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.

Assessing the impact of 'available street time' and mortality on estimates of recidivism

04 March 2010Using survival analysis techniques to derive estimates of reoffending, the study compares adjusted and unadjusted rates and assesses how these rates vary for different offender populations and over different follow-up periods.

Crime risks of three-dimensional virtual environments

24 February 2010The 'virtual-reality' promoted by 3dves is the source of great speculation and concern over a range of specific and emerging forms of crime and harm to users.

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.
Drug use monitoring in Australia: 2008 annual report on drug use among police detainees

Drug use monitoring in Australia: 2008 annual report on drug use among police detainees

22 February 2010The Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program surveys alleged offenders in police detention in nine places around Australia about their drug use and criminal behaviour.
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Crime

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

The future of outstations/homelands

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.

Child protection and freedom of speech online

01 March 2010Advocates of online child protection and freedom of expression share a deep-seated belief in the importance of protecting basic human rights. Yet these beliefs are often clouded by perceived (and real) opposition in the actual practice of law, policy, and regulation. This has restricted the policy options available for dealing with threats to both child safety and free speech online, and has often resulted in these interests being portrayed as diametrically opposed.

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

What got left behind

12 January 2010In APO's High Court Watch series, Tessa Meyrick looks at the Howard government’s legislative legacy in the context of refugee law

Plimer and Monbiot: could litigation sort out their argument?

07 January 2010Professor Ian Plimer is famous for using litigation to settle disputes going to core beliefs, writes Stephen Keim in On Line Opinion
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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. 

A response to genocide

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08 October 2009Justice Thomas Buergenthal, International Court of Justice and former child prisoner, presented this 2009 Castan Centre Annual Lecture in association with Holding Redlich and the Melbourne Writers Festival.

Law

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.

Video

Change the 'lock em up' mentality

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23 October 2009Ted Wilkes, Chair, National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee, speaks about alcohol use in Indigenous Communities and the links between self esteem, substance abuse and incarceration. The Australian Drug Foundation's conference Thinking Drinking 3 held in Brisbane in August 2009, looked at the role of alcohol in entertainment, violence and crime, the night-time economy, marketing, taxation, competition policy, alcogenic environments and more. 9.59 minutes

Death on Palm Island

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07 September 2009In November 2004 on Palm Island an Aboriginal man, Cameron Doomadgee, was arrested for swearing at a police officer. Forty minutes later he was dead in custody.

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.

AustLII: Australasian Legal Information Institute

18 September 2009The Australasian Legal Information Institute provides free internet access to Australasian legal materials. AustLII is one of the largest sources of legal materials on the net, with over 20 gigabytes of raw text materials and over four million searchable documents.

Public Interest Law Clearing House

01 June 2009The Public Interest Law Clearing House (PILCH) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation which is committed to furthering the public interest, improving access to justice and protecting human rights.

Most viewed: This week

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

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

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

Alternative inquiries to Royal Commissions proposed
19 August 2009

The ALRC is calling for greater flexibility, more options for Royal Commissions and other official inquiries.

Ahead of its final report and recommendations, the ALRC is seeking public feedback and is asking a range of new questions on its ‘’Talk to Us” online forum  - about the power of Commissions and Inquiries, the rights of witnesses, and the treatment of sensitive information, among other issues.

The ALRC urges the public to join the forum and take part in this debate.

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