CLA’s policy on criminal justice
All Australians are entitled to protection from arbitrary arrest and unnecessary detention; to a fair, speedy and public trial; to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and to legal advice and representation.
Sentencing should be based on the principle of rehabilitation wherever possible.
Portugal decriminalised personal consumption of drugs almost a decade ago, showing a lead to other advanced nations. It is also about to introduce an innovative national alcohol program. Advisor to the national drugs board, Fatima Trigueros, reports in d…
For possibly the first time in the decade of uncertainty following the 9/11 aircraft attacks on America in late 2001, the terrorist threat to Australia and the nation’s response is being analysed cross-discipline by an international scholar. Christop…
The Greens’ have chosen a candidate for the Higgins federal by-election who is rabidly pro-censorship of the internet – directly contrary to the Greens’ stance on the issue, so that they appear to be adopting the rubbery principles of other political par…
CLA welcomes human rights report,CLA congratulates the National Human Rights Consultation Committee for an excellent report and recommendations after an exhausting process. Now it is time for the politicians to respond in a bipartisan way to what the people clearly want – a clear and un…
Laws can’t stop refugees, any more than Canute could stop the tides. Motivated by persecution, hunger or the wish for a better life, people will always seek a distant shore. Australia should, argues Graham Macafee, re-think our approach to refugees to pr…
Better and clearer thinking is needed before any new filter is imposed on the internet, the Australian Computer Society’s Filtering and E-Security Task Force has found. It also says: “The technical assessment of the Task Force is that there is no technol…
The world’s biggest maker of stun guns, Taser, has done a backflip and is now warning police forces to not aim the weapons at people’s chests. The company appears to be trying to make sure it can’t be sued if people die in future after being stunned by t…
Editor, Canberra Times: Sir, in ‘Asylum-seekers blamed for Island’s problems’, 3/10/09, Senator Barnarby Joyce, who visited Christmas Island, declared the asylum-seekers “seem very happy here”. It would be funny, if it weren’t so tragic.These people…
Confused about what’s happening with human rights consultation in your state/territory, or nationally in Australia? Here’s a rundown on the current ‘live’ consultation processes, plus reference to a website with historical background.Human rights in…
Requests for CLA to analyse and propose improvements to federal and state laws are increasing considerably. Current issues we’re working on cover children’s issues to the nation’s war powers, as well as reforming our electoral laws. The pace will only i…