Yesterday Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus ordered for the cessation of the prosecution of Bernard Collaery after last week agreeing that he was giving the matter “serious consideration” during an interview on ABC’s The Law Report.

NSW Council for Civil Liberties President, Josh Pallas said that NSWCCL has always maintained that Bernard Collaery should never have been prosecuted. “The Australian national security laws used to prosecute Bernard Collaery and Witness K are some of the most oppressive national security laws in the world.”

Last week on the Law Report, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus discussed his hopes with Kristina Kukolja that the incoming Labor government could restore public confidence in our system of government.  In a wide-ranging interview Mr Dreyfus outlined his legislative priorities including his commitment to a federal anti-corruption commission, review of whistle-blower legislation and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), media freedoms and the Privacy Act.

Australia’s leading consumer advocacy group Choice has revealed that major retailers may be in breach of privacy laws using facial recognition technology in their stores. The Good Guys, Kmart, and Bunnings have been condemned by the group for not providing enough transparency about how the data they collect from their customers is used.

NSWCCL recently wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to reiterate our call for the Australian Government to exert its diplomatic influence on both the United Kingdom and the United States to end the unjust prosecution of Julian Assange and to bring him home.

New laws criminalising 'grossly offensive conduct' have been introduced into Victoria's parliament today, ABC News reports. However, Criminalising something as broad as offensive conduct brings with it a set of complex challenges of definition and should be the subject of close scrutiny. NSWCCL spokesperson Stephen Blanks comments on new Victorian government law criminalising grossly offensive conduct.

For more information, listen to the full video. 

Trade Unions, NSW civil society and human rights organisations are calling on the NSW Upper House to seize the opportunity to disallow the short-sighted, draconian regulations in the new NSW Government anti-protest laws through a disallowance motion introduced by Greens MLC, Abigail Boyd.

Yesterday, police visited a camp site at Colo Valley, resulting in several arrests of climate campaigners and the reported detention of approximately 30 people at the property.

“The reported policing over the weekend at Colo Valley appears to be heavy-handed and is cause for concern,” said NSWCCL spokesperson Stephen Blanks.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) seeks to provide protection to First Nations peoples worldwide. It establishes guidelines setting minimum standards for individual, cultural, and collective rights.  The UNDRIP was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2007 and was adopted by Australia two years later in 2009. 

On 29 March 2022, the Senate referred an inquiry into the application of the UNDRIP to the Legal and Constitutional References Committee. NSWCCL has welcomed the opportunity to present a submission to the Committee, declaring that more can be done to better incorporate the principles and aims of UNDRIP into Australian law.

Josh Pallas, President NSWCCL, sat down with Sydney Criminal Lawyer's Paul Gregoire to discuss Josh’s take on the new Albanese Government. Josh wrote last week that NSWCCL welcomes the end of the Morrison government, while it’s “cautiously optimistic” about the coming of Albanese and the changes it could bring.

"My views haven’t changed, I remain cautiously optimistic. The picture of the Nadesalingam family back in Biloela over the weekend were great and social services minister Amanda Rishworth’s early end to the trial of the cashless debit card for welfare recipients was another excellent news story.

The attorney general also sounds like he’s busy at work making preparations for the introduction of a national integrity commission. So, there are definitely promising signs." Josh Pallas said.