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Pages tagged "frontpage"


Vale The Honourable Paul Leon Stein AM KC

Posted on News by Anne Charlton · June 26, 2024 10:15 AM

NSW Council for Civil Liberties joins the chorus of voices to pay our great respect to the Honourable Paul Stein AM KC who passed away on Saturday, 22 June 2024. 

Paul Stein was a longstanding and active contributor to NSWCCL over many decades. His contribution was enormous and will be sadly missed. As an environmental law expert, Mr Stein was a passionate environmentalist who held governments, corporations and lobbyists to account.

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City Hub: Australia should reconsider weak whistleblower protections, civil liberties council says

Posted on NSWCCL in the media by Anne Charlton · June 25, 2024 1:54 PM

Civil liberties advocates are calling for stronger protections after Australian Taxation Office (ATO) whistleblower Richard Boyle lost his appeal to secure immunity from prosecution. 

The former debt collector accused the ATO of aggressively pursuing debts from small businesses, which he said was destroying lives and causing unnecessary trauma in order to meet revenue goals.

Boyle is accused of 24 offences, including using a mobile phone to take pictures of taxpayers’ information and secretly recording conversations with colleagues. He had sought to rely on the Public Interest Disclosure Act, the whistleblowing law for public servants, to shield him from a criminal trial.

The matter will likely now go back to the South Australian District Court, where Boyle is expected to face trial in September. If convicted, he could face up to 46 years in prison.

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Media Statement: Chris Minns Broken Promise & Backflip on Drug Law Reform

Posted on NSWCCL in the media by Anne Charlton · June 21, 2024 3:27 PM

This week Chris Minns has broken his promise to the people of New South Wales. He has abandoned his commitment to the drug law reform agenda he spruiked pre-election.

In Tuesday's budget, there was no funding for the long-promised Drug Summit. There was no funding to support the harm reduction strategies our communities so desperately need.

It has now been 25 years since the last Drug Summit occurred, and each day without action puts our communities further at risk of harm.

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Media Statement: Australia should reconsider weak and ineffectual whistleblower protections

Posted on NSWCCL in the media by Anne Charlton · June 21, 2024 1:49 PM

Former Australian Taxation Office debt collector Richard Boyle has lost his appeal against a finding that he was not immune from prosecution under existing whistleblower protections.

Boyle had sought to rely on the Public Interest Disclosure Act, the whistleblowing law for public servants, to shield him from a criminal trial. He applied for a declaration from the South Australian District Court that he was immune from prosecution.

The PID laws shield a person who makes a “public interest disclosure from any civil, criminal or administrative liability (including disciplinary action)” for making the disclosure.

The matter will likely now go back to the District Court where Mr Boyle is expected to face trial in September. 

If convicted, Mr Boyle could face up to 46 years in prison.

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Australia must recognise Palestine to promote peace

Posted on News by Anne Charlton · June 19, 2024 2:32 PM

Such a move would support the peace efforts, not undermine them, as some have argued. By Fatima Payman, Labor Senator for Western Australia. 

Over the last eight months, we have witnessed the mass killing and displacement of Palestinians and the devastation and destruction of Gaza carried out by Israel under the guise of “self-defence”. As the Israeli government continues to disregard its obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and cease genocidal acts, it is imperative for influential nations to take a definitive stance.

Australia, with its global standing and democratic values, is in a strong position to facilitate peace. An important step in this direction is recognising a Palestinian state. It is also a moral and ethical imperative.

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Submissions: Review of Part 4AF of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) and Review of Part 9, Division 7 in line with section 144H of the Roads Act 1993 (NSW)

Posted on Free speech, media freedoms, privacy & whistleblowing by Anne Charlton · June 01, 2024 12:05 PM

We think these terrible laws should be repealed. The right to protest is a fundamental democratic right that allows us to express our views, shape our societies, and press for social change. In NSW, and nationally across Australia, it is under attack.

In April 2022, the NSW Parliament passed legislation to prevent “illegal protesting” on major roads, bridges, tunnels, public transport, and infrastructure facilities. The legislation amends section 144G the Roads Act 1993 which criminalises causing serious disruption by entering, remaining on or trespassing on prescribed major bridges and tunnels, to now include all “main roads”. Offences carry a maximum penalty of $22,000 or two years in gaol, or both.

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Submission: Community safety in regional and rural communities

Posted on Criminal justice & police powers by Anne Charlton · May 31, 2024 10:09 AM

The New South Wales Legislative Assembly Committee on community safety in regional and rural communities is focused on investigating drivers of youth crime in regional and rural NSW and how community safety can be improved.

Rather than empowering the Government to criminalise more conduct, increase sentences, and more permissively incarcerate people, we urge the Committee to look to solutions which focus on the causes of crime, harm minimisation and creating connected and inclusive communities where children can thrive.

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Media Statement: Safety in Regional and Rural Communities Inquiry

Posted on NSWCCL in the media by Anne Charlton · May 30, 2024 3:09 PM

The New South Wales Legislative Assembly Committee on community safety in regional and rural communities is focused on investigating drivers of youth crime in regional and rural NSW and how community safety can be improved.

Rather than empowering the Government to criminalise more conduct, increase sentences, and more permissively incarcerate people, we urge the Committee to look to solutions which focus on the causes of crime, harm minimisation and creating connected and inclusive communities where children can thrive.

Measures taken need to be proportionate to the need for concern. We should not pander to the public “law and order” demands by some politicians and sections of the media through tougher laws and policies which have historically had adverse consequences. The focus should be on addressing underlying issues that lead to harm.

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Submission: Regulatory framework for cannabis in NSW

Posted on Civil and human rights by Anne Charlton · May 22, 2024 3:26 PM

Cannabis is criminalised in New South Wales (NSW) with use, possession, cultivation and supply being the key offences. Cannabis has long been the most widely used illicit drug in Australia. In 2022–2023, 11.5% of people in Australia had used cannabis in the previous 12 months, around 2.5 million people. In comparison, the next most common illicit drugs (cocaine and ecstasy) were used by around 3% of Australians.

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Media Statement: A weak government will always make weak laws

Posted on NSWCCL in the media by Anne Charlton · May 14, 2024 4:52 PM

We call on the Minns Government to abandon these reckless, and ill-conceived laws and instead, convene a meeting of the Government, the Opposition and main stakeholders within the criminal justice system and civil liberties community to chart a way forward with respect to bail and criminal law reform.

We call on the Minns Government to stop their reckless and reactive policy announcements and commit, like the previous Liberal Government did, to utilise the established State Government law reform bodies such as the Law Reform Commission and the Sentencing Council, to drive evidence based policy solutions.

New South Wales now has the highest rate of adults on remand on record, as well as the number of Aboriginal adults on record on remand. We have officially abandoned the Close the Gap target. The Premier has introduced changes to bail that will see our prison populations explode for people charged with offences but who have not been convicted of any criminal offence.

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NSWCCL acknowledges that the land on which we operate and function is the traditional land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation.

We pay our respects to the Elders, both past and present and acknowledge the Youth, the future leaders, in whose hands we hold our hope for a reconciled future.

Always was, always will be.

 

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