Every police patrol in the NT will carry at least one stun gun by Christmas, with 100 new weapons taking the NT Police total to 230. In 2009, Kwementyaye Rubuntja, 39, died from heart failure after being stunned twice in Alice Springs. The NT coroner found his death may have been linked to the stunning, the ABC reported.

Watch the ABC 7.30 Report coverage »...

As the Actor represents Everyman, so Paul Hogan represents us all over the bureaucratic inequities of oppressive legality and secrecy laws in Australia. He is now locked in the debtor's prison the nation is becoming, reverting to its penal role two centuries ago.

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In a recent series of articles, The Economist queries the sanity of the USA locking away more and more people in jails, some for almost unbelievable 'crimes', at increasingly greater cost year by year. There are lessons here for Australia.

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The processes of an almost 'secret' Senate Select Committee on Reform of the Australian Federation (SCRAF) should re-start completely, CLA says. SCRAF's inquiry was totally swamped by the August 2010 federal election: the questions asked of the committee are too important to be decided without extensive Australia-wide debate and discussion in the full glare of publicity.

Updated 19 Aug 10
CLA asked 10 questions of parties (and some independents) standing for the 2010 federal election. Here are the replies of those who took the trouble to respond.

Cartoon: thanks to Inkcinct, John Ditchburn - click to enlarge.

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Despite adequate resources and general goodwill, 'significant improvement' continues to elude Indigenous Australians, even in the national capital, Aboriginal Justice leader Brendan Church writes. He provides a 10-point list of ways improvement is possible.

The Victorian Legislative Council has passed the Electoral Amendment (Electoral Participation) Bill 2010, which introduces automatic electoral enrolment for all school students on their eighteenth birthdays, and allows election-day enrolment for everyone else.

While the Coalition opposed this bill, which was passed by the ALP and Greens, it is similar to one passed recently in New South Wales with the support of all parties. Rob Hoffman discuss the new arrangements in The Age. Read details in the Parliamentary Library Research Service's brief »...

The Coalition will not introduce a mandatory internet filter if it wins the 21 August election, nor will it support Labor if Labor tries to introduce the filter, according to Liberal spokespeople.  Read more»...

Julian Assange's Wikileaks has brought the US far right out of the woodwork again, where they have been hibernating since President Bush's days. One, Marc Thiessen, seems to be suggesting Assange should be kidnapped and renditioned by the US for revealing information. Trouble is, Mr Thiessen has done exactly the same thing himself, and boasts about it.

Crime is down in Australia and throughout the western world. But people think crime is rising, with some academics theorising it's because of all the cop shows on TV. Here's the official rundown for Australia - what do you think?   Read more »...

The Gillard/Conroy connection has closed off debate on internet censorship by releasing, under FOI, an secret industry consultation document with more than 90% blacked out. The reason for the blackout: fear of "premature unnecessary debate".   Read more, watch the video »...

What's wrong with the bikie legislation in NSW, SA and other states? In this interview, CLA Director and Media Spokesperson, Tim Vines, explains to the Atticus program on 2SER radio why bikie legislation is a danger to any form of social protest.  Listen to the interview » ...