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Keywords: Punitive

  • AUSTRALIA

    Protesting in South Australia: Then and now

    • Michele Madigan
    • 29 June 2023
    2 Comments

    Following a rally by climate action group Extinction Rebellion, anti-protest laws were rushed through the SA lower house, increasing the maximum fines for disruptive protests along with potential jail time. Sadly, SA is not an outlier here, but is rather in step with the rest of the country with similar ‘draconian’ laws regulating protests.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    On budgets, popes and thinking local

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 24 May 2023
    1 Comment

    When exploring the ties between Federal Budget week and Laudato Si’ Week, it becomes clear there's an urgency to address economic inequality and climate change as a single, intricately linked problem. While the latest budget promises minor benefits, it lacks robust measures to tackle these major issues. 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Budget leaves low-income earners in poverty

    • Tom Barnes
    • 18 May 2023
    1 Comment

    The Albanese Government's second federal budget falls short in addressing Australia's cost-of-living crisis, with proposed measures deemed inadequate for those most vulnerable. This lacklustre response raises questions about the government's commitment to uplift those affected by the crisis.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Ride horses no more

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 30 March 2023
    4 Comments

    The decision by Australia to buy nuclear submarines from the United States and Great Britain inevitably prioritize security over justice, equality, and fraternity. As the world faces the threat of catastrophic global warming, it is time to ask whether submarines are the answer, or whether they distract us from the far greater challenge posed by nature itself.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Why Singapore needs to shift the conversation around drugs

    • Kirsten Han
    • 29 March 2023
    1 Comment

    Singapore's notoriously strict drug laws mean that people caught with over a certain amount of drugs face the death penalty. While the Singaporean government claims its policy deters drug trafficking, critics say there is no evidence that the death penalty is effective, arguing that these policies do not address the root causes of drug use and addiction.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Changing the dial to Catastrophic

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 16 March 2023
    2 Comments

    As the National Council for Fire and Emergency Services updated Australia's fire danger ratings to include 'Catastrophic', it's worth considering other crises that pose a catastrophic threat like climate change, war, diseases, and economic loss, where disadvantaged groups disproportionately suffer.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    When Robodebt came knocking was anyone home?

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 23 February 2023
    8 Comments

    The Robodebt Scheme's Royal Commission revealed ethical insensitivity and a disregard for the rule of law by administrators. Suicides of vulnerable people were ignored in the quest for revenue, which may indicate a more extensive corruption of government and administration.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Australia ends decades-long uncertainty for thousands of refugees

    • Kerry Murphy
    • 16 February 2023
    1 Comment

    A Valentine’s Day present from the Minister for Immigration for those on temporary protection visas is a much-anticipated relief for approximately 19,000 refugees in Australia. And while a solution is welcome for these refugees, there remains around a further 10,000 whose status and future is uncertain.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    The Albanese reset: Stopping boats while treating onshore asylum seekers decently

    • Frank Brennan
    • 28 October 2022
    6 Comments

    In recent years, Australian policies in relation to asylum seekers and refugees have been unnecessarily mean, cruel and disorganised. The election of the Albanese government provides the opportunity for a reset, putting behind us the past mistakes of both Coalition and Labor Governments in the last 20 years.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Devaluing freedom

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 29 September 2022
    8 Comments

    Recently many people have expressed disquiet about the trend to authoritarian rule throughout the world. They have good reason for doing so. In the world we are entering, the freedom of citizens in the State depends on the will of Governments that will have no enforceable obstacle to withdrawing such freedoms on suspicion of future misconduct and not just for punishment of past, proven misconduct. 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Turning back Australia’s refugee policy

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 21 September 2022
    1 Comment

    July marked the tenth anniversary since offshore refugee processing was introduced in Australia, a step that marked a change in Australian policy from an uneasy balance between respect for people in need and the pressure to deter further arrivals. The principle of deterrence is deeply corrupting because it is based on the conviction that it is acceptable to punish one group of people in order to deter others.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    The Path to a Referendum: From Uluru via Garma to Canberra and on to the People

    • Frank Brennan
    • 17 August 2022
    2 Comments

    We need to be able to do more than simply give notional assent to the Uluru Statement. We need to be able to contribute to the hard thinking and difficult discussions to be had if the overwhelming majority of our fellow Australians are to be convinced of the need for a Voice in the Constitution.

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