Search and ye shall not find…
Police wanted new firearm search powers desperately to fight gun proliferation in Sydney, so why did 642 special searches not find one firearm? The Ombudsman is investigating. 21 Aug 2015
Possible crimes need investigating
Paying cash to people-smuggling crews appears to break several Australian laws, CLA says in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry, working from un-contradicted media reports. 22 July 2015
Community groups need safeguarding
Organisations working for the benefit of the community, including environmental groups, should be permitted to hold Deductible Gift Recipient status, Civi Liberties Australia has told a parliamentary committee.
Click to read submission. . 15 June 2015
CLA urges compelling-only appeal test
In a welcome initiative, Tasmania is reviewing how people who may be wrongly convicted can get their case back before a court. CLA is proposing improvements to the bill. 29 April 2015
Bill is pernicious danger to rule of law
A Bill, proposed by Immigration Minister Dutton would give contractors, trained to nightclub bouncer standards only, the right to decide when and how hard to bash refugees in detention. 22 April 2015
Govt produces ‘worst legislation so far’
Data retention legislation is awful, but the Minister Dutton’s proposed ‘Refugee Riot Act’ breaks all the international rules about human rights of anyone, not just refugees, CLA says. 8 April 2015
CLA joins bid for Bali 9 clemency
As threat of the execution of two members of the Bali 9 draws darkly closer, CLA has joined in a direct appeal to the Indonesian President for clemency. 9 Feb 2015
CLA puts solutions to Riot Inquiry
CLA proposed refugee solutions, and expanded the investigation’s reporting scope, when appearing before the Manus Island Riot Death Inquiry at Parliament House. 17 June 2014
Best defence is more free speech
AG Brandis’ first proposal to change freedom/racial discrimination speech law under s18C earned a B-minus, CLA says. Please try again, this time including a right of reply mechanism.
Classification: Trial system worth try
Shared responsibility for classification is reasonable, CLA says, but law enforcement should never have the power to determine the content classification of books, films or computer games.