Radical Islamists will never overthrow Western democracies. What we’re talking about is the effect the terrorist threat has on our wellbeing as a multicultural society, and on our politics.
Police speak with members of the public outside the Buckingham Serviced Apartments in Brighton, Melbourne, following the violent attack on Monday night.
AAP/Julian Smith
When former prisoners – and audience members – come together in a play examining our justice system, the result is unruly, uncomfortable and worthwhile.
A harsh criminal justice system – in particular, more prisons and people behind bars – has apparently become a hallmark of good government.
AAP/Dave Hunt
Australia has become less compassionate, more punitive and more ready to blame individuals for their alleged failings since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
Every state and territory in Australia permits sentences of life without parole.
AAP/Dave Hunt
As a country that claims to uphold the human rights of all – including those before the law – Australia should take notice of international practice when it comes to life imprisonment.
Oscar Pistorius’ early release was a virtual certainty from the day he was sentenced.
EPA/Herman Verwey
Oscar Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide for what was deemed a tragic accident. In light of that verdict, he has not been subject to any special treatment in terms of his sentence.
Electronic monitoring typically involves fitting offenders with tamper-proof bracelets to monitor whether they are abiding by conditions imposed on them.
Flickr/Chris Yarzab
Kathy Laster, Victoria University dan Ryan Kornhauser, Victoria University
The days of prison, an 18th-century industrial institution, as the justice system’s dominant form of punishment may be numbered. Electronic monitoring of offenders is one promising alternative.
Premier Colin Barnett addresses a rally outside Parliament House, the latest in a long history of protests at Indigenous deaths in custody and high rates of incarceration.
AAP/Newzulu/Jesse Roberts
Indigenous people are jailed at a rate 18 times that of non-Aboriginal Western Australian adults, but the overall rate is high too. The great costs of this punitive approach yield few clear benefits.
Queensland’s reliance on high-security facilities to house a growing prison population may be linked to the nation’s highest rates of return for prisoners on parole.
AAP/Dave Hunt
Queensland’s rates of imprisonment had been falling, but have undergone a sharp reversal - much of it driven by the nation’s highest rates of return by prisoners released into the community.
In recent times, Victoria has reverted to the punitive approach that once filled the Old Melbourne Gaol, with little thought for the long-term consequences.
Flickr/Eva
Victoria was once characterised by low imprisonment rates and innovative corrections policy. The state now has Australia’s highest rate of growth in imprisonment.
The High Court decision against Palm Island rioter, Lex Wotton highlights concerns about how little our constitution does to protect us.
AAP Image/Ian Hitchcock
When a prisoner has served their time, it’s difficult to understand why they would be stopped from engaging in public debate or communicating with the media. But a new precedent has been set by the High…
Professor in Law and Co-Convener National Security Hub (University of Canberra) and Research Fellow (adjunct) - The Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa, Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University- NATO Fellow Asia-Pacific, University of Canberra