduced two years ago.

Premier Chris Minns has been asked to conduct a public inquiry into the laws which have been said to create a “chilling effect on civil movements and social progress”. 

The laws in question, amendments to section 144G the Roads Act 1993, criminalise “serious disruption” to prescribed bridges and tunnels as well as all “main roads”, with a max penalty of $22,000, or two years in jail, or both.

NSWCCL said protest is a “fundamental democratic right” that allows us to “express our views, shape our societies and press for social change”.

The NSW Government confirmed this afternoon that there will be a public review into the state’s anti-protest laws after overwhelming public pressure.

This comes after 37 organisations and over 1000 individuals signed an open letter and petition demanding the review, and for it to be conducted transparently with the opportunity for public scrutiny.

In 2022, the NSW Government passed legislation to prevent protesting on major roads, bridges, tunnels, public transport and infrastructure facilities. This amended section 144G the Roads Act 1993 which criminalises serious disruption by entering, remaining on or trespassing on prescribed major bridges and tunnels, to include all main roads.