Australia is a party to seven core international human rights treaties. The right to freedom of assembly and association (aka your right to protest) is contained in:
- Articles 21 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);
- Article 8(1)(a) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR);
- Article 5 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD);
- Article 15 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC); and,
- Article 21 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
The right to freedom of association is supposed to protect the right of all persons to group together voluntarily for a common goal and to form and join an association. This should encompass your right to protest against government lockdown, Black Lives Matter and Refugee’s are Welcome.
However, time and time again we are seeing people arrested for protesting.
Are our rights to protest even worth the paper they are printed on?
In Brisbane, a protest is currently being held outside the Kangaroo Point Central Hotel and Apartments. Refugee advocates are protesting against the 120 people, some of whom have been in detention for years, being held in the Kangaroo Point Central Hotel. There have been multiple arrests and summons and fines have been issued.
Also, in Brisbane, a Black Lives Matter rally was organized outside of Parliament House at lunchtime. The group were protesting the police brutality against indigenous Australian and the call for justice for those who have died in custody. Again, there were multiple arrests and summons and fines have been issued.
In Melbourne, ten people were arrested outside Parliament House. A protest was opposing the 5g mobile phone technology being installed. Instead of respecting this groups right to protest, Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brendan Murphy, called for the protesters to be arrested, dismissing the groups belief’s as “nonsense”.
This brings us to NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller. Mr Fuller has issued a warning for people to stay away from protests. He has publicly stated that the police will press on with a Supreme Court bid to have rallies declared illegal.
Our Prime Minister has raised the issue of a double standard – when asked if police should arrest and charge protesters, Morrison said: “I think they should, I mean, I really do think they should, because you can’t have a double standard here.” But there is a double standard.
It is set out in the seven international human rights treaties Australia is a member of, we have a right to protest the COVID-19 Lockdown. But the reality is, you can and given the current political climate, will be arrested.
If you have been arrested or been served with a fine or summons for protesting, we advise you to seek legal advice.
The Queensland State Government has announced sweeping changes to crack down on youth crime.
There have been increasing concerns in relation to youth offending in the community and the perceived ‘soft approach’ to youth offending.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has said she has listened to the community and acted implementing a number of changes since 2017. Palaszczuk stated “We acknowledge that local communities and their families have concerns about youth crime”. These concerns have only increased since the COVID-19 pandemic and perception that there has been a further increase in youth crime during this period.
Unfortunately, the most recent statistics of youth crime covering the 2014-15 to 2018-19 periods have shown a significant increase of young people in custody since 2014.
The Youth Justice Annual Summary Statistics custody data shows the average daily number of young people in custody are as follows:
- In 2014-15 = 171
- In 2015-16 = 188
- In 2016-17 = 182
- In 2017-18 = 208
- In 2018-19 = 252
In an attempt to have a stronger approach to youth crime, and more protective approach to the community, the new legislation has been introduced and is set to be passed through Parliament this week.
The Legislation would ensure repeat youth offenders who are deemed an ‘unacceptable risk to the safety of the community’ to be denied bail.
The amendment that is sought to be introduced would remove the word ‘may’ and replaces it with ‘must’ refuse bail to youth who are deemed to be an unacceptable risk. This is believed to provide clarity to the Courts in relation to bail applications for youth offenders.
This is one part of the Government’s ‘five-point’ plan to take a harder line on youth crime.
The Queensland Police will also have Police strikes teams targeting high risk offenders in Cairns, Townsville, Brisbane, Rockhampton and the Gold Coast. There will be a trial of culture-based rehabilitation through new initiatives in Townsville, Cairns and Mount Isa and 10 community-based crime action committees.
The 10 community-based crime action committees will be rolled out in, Cairns, Townsville (as a continuation of the Townsville Stronger Communities Action Group), Rockhampton, Mount Isa, Toowoomba, Caboolture, Ipswich, Logan (to be integrated with activities of the Logan Together initiative), Gold Coast, and Brisbane.
What are your thoughts, is this harder approach justified?
It is no surprise that DNA testing is a commonly used tool for law enforcement when gathering evidence in a case and when trying to catch a criminal offender. More recently, such forensic tests have been taken to a new level with evidence suggesting that ‘familial searching’ is assisting law enforcement to solve crimes. ‘Familial searching’ is still highly controversial though sophisticated, helping law enforcement to find criminals through their family DNA.
Currently in Australia, this forensic test is only used for the most serious of crimes and is often a last resort with all other forms of investigative work needing to be exhausted prior to it being used as an option. There has been a push by Police to make the test more accessible at early stages of an investigation following a number of successful convictions of offenders. If done so, it could possibly save years of police work and taxpayer funds and resources.
In Australia, the test assisted law enforcement in Adelaide in 2017 to catch the convicted rapist known as the ‘North Adelaide Rapist.’ Adelaide detectives had been searching for the accused for years after a series of violent attacks on women. Standard DNA tests were used, taken from 2 crime scenes in 2012, in an attempt to find the accused however Police never found a positive match.
After years of police work searching for the accused, a familial DNA test was ordered and Police were able to match DNA of the ‘North Adelaide Rapist’ with his biological son through a DNA database.
Essentially, if a direct match cannot be made with the accused, scientists can extend the search to find others in the accused bloodline. This is what had occurred in the case of the ‘North Adelaide Rapist.’ After running an extended search, scientists were able to gather a list of 100 people possibly connected to the accused and then narrow that search down further to find a match appearing to be a father-son connection. Patrick Perkins, a 59-year-old man, was later charged and pled guilty to the offences of rape after being found through his DNA. This was a ground breaking result and the first time in Australia that an accused had been successfully convicted through familial DNA testing.
The same forensic test was later used by Queensland Police to assist in solving a murder case in Cooktown where the body of a woman was discovered in a river in 2017. Homicide detectives believed that the familial DNA testing in this case was crucial after the DNA of a male was found at the crime scene but did not match any offenders in the DNA database. Detectives in this case had asked locals to volunteer their DNA in an attempt to find the killer and this proved successful after 200 people submitted their samples to police. From a familial DNA test, the Police were able to locate the killer’s biological mother. Later, 27-year-old, Matthew White, confessed to the murder.
In American, law enforcement were able to locate the man known as the ‘Golden Gate Killer’ through this same form of forensic testing. Controversially, however, American law enforcement had used public ancestry databases without the consent of individuals raising major legal and ethical concerns. Currently, Australian law enforcement do not use genealogy websites to match DNA however there is talk to potentially change this.
The controversary lies then that those entering their DNA into genealogy websites (mainly to find long lost family members or to discover more about their own heritage) do not realise that their DNA could be used for such a purpose as to possibly convict a family member of a crime.
In this situation, there is a balance that needs to be reached between the privacy and rights of individuals and the public good.
We have all seen and heard the slogan “defund the police” flash across our social media and news platforms since the tragic death of George Floyd on 25 May 2020.
But what would defunding the police look like?
The first image that pops to mind is complete chaos. Pitchforks, civil unrest and anarchy.
The idea of cutting back police budgets has long been dismissed as a fantasy of the far-left. We have been conditioned to believe that police presence in our communities is essential for order and justice.
Yet, our prisons are overcrowded, our courts are saturated and crime rates are through the roof.
Does our police force actually serve the community in the way we are conditioned to believe it does? Or is it a case of Albert Einstein’s “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”.
In Minneapolis, nine members of the City Council have voted, creating a veto-proof supermajority, vowing to dismantle policing as the city knows it, and rebuilding a new community model of public safety that actually keeps the community safe.
Defunding the police is the idea that crime prevention is more effective than crime-fighting. Rather than funding the police, should our taxpayer dollars be directed elsewhere?
The funding that is currently directed to our police force, could go towards creating spaces for mental health service providers, social workers, victim and survivor advocates, religious leaders, neighbours, healers, and friends.
What might come surprisingly to some, is there are already community-based justice reinvestment projects in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
For example, in Bourke, a small community in rural New South Wales, the Maranguka Justice Reinvestment Project is already implemented. The initiative at its simplest, focuses on family strength, youth development and adult empowerment. It limits the amount of contact members of the community have with police.
The result? The local incarceration rate has plummeted.
This is only one of many initiatives already having success at preventing crime around our country.
However, these programs lack funding. The justice reinvestment programs in Australia rely on philanthropic donations for their survival.
This returns to us to our initial question. But what would and more importantly COULD defunding the police look like?
Have you ever changed your name? Have you changed your address? Have you changed your job or changed careers? Chances are that you may have lost track of some of your super. You could have hundreds, or even thousands of dollars in a superannuation account that you either didn’t know about, or have forgotten about.
Finding your lost super and bringing it all together saves on fees and makes it easier to manage.
Find your super
Your lost super may be held by your super fund or by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). It’s easy to find your lost super online through the ATO:
- Go to my.gov.au.
- Log in or create an account.
- Link your myGov account to the ATO.
- Select ‘Super’.
This will allow you to:
- see details of all your super accounts, including any you’ve lost or forgotten about
- find any ATO-held super — this is held on your behalf when your super fund, your employer or the government can’t find an account to deposit your super into
- consolidate your super into a single fund
If you’ve recently opened a new super account, it may take up to six months to appear on myGov.
You can also find lost super using a paper form. See searching for lost super on the ATO website.
Combining your super accounts
Having more than one account means paying more fees. Combining your super into one account will save you money.
You need to know which one of your super funds you will consolidate your super into. See our tips on consolidating your super.
We are all very aware of the Public Health Direction regarding Movement and Gathering, social distancing seems to be a term you can’t go a day without hearing now.
There are a number of provisions under the Movement and Gathering Direction such as outdoor gatherings of a maximum of 20 people, and gatherings of up to 20 persons in non-residences.
Further, Part 13 of the Direction states that a person who is leaving their principal place of residence must practice social distancing while outside their principal place of residence, to the extent reasonably practicable.
But, are there actually penalties for not abiding by these Directions?
The answer is yes.
You will be committing an offence if you fail, without reasonable excuse, to comply with the Directions.
Failure to comply is contained under Section 362D of the Public Health Act 2005.
The maximum penalty is 100 penalty units, being $13,345.00.
There has been an uproar of Australian’s expressing their anger to all those who are not complying with the directions. People are angry, they are seeking those who blatantly do not comply with Directions to be fined and large gatherings to be dispersed promptly.
The Australians who have lost their jobs, had their businesses closed down or are unable to see friends and family are angry. Australians who have had to cancel a wedding, bury a loved one without a funeral are angry. Businesses who have had to shut down and people are in increasing debt are angry.
We want to return to our new normal and to be able to travel, see loved ones, re-open businesses and get back to life.
There is increasing concern with the current worldwide events regarding the public gatherings of thousands, parties being thrown of more than 20 people and social distancing not being complied with.
Many are saying that such gatherings need to be delayed. Not forever, just not NOW.
State Governments have refused to return to the footy, opera or a play at this current time yet many are putting others at risk of a further outbreak.
Stage 2 is in full force currently and if there are no further outbreaks we will move to Stage 3 on 10 July 2020 which will allow a lot of businesses re-open, workers to return and potentially movement across the borders.
What are your thoughts?
The COVID19 lock down is slowly coming to an end in all Australian states and territories. Despite this, its impacts may have longer term effects in the realms of family violence in Australia.
During the lockdown, we have experienced increased levels of family violence in homes with more women coming forward to report violence. Recent studies coming out of Monash University in Victoria indicates that the lockdowns, although considered necessary for health, have led to the worsened levels of family violence around Australia. In this study, a survey was taken using information from 166 family violence practitioners across Victoria between April and May 2020. The report found that with families being stuck at home, some women have been left in unbearable circumstances. The report showed that close to 60 percent of legal personnel experienced increased cases of violence against women with evidence suggesting that the violence itself had worsened due to the lock down and that the number of ‘first time’ family violence reports had increased by more than 40 percent during this period.
During the study, legal practitioners further reported that in many cases, respondents to family violence refused to let women out of the house in order to ‘protect them’ from the virus and some cases included incidents where respondents demanded their partners to wash their hands to the point of bleeding. Many women also reported to their lawyers that Respondents would monitor their use of electronics making it difficult for them to reach out for help.
As lawyers, we all share concerns for the women who are unable to seek face-to-face supports from Police, courts and family violence workers during these difficult times.
The recent research reveals the ugly truth for some of being behind locked doors with their partners for extended periods of time.
Family violence is an issue that must remain at the forefront of our minds. For every month that the lockdown continues, additional women and children will be exposed to the risk of family violence all around Australia.
If you are the victim of domestic and family violence, or alternatively, if the police or someone else has taken out court application against you, call us I immediately on 1300 066 669 or email us at [email protected]
What You Should Know
What is software piracy?
Software piracy is the act of stealing software that is legally protected. Stealing can include selling, distributing, modifying or copying software. It is a world-wide issue with a staggering cost of $43.3 billion dollars lost commercially.
Why is it an issue?
Software piracy is an issue that we should all be aware of- as any one of us can inadvertently become involved in this sort of illegal activity.
Who is a software pirate?
You do not need to be a hacker or experienced coder to be a software pirate. Any person with a computer can fall fowl of these laws if they are not aware of them.
The five main types of software piracy:
- Softlifting:
This occurs when someone purchases a single use software program and then downloads it many times over, despite the license stating that it should only be downloaded once. This type of breach occurs most often in businesses and schools with the intention of saving money. This form of software piracy is the most common form.
- Client-server overuse:
This occurs when too many people engage in using a main copy of the program simultaneously. This often occurs when businesses are on a local area network and download the program for all of their staff to use and access. The breach occurs when the licence does not allow for the program to be used multiple times.
- Hard disk loading:
This is a type of commercial software piracy whereby a legal version of the program is purchased and then it is reproduced, copied or installed into computer hard disks. The person then on-sells the product.
- Counterfeiting:
This occurs when software programs are illegally duplicated and sold as authentic products. These counterfeited products are often sold at discounted prices in contrast to legitimate software versions.
- Online piracy:
This is also known as internet piracy. It occurs when illegal software is sold, shared or acquired via the internet.
Legal Consequences
There are significant consequences in relation to software piracy. Whilst the cheaper price associated with pirated software may appear attractive there are serious and expensive legal consequences that need to be considered.
Under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) it is an offence to knowingly import, possess, sell, distribute or commercially deal with an infringing copy; sell infringing copies of computer programs; or transmit a computer program to enable it to be copied when received.
The penalties are steep with an individual being liable for up to $117 000, a corporation liable for up to $585 000, and a possible term of imprisonment for up to five years.
Further, to these legal ramifications other significant consequences can be experienced, namely:
- An increased chance that the software will fail or malfunction
- No access to ongoing support such as training, upgrades, customer assistance and bug fixes
- No warranty and no provision for updates to the software
- The possibility of infecting your PC with malware, viruses or adware
- A slower PC
What to do if investigated in relation to software piracy.
In the first instance it is important to keep your personal and business interests and your PC protected by only purchasing licensed products from authorized dealers. Moreover, on purchasing the software ensure that you are aware of the terms and conditions and that you agree to and adhere to all of the guidelines. Ensuring you have an authorized and reputable antivirus protection program installed is also prudent.
If you find that you are under investigation for a possible breach of copyright laws it is important that you seek legal advice.
Australian Reporters attacked by U.S. Police after identifying themselves as the media while reporting on White House protesting
Two Channel 7 reporters were live on Sunrise reporting outside the White House on the current protests triggered by the killing of George Floyd, when they were attacked by United States Police officers and the National Guard.
The reporters, Amelia Brace and Tim Myers identified themselves attempted to identify themselves as the media before they were attacked by Police and Guard.
Brace was clubbed with a truncheon and Myers hit with a riot shield which was all captured live. Further footage released shows a third officer attempting to hold back his colleagues and let the journalists go, without the third officer it is unclear how far the attack would have gone.
Brace and Myers have confirmed they are okay just bruised after both being shot with rubber bullets subsequent to teargas was fired at the crowd and their attack.
Brace when later describing the incident stated:
“I actually managed to get a rubber bullet to the backside and Tim got one in the back of the neck so we’ll have a few bruises tomorrow but we’re perfectly safe.”
She went on to say:
“There was really no escape at that moment”…”We had the National Guard behind us and those police coming through so quickly, there was nowhere for us to go, so there was really no choice but to hide in that corner hoping they would pass by.”
The Australian embassy in Washington DC has reached out to the US State Department after the incident. The Australian Ambassador to the United States stated he was “aware of the treatment” inflicted on Brace and Myers.
The US Embassy has since released a statement:
“Freedom of the press is a right Australians and Americans hold dear. We take mistreatment of journalists seriously, as do all who take democracy seriously”.
The United States Freedom Tracker has claimed to have verified and documented more than 100 incidents involving journalists during the current protesting. Including, 20 arrests, 60 assaults with both physical and with ranged weapons, 13 reports of damaged equipment, 9 reports of assaults with damage, 25 others including tear gassing and building damage.
As the protests continue throughout the United States it appears to police and Guard have been the most constant source of danger through the protests, not the protesters themselves.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has released a statement describing the attack as troubling and has requested a formal investigation. Prime Minister Morrison has since spoken directly to Channel 7 to check on the crew’s welfare and offer the government’s support in pursuing a formal complaint through the Australian embassy.
It is understood that Channel 7 will make a formal complaint.
Further, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance has written to the US ambassador in Canberra to protest the attacks on journalists covering the civil unrest.
It’s been a very unsettling week, particularly in America, but rippling throughout the world. We are in challenging and painful times and we shouldn’t ignore what is happening simply because we live down under in Australia. As a wider community, the protests, the demand for justice and the end of racism should impact us just as deeply as it is those in America.
There is a shift and a change happening. In the midst of this eradication and upheaval where many are calling for justice, there are also many calling for Order with America now deploying their national guard and setting ‘no tolerance’ curfews.
Order and Justice. How do they coincide and which do we favour more? Which should we care about more?
For those calling for order, how do you say we can have order when the system of justice is ‘out of order’? It is arguable that to call for order without justice is simply to cover a festering wound pretending that, somehow, it will heal and get better when we all know that it won’t. As the human body works, arguably, so do the social constructs surrounding racism. We are infected and action needs to be taken.
On the other hand, there are those calling for justice. Dr Martin Luther King Jr. once said that protest “is the language of the unheard.” It is the method of those that do not have a voice. Whether some have gone too far, by looting and causing destruction, is an argument shadowing the real issue – a call for justice.
We are currently experiencing 2 pandemics. COVID19 is a new pandemic. The pandemic of racism is not new at all. For centuries, racism, bigotry and marginalisation has been tolerated and systemised.
It is no longer enough to simply ‘not be racist’. It is time to be actively against racism.
Order is important. But justice is first.
Once we get justice in order, there will be order.
"*" indicates required fields
Criminal Law, Traffic Law and Domestic Violence related matters anywhere in Australia
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
