Law and Policy – Page 47

Police surveillance and public protest

Lisa Caripis is taking Victoria Police to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal over their refusal to destroy surveillance footage of her taken at a peaceful protest in 2010. The hearing will begin next week on Tuesday, 17 July 2012. Right Now spoke to Lisa about the right to public protest, police surveillance and her […]

The Damning UN Report on Child Protection in Australia

By Paula Gerber. This article is part of our July focus on the rights of children and youth. Read our Editorial for more on this theme. This article was originally published on the Castan Centre blog. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Committee) has just issued its five-yearly report on Australia’s compliance with the […]

Being “without” – Who are the Bidoon of Kuwait?

By Dana Affleck In Kuwait today, there are at least 106,000 Bidoon living in a state of “without”. Bidoon, who are also referred to as Bidun, Bedoon and Bedoun (distinct from Bedouins who are a nomads), are a social group of Kuwaiti residents whose status is currently described by Kuwaiti officials as “illegal residents”; they […]

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Lecture – The role of the right to food in combating global hunger

By Sonia Nair At first glance, global hunger appears to be an insurmountable problem, where the insufficiency of food resources lies at its core. However, the right to food – a relatively young right that protects people’s entitlement to feed themselves with dignity – implies otherwise, and expounds that sufficient food is indeed available. The […]

Jetty on the shores of Christmas Island

Push v Pull: The Morality of Offshore Processing

By Sienna Merope In the last fortnight two asylum seeker boats have sunk on their way to Australia, killing more than 90 people.  These tragic deaths and the continuing arrival of boats have, unsurprisingly, re-ignited public debate about how to address the “refugee problem”. What has emerged is a disturbing consensus that Australia has an […]

Interview with Commissioner Mick Gooda

Mick Gooda is a descendent of the Gangulu people of central Queensland. Prior to taking up the position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Mick was the Chief Executive Officer of the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health for almost five and a half years. Commissioner Gooda has been actively involved in […]

Interview with Debbie Mortimer

Debbie Mortimer SC is a Melbourne barrister whose areas of practice include matters relating to civil liberties, constitutional law, discrimination law, equal opportunity, human rights, and freedom of information. Last year, she led the legal team that won the landmark “Malaysia Solution” case. We caught her after an event hosted by Peace Brigades International about […]

Editorial: Outsourcing Our Moral Obligations

This article has also appeared on The Conversation. There’s a knock on the door. It’s late, and it has been a wild and stormy night. You wonder who could possibly be outside in this weather. Opening the door you find a young man collapsed on your doorstep, soaked and shivering. He wants to come inside, […]