The assisted dying bill in Victoria – complex and significant – is engendering less heated debate than marriage equality although both tap into some of our most fundamental fears and motivations.
The key messages from Thursday’s COAG meeting were about co-operation and a nationally consistent approach to counter-terrorism.
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In historic cases the potential for a sentence to rehabilitate, incapacitate or deter the offender is largely insignificant – leaving the focus solely on retribution.
What may be deemed in the public interest today may not be so in a decade’s time.
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Despite arguments that it is too loose, ambiguous and easy to hide behind, the ‘public interest’ is an integral part of the discourse, law, regulation and governance of modern democracies.
If marriage is to be redefined, substantial protections should be provided for conscientious objectors.
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Conscience protections for those opposed to same-sex marriage should not be seen as excusing bigotry. Rather, it is a legitimate means of best promoting everyone’s welfare.
Debates over whether priests should break the confessional seal if they hear reports of abuse in confession are largely symbolic.
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Whether or not a prospective citizen would face a longer wait in Australia compared to Germany, Canada or the UK comes down to their individual circumstances.
Technology has provided both sex workers and their clients greater mobility and anonymity, opening sex work up to new markets.
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The car, the phone and the internet have changed the way the sex work industry operates, but debates about regulation have not advanced with new technologies.
Concerns have been raised about whether Australia adequately protects human rights given multiple reports of abuses, including mistreatment of juvenile detainees.
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Australia is the only democratic nation in the world without a national charter of rights or similar.
In 2016, a UK Home Affairs Committee report highlighted that street-based sex work has diminished significantly over the last two to three decades.
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Consensual sex work, like non-commercial sex, mostly happens behind closed doors. Yet stigma toward and ignorance about sex workers makes people panic when we try to talk about reform.
Different local or state government laws apply in different parts of the country in Australia, Germany, the US and Mexico.
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Understanding laws that govern sex work can be complicated and confusing, especially because laws are not uniform globally, or even within each country.
Malcolm Turnbull announced the proposed changes in front of heavily armed special forces soldiers.
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The effectiveness of the changes to the ADF’s role in counter-terrorism operations will depend heavily on the willingness of state police to accept military advice and assistance.
There is little evidence that training alone reduces the propensity for over-service of alcohol.
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Jason Ferris, The University of Queensland; Adam Winstock, King's College London; Larissa J. Maier, University of Zurich, and Renee Zahnow, The University of Queensland
Responsible Service of Alcohol laws should be coupled with public discussion that encourages people to take responsible for their own drinking behaviour.
Adolescent family violence has detrimental effects on the health and wellbeing of families, and is surrounded by stigma and shame.
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Research is revealing that both families who have experienced adolescent family violence and those working with them feel the criminal justice system is not an appropriate way to respond to it.
Amee Meredith and Caterina Politi turned the worst day of their lives into a campaign for meaningful law reform.
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In this episode of Change Agents, Andrew Dodd speaks with Amee Meredith and Caterina Politi, who lost family members to random acts of violence, on their campaign to reform 'one-punch' laws.
Male victims are most likely to be killed by somebody they know – usually a friend or acquaintance.
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Proposed new laws will restrict parole and bail to those merely associated in some way with terrorism, even when they have not be arrested for – or convicted of – a specific terrorism offence.