Times features CLA over burqa ban
MPs – and the PM – should be wary of banning Australians from their own Parliament House because of their choice of clothing, CLA has joined others in warning. 2 Oct 2014
Rights on the right, as well as left
Sometimes, conservative governments can introduce liberties and rights that governments of the left can’t, Prof George Williams says. We should hold out hope for progress under PM Abbott.
Love is only genome deep
Can we use genetic testing to make day-to-day decisions? Recent reports on DNA-driven dating fuel misunderstandings about what genetic predisposition actually means, writes Tim Vines.
Prison: Costs up, numbers up
A parliament committee, examining justice reinvestment in Australia, has produced the latest statistics on our prison system. It costs more than $300 a day to keep a prisoner in jail, and more than $600 a day to keep a juvenile in detention. Taxpayers d…
US patent decision: need new law here
The US Supreme Court decision that companies may not hold patents over the human genome is a boost to women at risk of breast cancer in Australia, CLA says. A local law to ‘mirror’ the decision here should be known as the Parke-Heffernan Act, to honour…
Vaccination: the choice made for others
People frequently ask Civil Liberties Australia about the rights/wrongs of vaccination. This statement/article sets out our formal stance, and explains why and how far we support proven immunisation campaigns, as well as withdrawal of children from pre-…
Youth problems rise in WA, fall elsewhere
The national disgrace which is Aboriginal youth detention in WA is expanding
Sex crime penalties can skew justice
The sex offenders’ register is a very blunt instrument, which treats people who commit different offences in the same way. Coupled with the stigma of a “different” name, the impact of conviction on a lower range porn photo offender can be far, far great…
Refugee policy: long march into tyranny
How we treat child refugees says a lot about us as a nation. We’re on a downhill slide, says Graham Macafee, and the prospects are we’ll end up with unthinkable cruelty to children, whereas now we’re just plain cruel, inflicting on children the type of…
Commission should proceed with caution
The Royal Commission into child abuse opens today, with Australia firmly hoping it will shine a penetrating white light on hideous hidden practices of the past, and allow the nation to put very dark years behind us. But, as Rex Widerstrom cautions, not…