NSWCCL in the media

Al Mayadeen: NSW police taser 95 y/o woman with dementia in care facility

A 95-year-old woman with dementia was tasered by police in New South Wales at a senior care facility and remains in the Cooma district hospital with a suspected fractured skull and "brain bleed", according to local news outlets. 

This launched a critical investigation on the matter at Cooma’s Yallambee Lodge "after an elderly woman sustained injuries during an interaction with police at an aged care facility."

The President of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, Josh Pallas, urged police to stop using tasers on vulnerable individuals in light of the incident.

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AAP: Grandmother tasered in nursing home police altercation

A 95-year-old great-grandmother is reportedly fighting for her life after being tasered by police when she was found with a knife in a NSW nursing home, AAP's Samantha Lock reports. 

According to media reports, Clare Nowland was standing next to her walking frame and holding a kitchen knife when aged care workers at the Yallambee Lodge called the police in the early hours of Wednesday morning. 

During the altercation with the police, Ms Nowland had a taser fired at her back and chest, leading to her collapsing and sustaining critical injuries, reports say. 

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The Guardian: NSW police allegedly Taser 95-year-old woman with dementia, leaving her with fractured skull

A 95-year-old woman with dementia is in hospital with a suspected fractured skull and “brain bleed” after she was allegedly Tasered by police at Cooma’s Yallambee Lodge.

The woman was claimed to have been tasered in the early hours on Wednesday morning after she was found wandering the aged care facility with a knife in her hand. 

“The family are grieving because they don’t expect their nan to make it through the the day, or tomorrow at the latest,” Andrew Thaler, independent candidate for Eden-Monaro said.

Josh Pallas, president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, called on police to cease deploying Tasers on vulnerable people following the incident.

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ABC News: Aboriginal people to face court without lawyers amid funding crisis

After the release of the federal budget, some groups who missed out on crucial funding are grappling with what it means for their future work including Australia's frontline Aboriginal Legal Services. 

They had made a plea for $250 million dollars in emergency funds to keep up with record demand and try to tackle staffing shortages but it was denied, meaning the ALS has had to suspend its work in more than a dozen courts in regional New South Wales.

Long time NSW Council for Civil Liberties committee member, Nicholas Cowdery spoke to ABC News regarding the ALS funding crisis. 

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Sydney Criminal Lawyers: The Proposed “Voluntary” National Digital ID System May Involve Facial Recognition

In late January of this year, news bulletins included details about the just released user audit report into myGov: “the government’s front door for digital services and support”, or put more plainly, a digital platform that currently links users to fifteen government services, including Medicare and Centrelink.

“myGov is critical national infrastructure” was the key takeaway, which was reiterated throughout the media, along with the ever-increasing use of myGov warranting greater investment to improve it in terms of expanding available services and making them less fragmented online.

But what wasn’t so front and centre was a report recommendation calling for the acceleration of the “development of Australia’s national digital identity ecosystem”, and that this online scheme, which will involve biometric facial recognition technology, should perhaps be integrated into myGov.

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Green Left: Knitting Nannas challenge anti-protest laws in NSW Supreme Court

Knitting Nannas and supporters gathered outside the NSW Supreme Court on May 10 to support climate activists and Nannas Dominique Jacobs and Helen Kvelde challenge New South Wales undemocratic anti-protest laws, Green Left's Rachel Evans reports. 

This challenged has been filed by the Environmental Defenders Office, who believe that the protest laws are “so broad that a group of people could face serious criminal charges simply by protesting near a railway station and causing people to be redirected around them”.

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The Australian: Pauline Hanson fires up over vaccine mandates

Pauline Hanson clashed with NSW Council for Civil Liberties President, Josh Pallas during a senate inquiry into the Covid-19 vaccination status. Mr Pallas stated the NSWCCL argued that governments should not mandate vaccines outside of settings where the risk of transmission was high, such as in healthcare settings.

He also stated that the decision should be on individual businesses to decide whether employees should need to be vaccinated based on “their own circumstances” and whether unvaccinated staff would present a safety risk.

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News.com.au: New federal laws to ban the display of Nazi symbols on the table in Canberra

NSW Council for Civil Liberties committee member Stephen Blanks yesterday told a hearing of the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs in regard to The Criminal Code Amendment (Prohibition of Nazi Symbols) Bill 2023 (the Bill) that the legislation didn’t “go to the heart of the problem”.

Mr Blanks argued criminal law was only one of the required tools to prevent Nazi ideology and wouldn’t be enough on its own. Freedom of expression does not give licence to individuals to engage in expression which engenders hate and incites violence. He said the proposed legislation must iron out any doubts over people who might be displaying Nazy symbols for educational purposes or other reasons who weren’t about promoting hateful ideology.

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News.com.au: Pauline Hanson fires up over vaccine mandates

NSW Council for Civil Liberties President, Josh Pallas, appeared before the Senate Committee on Education and Employment Legislation yesterday. The Bills being considered are sponsored by Senators Pauline Hanson and Matt Canavan. They suggest that States should not be able to restrict freedom of movement from State to State of any Australian citizen and they suggest that employers should not be able to ask an employee to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

In our view, the Bills in question, unreasonably and disproportionately protect the unvaccinated at the expense of the rights of other members of the community. Based on the generally accepted medical science, the Bills are incompatible with human rights.

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The Guardian: National ban on Nazi salute and insignia would help prevent far-right radicalisation, Asio says

Australia’s domestic intelligence agency Asio has welcomed a Coalition bill to ban Nazi symbols including the Sieg Heil salute, telling a parliamentary inquiry it would help prevent recruitment and radicalisation by far-right extremists.

The Victorian Government announced thay would implement a ban of the salute after a group of men from the National Socialist Network repeatedly performed the salute on the steps of Victoria’s parliament last month. This prompted shadow attorney general, Michaelia Cash to introduce a federal bill. 

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