Done By Law

DBL: Consumer Rights: 13 July 2010

camilla — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:56:50 +0000

Are you sick of being harassed by people knocking at your door wanting you to change energy contracts?

Have you copped a fine from one of those private car parks that says you need a ticket to park for free?

Have you ever borrowed money from Cash Converters or a pay day lender and couldn’t pay it back because the interest rates were too high?

All these questions and more we will address in our consumer law special… joining us on Done by Law tonight is Zac Gillam, Senior Policy Officer at Consumer Action to tell us everything you’ve ever wanted to know about your consumer rights, how you can protect yourself and what Consumer Action is doing about these issues.

Everyday People, Everyday Rights

Julia — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 09:28:09 +0000

The term human rights is talked about a lot these days, but do you know how human rights are relevant to you on a practical day to day basis? On todays show we will be talking with Jessie Lees from the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission about a human rights project that she is coordinating called Everyday People, Everyday Rights. It is a joint program between the VEOHRC and the Neighbourhood Justice Centre that brings together City of Yarra residents, business owners and local agencies to plan 10 human rights focused meetings with the local community.

DBL: Social media and your rights at work: 8 June 2010

camilla — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 09:18:33 +0000

You’re home from work, you kick off your shoes, and your working day, along with your responsibilities to your employer, are over for the day. Or so you think. But with the advent of social media and the ‘broadcast yourself’ world of online publishing, your after-hours activities can be more easily tracked by your employer and also leave you open to public scrutiny.

What you do in your own time can get you sacked but the risks are higher in the online world, as demonstrated by the recent case of Catherine Deveny, who was terminated by the Age for her controversial twittering at the Logies.

Tonight on Done by Law we are joined by Zana Bytheway, Executive Director of Jobwatch, to remind us that being facebook friends with your boss may not be a good idea and to shed some light on exactly what you can and can’t be terminated for.

SMART JUSTICE CAMPAIGN: 11 MAY 2010

camilla — Tue, 11 May 2010 09:18:08 +0000

Ah, election season: when it seems that only ‘Law and Order’ is on the menu and being ‘tough on crime’ is the daily mantra. But do the measures offered by politicians, such as more police and more prisons, really make our communities safer? Are the politicians really offering us policies that will lower crime or do they risk making things worse for everyone?
Enter the ‘Smart Justice’ campaign, spearheaded by the Federation of Community Legal Centres, which is about to be relaunched at the end of May. The campaign is designed to promote criminal justice policies that are effective, evidence-based and human rights compliant.
Tonight on Done By Law, we speak to Hugh de Kretser, Executive Officer of the Federation of Community Legal Centres, to discuss the smart justice campaign and do a bit of myth busting about crime in Victoria and how to really make our communities more safe.

Paint it White: May 4 2010

alex — Tue, 04 May 2010 08:41:12 +0000

Kyle Magee is a dude on a mission. He’s been whiting out corporate advertising and he’s prepared to go to jail to start a debate about advertising and the global corporate media. Kyle’s been pathologised by the system, experienced incarceration and been ignored by his lawyers and Magistrates in the system. Kyle now gives his side of the story. To find out more, visit Kyle’s website globalliberalmediaplease.net

Fatal mistake? VicPolice taser trials: 27 March 2010

Julia — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:16:46 +0000

In February this year Victoria Police announced a trial of taser stun guns in Bendigo and Morwell. The trial will start in July 2010 and run for a year. Currently, only two specialist police units, the Special Operations Group and Critical Incident Response Teams, part of the Force Response Unit are authorised to use tasers. Previously both former Police Commissioner Nixon and current Commissioner Overland had ruled out the expansion of tasers to general duty police. Therefore this trial represents a signifcant shift in the manner in which police can deploy force.

In 2009 an Office of Police Integrity report which investigated Victoria Police’s use of force recommended that officers not be given taser stun guns. There are substantial dangers that tasers can kill or harm if used on vulnerable groups, such a young people, people with heart conditions, people experiecing mental illness, or if the taser is used in particular ways. The data suggests around 73% of taser use in Victoria was against people in mental health crises and that 85% of subjects were affected by prescription or illegal drugs. Evidence from overseas and increasingly from Australia suggests that tasers are prone to misuse.

Done By Law discusses these trials with Emma Ryan, a Monash University lecturer and PhD researcher.

DBL: Compensation for Anti Uranium Protesters: 20 April 2010

camilla — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:19:51 +0000

Locked in a shipping container, capsicum sprayed and detained for up to 8 hours by police in the middle of the desert, nine protesters and a television cameraman have just been awarded compensation by the South Australian Supreme Court for an incident that took place ten years ago now at the Beverly Uranium mine. The basis for the legal action was assault, false imprisonment and trespass to goods.

Justice Tim Anderson who heard the case found that the South Australian police unlawfully detained and assaulted all of the plaintiffs in this case who were protesting at the Beverly Uranium Mine. He awarded aggravated and exemplary damages to the plaintiffs totaling $700,000.

Tonight on Done by Law, we speak to one of the plaintiff’s in the case, Emily Johnston, about her experience at the protest and the last ten years pursuing justice through the courts. Emily is not a lawyer and will speak from a layperson perspective about her experience of the law.

Tune in to Done by Law live on Tuesdays at 6pm on 3CR 855AM.

DBL: Terror laws on appeal: 30 March 2010

camilla — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 08:06:38 +0000

Last year, following one of the longest trials in Victorian history, a number of Victorian men were convicted and sentenced to extended periods of imprisonment after being found guilty of various terrorism charges. An appeal on some of these convictions and sentences is currently before the Court.

At the same time, the Federal government is considering amendments to Australia’s terrorism laws, following a number of Parliamentary Inquiries into the laws.

Joining us tonight on Done by Law is Fiona Todd, criminal lawyer from Robert Stary and Associates, to discuss the appeal and some of the fascinating laws which impact on it.

Local Law 8 Repealed or Not?

shane — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 08:14:34 +0000

On November 24th last year Done by Law spoke to Fitzroy Indigenous elders about Local Law 8 - a Yarra city council provision intended to ban public drinking, listen to the show here.

Last week Yarra Council repealed the law at a special council meeting addressed by a number of prominent Indigenous leaders in the area. The following day, the council reinstated the law on a technicality.

Meghan Fitzgerald from Fitzroy Legal Service joined us to talk about whats happening with the law, and what some of the provision’s effects have been.

Police Violence and African Young People

belinda — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 00:41:00 +0000

On Thursday 18 March , a coalition of Community Legal Services released a damning report into the police mistreatment of African young people.

The report details the experiences of African young people from three regions of Melbourne: Dandenong, Braybrook and Flemington.

The research found that across Melbourne, African young people are over-policed, including the disproportionate use of stop and search powers and in some cases extra-legal violence.

Furthermore, the work has found that some of the ‘community policing’ oriented attempts at intervening- such as community-police soccer games and camps- have not only failed to address the issues, but may in some cases actually be making matters worse.

Tonight we will talk to Daniel Haile Michael, one of the participants in the research and Shane Reside, one of the reports authors.

The research, funded by the Legal Services Board, was jointly managed by Springvale Monash Legal Service, Fitzroy Legal Service and the Western Suburbs Legal Service.