Author adminPosted on Categories Democracy, Liberty, Terrorism Leave a comment on Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026
In January 2026, the Australian political landscape shifted significantly as the Labor government passed the Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026. This legislation, moved with striking speed following a tragic attack in Bondi in late 2025, represents the most substantial expansion of federal hate speech laws in decades.
While the government argues these changes are essential for “social cohesion” and the safety of vulnerable communities, civil libertarians and free speech advocates are sounding the alarm. The bill doesn’t just tweak existing laws; it fundamentally recalibrates the balance between the right to speak and the right to be protected from harm.
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Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law Leave a comment on all because of words
Author adminPosted on Categories Defamation Leave a comment on Linda Reynolds wins defamation case against Brittany Higgins
Former Liberal senator Linda Reynolds has been awarded $315,000 plus interest in her defamation claim against Brittany Higgins after the WA Supreme Court found Higgins defamed her in a series of social media posts.
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Author adminPosted on Categories Professional fees Leave a comment on Interest rates
You may have heard about the RBA earlier this year reducing its cash rate from 4.35% to 3.85%:
Author adminPosted on Categories Professional discipline Leave a comment on Douglas Winning to be struck off
Rockhampton solicitor Douglas Winning, otherwise known as Doug F***ing Winning, will be removed from the roll of lawyers after a QCAT decision.
At about 1.00 am on Sunday 17 February 2019, police were patrolling in Rockhampton when they saw a car driving erratically and knocking over a street sign. They pulled the car over and found the driver was local solicitor Douglas “call me Doug” Winning.
A true man of style, Winning was wearing only a pair of shorts. His vehicle had sustained damage on the bonnet and a front tyre. When asked that he had been drinking, Winning nominated the amount as “a bottle of rum”, explaining that he had had a sleep since finishing it. He was slurring his words. He twice said “You’re not going to pinch me”.
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Author adminPosted on Categories Criminal law Leave a comment on 10 principles of sentencing in Queensland
Sentencing in criminal law, as is well known, is a matter for the discretion of the sentencing Judge. A discretion in the law means that rather than ‘hard and fast’ (inflexible) rules determining the outcome, the judge is to exercise their own judgment in each case after considering all relevant factors. As the majority of the High Court of Australia observed in GLJ v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore [2023] HCA 32:
In Queensland, criminal sentencing of adult offenders must be in accordance with the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992 (Qld).
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Author adminPosted on Categories Legal profession 1 Comment on Why are lawyers so expensive?
Most complaints about lawyers concern how high their legal fees are. The professional fees charged by lawyers are notorious. When many clients earn an average of $30-50 per hour, it can seem unfair that your lawyers charge you hundreds of dollars per hour. However, as this article will demonstrate, there are reasons why legal fees are so high.
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Author adminPosted on Categories Legal profession, Professional fees Leave a comment on How you can save on legal fees
It is well known that legal fees tend to be expensive. The good news is that as a client there are a number of ways you can reduce your legal fees, as the rest of this article will show.
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Author adminPosted on Categories Defamation 1 Comment on Moira Deeming wins defamation claim against John Pesutto
Victorian MP Moira Deeming has won her defamation claim against Liberal leader John Pesutto with an award of $300,000 in damages.
The rally
Moira Deeming, a First-term Liberal MP attended and was one of a series of speakers at a rally held on the steps of Victoria’s parliament in March 2023.
The rally was co-organised by the UK gender-critical activist Kellie-Jay Keen, as part of Keen’s “Let Women Speak” tour of Australia and New Zealand last year, which held rallies in several cities about how the push for transgender rights was negatively impacting women. The rally was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis, who performed the Sieg Heil salute on the front steps of parliament.
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Author adminPosted on Categories Democracy, Liberty Leave a comment on Labor drops Orwellian ‘misinformation bill’
In 2013, Labor tried to regulate the media in order to stop News Corp journalists fiercely criticising its poor performance.
Years later, the newly elected Albanese Government plainly considered this to be unfinished business. So in their first term it also tried to pass a ‘misinformation bill‘ which would have allowed it to exert control over online social media platforms and websites which aggregate content from publishing or permitting content that the government considers to be misleading and harmful.
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