ALHR Newsletters

Anti-Discrimination Bill dumped after supportive Senate Committee report

We were extremely disappointed to learn that the Government has dumped the Anti-Discrimination Bill only one month after the Senate Committee released a report supporting its introduction and recommending a number of broader protections to cover vulnerable persons.

The Committee's report followed a lengthy and detailed consultation process, with which ALHR has participated; the Committee's report picked up a number of our recommendations.

You can find our most recent press release detailing our concerns with the move here; along with our original submission and press release, and the Senate Committee's report.

Value of a justice reinvestment approach in criminal law

ALHR made a submission urging the government to adopt a "justice reinvestment" approach, a localised criminal justice policy focussed on providing community wide services to prevent offending by providing funding and support to local communities where there is a high concentration of offenders. The submission covered a number  of grounds, unpacking the drivers behind the rise in imprisonment rates, economic and social costs of imprisonment; and set out the methodology and objectives of justice reinvestment, analysed its benefits and challenges, lessons from other countries and the scope for action by the Federal government. Only 12 pages long, but highly informative, I commend this submission to all of you and thank the authors.

Right to silence abolished in NSW

The people of NSW will no longer have the right to remain silent after the NSW Government passed the Evidence Amendment (Evidence of Silence) Bill 2013. The new law will allow juries to draw an adverse inference if people accused of a crime choose not to take part in a police interview, and later rely on evidence they did not disclose.

Read our press release here.