Edited by the Institute for Social Research, Swinburne University of Technology

New Research

From crisis to crime: the escalation of civil and family law issues to criminal matters in Aboriginal communities in NSW

10 March 2010The issue of appropriate legal and social supports is critical to the question of Indigenous overrepresentation in the criminal justice system. This article discusses this relationship, arguing that the overwhelming emphasis on communities' criminal law needs distracts from other equally important, though perhaps less urgent, practical concerns.

Targeting scams

08 March 2010More than 20,000 scam reports were made to the ACCC in 2009, an approximate increase of 16 per cent compared with 2008. This report explains key trends in scam activity and highlights the impact of scams on the community.
Political donations and electoral finance

Political donations and electoral finance

05 March 2010This paper reviews the current state of play in NSW with respect to the public and private funding of political parties and examines the possibility of instituting bans or caps on political donations and/or campaign expenditure.
OK, computer: file sharing, the music industry, and why we need the pirate party

OK, computer: file sharing, the music industry, and why we need the pirate party

05 March 2010This essay examines the central issues raised by illegal file sharing and the future for record companies in an environment that increasingly demands flexibility.

Securing Australia, protecting our community

23 February 2010This white paper sets out the Australia government’s counter-terrorism objectives and the means by which it will pursue them.
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Crime

A review of confiscation schemes in Australia

19 March 2010This report outlines the crime confiscation schemes operating in Australia but points to the need for more systematic recording and reporting of information.

Australian crime: facts and figures 2009

19 March 2010This quick reference guide summarises trends in crime and criminal justice in Australia.

Responding to intimate partner violence victimisation: effective options for help-seeking

19 March 2010Using data from the International Violence Against Women Survey, this paper examines predictors of help-seeking by intimate partner violence victims and considers whether such responses are influenced by the severity of abuse experienced.

Rights

Comparison of workers' compensation arrangements in Australia and New Zealand

19 March 2010This comparison provides background to the evolution of workers' compensation arrangements in two jurisdictions and discusses the way that each scheme deals with coverage, benefits, return to work provisions, self-insurance, common law, dispute resolution and cross-border arrangements.

The future of outstations/homelands

15 March 2010This report records the broad commentary from a workshop about Aboriginal homelands or outstations held at the ANU in October 2009.

Do employers discriminate by gender? A field experiment in female-dominated occupations

05 March 2010This paper tests for gender discrimination by sending fake CVs to apply for entry-level jobs.

Commentary

Charter of rights as urgent as ever

23 February 2010A human rights act should remain a priority for the federal government, argues Susan Ryan

The hole in their bucket

12 February 2010The copyright wars are more than just a matter for the courts, write Julian Thomas and Ramon Lobato in Inside Story

Time for bankruptcy law reform

09 February 2010Australia's bankruptcy laws are out of step with today's credit market place, write Fiona Guthrie and Nicole Rich in On Line Opinion
More...

Audio

Departing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Tom Calma reminisces on his term

Listen to audio
08 February 2010Tom Calma has been the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner with the commission for more than five years. 

War reporting, international humanitarian law and the legacy of Balibo

Listen to audio
02 November 2009This address by journalist and author Tony Maniaty, took place at the Monash University Law Chambers, Melbourne on 15 October 2009.

Law

Video

David Kilcullen and Julian Burnside on tactics in the Iraq War

Listen to audio
31 August 2009This conversation at the Melbourne Writers Festival covers the ethics and tactics of contemporary warfare.

Justice system

Websites

Human Rights Act myth busters

02 March 2010Monash University's Castan Centre 'myth-busters' address claims made during the spirited debate following the 2009 National Human Rights Consultation Committee report recommending the adoption of an Australian Human Rights Act.

Peer-to-Patent Australia

16 December 2009Peer-to-Patent Australia is designed to improve the patent examination process and the quality of issued patents.

Caslon Analytics

25 September 2009This site concerns the intersection of law, digital technology, business and society in Australia and beyond.

Most viewed: This week

1
The future of outstations/homelands
2
Rethinking the Rules Governing Australia
3
Criminal courts, Australia, 2008-09
4
Bold Ideas, Better Lives Challenge
5
Nuclear weapons: Arms control, proliferation and nuclear security

Jobs

Events

Seminar
Memory, Trauma and Reconciliation in post-War Bosnia and Herzegovina
23 Mar 2010 - 6:00pm
Melbourne
Conference
ACOSS National Conference 2010: A vote for equity
25 Mar 2010 - 9:00am - 26 Mar 2010 - 5:00pm
Canberra
Conference
Workforce Policy in 2010 and Into the Future
31 Mar 2010
Sydney

Books

The mother of Mohammed: An Australian woman's extraordinary journey into Jihad

The mother of Mohammed: An Australian woman's extraordinary journey into Jihad

  • Sally Neighbour
  • Melbourne University Publishing
From Mudgee girl, to hippy backpacker, to Muslim convert and perceived threat to Australia’s national security, the extraordinary story of Rabiah Hutchinson.
Drawing the global colour line: white men's countries and the international challenge of racial equality

Drawing the global colour line: white men's countries and the international challenge of racial equality

  • Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds
  • Melbourne University Publishing
A pioneering account of the transnational production of whiteness in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Noticeboard

Rethinking the Rules Governing Australia
16 March 2010

Australian citizens are being asked to provide input into a nation-wide
discussion about how to improve the rules governing our country.

Rethink Australia spokesperson Rodger Hills, says the time has come to
review the way Australia is run. “As citizens, we have a responsibility to
plan for a brighter future and a more enlightened democratic process than
the one we have inherited from our fore bearers.”

Rethink Australia has released a public discussion paper today to provide
the basis for dialogue and deliberation amongst members of the public over

Secrecy law reforms strike a blow to old culture of government secrecy
12 March 2010

The Australian Law Reform Commission report into Commonwealth secrecy laws, Secrecy Laws and Open Government in Australia (ALRC Report 112) is the result of a 15 -month inquiry which identified 506 secrecy provisions in 176 pieces of Commonwealth legislation, including 358 criminal secrecy offences.

Making Inquiries: A New Statutory Framework (ALRC Report 111)
06 February 2010

On 20 January 2009, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) received Terms of Reference from the Attorney-General of Australia to review the operation and provisions of the Royal Commissions Act 1902

Policy Guides

Arts for all: opening doors to people with a disability

This guide provides practical and long-term ways for artists and arts organisations to enhance their access, market their events to the disabled community and build new audiences.

15-02-10

Topics

APO