Done By Law

UN Committee on Racial Discrimination highly critical of Australia

DBL: LOCAl law 8 and the ban on public drinking in yarra, 27 Oct 2009

This week on Done By Law we take a look at the recent decision by Yarra Council to place a ban on public drinking. Local Law 8, was passed at a heated Council meeting last week and will give police the power to pour out opened drinks and issue on the spot fines of $100. We’re joined by Councillor Steve Jolly, the only member of Council to oppose the ban, and Belinda Lo from Fitzroy Legal Service.

Imprisoned People and Social Justice Forum # 2

This audio is the second installment from the Imprisoned People and Social Justice Forum held in Melbourne on Thursday the 10th of September 2009.  See the DBL front page for the rest of the audio and details about the day:

DBL: Campaign Respect: 1 September 2009

This week on Done by Law, we talk to Campaign Respect member, David Bourbon. Campaign Respect is a youth driven project which seeks to address a perceived prejudice against young people by Victorian Public Transport Authorised Officers (AO’s).

The campaign aims to gather stories from young people detailing their interactions with AO’s and experiences of being overtly targeted.  Young people will be encouraged to record their encounters and complaints through a variety of media in order to campaign for better treatment of young people on Public Transport.

For more information go to Youthlaw’s website: http://www.youthlaw.asn.au/.

DBL 4 August 09: Anti-terror laws - Rudd strikes back

The Rudd Goverment is re-thinking anti-terrorism laws.  We speak to Michael Pearce SC, President of Liberty Victoria about proposed changes and the current state of anti-terrorism laws in Australia. We also consider deficiencies in existing terrorism legislation and cover proposed Greens Party amendments to (the Anti-Terror Reform Bill) currently before the Senate.

mental health and the right to choose

Mental health consumers can very quickly lose their right to participate in decision making. Once people are deemed incapable of consenting or are unwell, they are often excluded from meaningful participation in life and treatment decisions. Joining us tonight on Done by Law is Sara Clarke, Project Worker at the Mental Health Legal Centre to discuss how advance directives might work and why they are important. Advance directives or ‘living wills’ as they are sometimes known, are one way that consumers can seek to maintain empowerment and dignity over their own lives in a way that will in both the short and long term keep them well.