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.
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.
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.

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.

Indigenous sentencing courts

15 February 2010This brief focuses on Indigenous sentencing courts, which operate in all Australian states and territories except Tasmania.
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Crime

Rights

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

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
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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. 

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

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.

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
Do employers discriminate by gender? A field experiment in female-dominated occupations
2
Perspectives on migrants 2010
3
From crisis to crime: the escalation of civil and family law issues to criminal matters in Aboriginal communities in NSW
4
OK, computer: file sharing, the music industry, and why we need the pirate party
5
Report on government services 2010

Jobs

Events

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

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

ALRC Family Violence Inquiry - monthly newsletter
11 January 2010

The 2009 report of the National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and Their Children—Time For Action—identified the complex interaction between state and territory family and domestic violence and child protection laws and the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). The National Council made a number of recommendations, including that the ALRC should undertake an inquiry into these laws.

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