Law & Crime

An ugly wound has been opened at the heart of St Kevin’s College this week, after revelations in a Four Corners report about the school’s failures to respond to complaints of a culture of secrecy, toxic masculinity and sexual abuse. As the dust settles, many in the school community, including me, are coming to terms with the extent of reform that is needed. This uncertainty comes at a crucial moment, not only for the school, but also for the country as a whole, to confront a deep-seated culture of secrecy and shame.

Too few Australians know about the case of Witness J – not to be confused with the case against Witness K and Bernard Collaery, itself a disgraceful overreach of the law. But a veil of secrecy shrouds the case of Witness J that should be of concern to all of us.

The recent mea culpa by Woolworths of a decade-long underpayment of thousands of its employees came as an embarrassment to the workplace regulator, the Fair Work Ombudsman. The record-breaking underpayment of $300 million to some 5700 employees appears to have unfolded right in front of the regulator’s eyes. Then this week a class action was launched alleging the figure could be as high as $620 million.

Scott Morrison’s handling of the police investigation into Energy Minister Angus Taylor this week brazenly flouted conventions of propriety and integrity. The prime minister actually phoned the New South Wales police commissioner, Mick Fuller, and then told parliament based on that call he was not required to stand the minister aside.

We need to talk about fascism, particularly here in Australia. We need, as Australians, to talk about it because the perpetrator of the Christchurch massacre grew up in this country – and the crimes he is being prosecuted for in New Zealand, killing 51 Muslims and injuring 49 others, continue to resonate around the world.

What has happened in Yuendumu is an outrage, an injustice, and an event that we must not allow to be swept under the rug … We are hurt. We are angry. We are suffering. We stay strong and we stay together – but we should never again have to be connected by grief like this.

The High Court’s decision to hear George Pell’s appeal against his conviction for five counts of sexually assaulting altar boys was met with dismay by survivors of clergy abuse and their advocates. But lawyers had expected the court would grant leave, given the way it has determined cases of historical child sexual abuse since 1994.

For those who have watched the evolution of public-order policing in Victoria over recent years, the sort of police violence we saw at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) protests in Melbourne would’ve come as no real surprise.

My beautiful daughter had many plans in her life, many dreams like young people everywhere. One of her dreams was to see peace between Israel and Palestine in her lifetime. Although that is no longer possible for Aiia, I can honour her dream in a different way. One of my duties in returning to Australia is to be present at the launch of the Aiia Maasarwe Memorial Medical Fellowship program.

When I heard there was going to be another family law inquiry, I couldn’t believe it. After so much loss, so many hearings and so many experts warning, again and again, that the family law system is not safe for children. Instead of urgent action, we have yet another inquiry.