The Andrews Government announced it will abolish the offence of public drunkenness in Victoria.

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Monthly Bulletin | August 2019

HISTORIC CHANGE / Offence of public drunkenness to be abolished

The Andrews Government in Victoria has announced it will abolish the offence of public drunkenness and replace it with an Aboriginal-led, public health response. The family of Tanya Day described the news as "tinged with grief and sadness". They said, "In the end it took the death of our mother for the Government to repeal laws that should have been abolished 30 years ago when the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in custody were released."

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JUSTICE FOR TANYA DAY / Tanya Day death in police custody inquest begins

The coronial inquest into the death in police custody of Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day commenced this week. The inquest must answer how Tanya Day went from safely sleeping on a train to dying in police custody, and who should be held responsible for her tragic death.

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SAVE MEDEVAC / Medevac laws must not be repealed

On Monday, our Executive Director Hugh de Kretser was at Parliament House, Canberra to give evidence to a Senate Committee examining the Medevac laws. He said, "The Medevac Laws are working. Removing a fair, transparent and doctor-led process for accessing essential, and in many cases, life-saving medical care is cruel and unnecessary."

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DECRIMINALISE ABORTION / Delay to abortion bill an insult to NSW women

The decision by the Berejiklian Government to delay voting on the Reproductive Health Care Reform Bill in the Legislative Council displays a lack of respect for NSW women. Legal Director Edwina MacDonald said, "The values of 1900 should not dictate a person’s right to access the healthcare they need in 2019. It’s time the NSW Parliament got on with it​."

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DEFEND PRESS FREEDOM / Whistleblower protections hang in the balance

Lawyer Alice Drury writes in The Age that the Australian Government must urgently reform laws and police powers that have been sold to the public as necessary for fighting terrorism and serious crimes, but are so broad they allow surveillance over whistleblowers, journalists ⁠— and, for that matter, all of us.

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CASE SUMMARIES

Policy preventing public servants from voicing political opinions is constitutional, High Court holds

Comcare v Banerji [2019] HCA 23

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NOTICEBOARD

Emergency fundraiser to support the family of Aunty Tanya Day

You can help support the family of Tanya Day through the coronial inquest investigating her death in police custody.

DONATE NOW

Pro-choice event in NSW: Trust Women, Support The Bill

Join the NSW Pro-Choice Alliance in Hyde Park on 14 September to show your support for ending abortion criminalisation in NSW.

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MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

The Medevac laws

Senior lawyer David Burke spoke to BuzzFeed about the Medevac laws and why they should not be repealed.

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Lee Carnie on ABC's The Drum

Senior Lawyer Lee Carnie appeared on The Drum and talked fires in the Amazon, universities and international students, and birth certificate reform.

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Tanya Day's family want answers

Legal Director Ruth Barson tells The Guardian that racism and police independence remain at the heart of the Tanya Day case. 

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Did systemic racism play a part in the death of Tanya Day?

Ruth Barson spoke on ABC AM about how the Tanya Day coronial inquest will be the first to examine whether systemic racism contributed to a death in police custody.

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