Done By Law

Co-hosts Jimi & Lizzie are joined by Jess de Vries, Director of Legal Services at Women's Legal Service Victoria, to discuss a number of the incredible efforts undertaken by the WLSV team across the State. Whether discussing family law, criminal law, VOCAT, child protection or social work, Jess provides some fascinating insights into what her team are doing to support some of Victoria's most vulnerable communities. 

Lauren Levin of Financial Counselling Australia joins Jimi & Britt to discuss the hidden epidemic of gambling harm in Australia. 

Listeners please be advised that in this episode we discuss topics including family and domestic violence, sexual assault, and mental ill health. In this episode we hear about Health Justice Partnership from CEO of Health Justice Australia, Tessa Boyd-Caine. This important justice movement creates opportunities for lawyers and health care and other providers to assist their clients and communities with overlapping justice needs. Health Justice Australia was formed in 2016 and work to support the Health Justice Partnership movement across Australia.To learn more visit: https://healthjustice.org.au/ 

Amy Schneider from Economic Justice Australia joins hosts Britt & Jimi in their discussion of the recent Robodebt report. 

This special week is NAIDOC week, a week in which we celebrate the history, culture and achievements of First Nations people. This episode, we are very lucky to have Mrs. Bettina Cooper on our show who we pay respect to.Mrs. Bettina Cooper is a proud Aboriginal woman from the Boandik people of First Nations of South East Australia near what we now call Mount Gambier in South Australia and for many thousands and thousands of years Bettina's ancestors lived on that country.Bettina is an experienced Aboriginal Financial Counsellor and currently works as Mob Strong Financial Counsellor and Strategy Lead at the Financial Rights Legal Centre, NSW and the Campaign Coordinator for the Save Sorry Business Coalition . In both roles, Bettina advocates for people who are disadvantaged as a result of language, literacy skills, geographical isolation, low income, disability, trauma or related factors. She is passionate about supporting her community.Recently Save Sorry Business Coalition won the Consumers' Federation of Australia's Showcase advocacy award for their campaigning on action to support First Nations consumers impacted by the collapse of funeral insurer Youpla.  We congratulate Bettina and the Save Sorry Business Coalition on the recent and very well-deserved award. 

Housing has become an increasingly desperate situation for so many in the community, and renters are often the most vulnerable and at risk of poverty and homelessness. The current private tenancy rates are sitting well below 1% in many parts of the state, and suitable accommodation stock is often worse for those with little to spend or who need access to critical services. On top of that, many renters have been slugged with massive increases on their rent, making keeping a roof over their head very hard, and with nowhere available to go.  Done By Law recently spoke to RAHU (Renters and Housing Union), but  given the immense amount of pressure many in our community are feeling about their housing stability, we're focusing on the legal rights of renters and cases currently being taken to VCAT or other Courts to consider these issues. To help us understand, we're joined tonight by Amy Frew. Amy is the Director of Client Services at Tenants Victoria, a specialist CLC that serves renters statewide. Tenants Victoria's vision is for a safe, secure and affordable home for Victorian renters in a fair housing system. For more information visit: https://tenantsvic.org.au/contact-us/  

It's National Reconciliation Week, and we're all talking about the Voice to Parliament for First Nations Australians.There's a lot of myths swirling around about this proposed change to our Federal Constitution. So, this episode of Done by Law is about myth-busting that chatter.Tom Warne-Smith, senior lawyer at West Heidelberg Community Legal joins us to help sort out and explain a few of those misconceptions, from the law perspective.

In this episode of Done by Law, Ingrid and Beth look at the ANZAC legend and its 21st Century legacy – a century during which Australia has continued to participate in foreign conflicts (with allegations of serious war crimes committed against civilians by Australian troops in Afghanistan) and where it might be said that violations of the laws of war appear to have occurred without sufficient scrutiny or, as yet, redress in domestic or international systems.  We're joined by Dr Carolyn Holbrook, a Senior Lecturer in the Contemporary Histories Research Group at Deakin University, and the Director of Australian Policy and History. Her latest book, Lessons from History: Leading Historians Tackle Australia's Greatest Challenges was published in July 2022. She is writing a history of Australians' attitudes towards their federal system of government, and co-authoring with Professor James Walter a history of policy-making in Australia. Carolyn is the author of the award winning book, Anzac: The Unauthorised Biography, about the history of how Australians have remembered the First World War, and co- edited The Great War: Aftermath and Commemoration (2019). We then speak with Professor Felicity Gerry KC, an international King's Counsel at Libertas Chambers, London and Crockett Chambers, Melbourne, largely defending in serious and complex criminal trials and appeals, often with an international element. Felicity is admitted to the list of counsel for the International Criminal Court and the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague and in England & Wales and in Australia and has had ad hoc admission in Hong Kong and Gibraltar. Felicity is an Honorary Professor at Salford University in the School of Health and Society where her research focus is on Autism and criminal law, FGM law and Child Rights. She is also Professor of Legal Practice at Deakin University where she is unit chair for Contemporary International Legal Challenges.  Postcript - at the time this show aired, 25 April 2023, no allegations of war crimes associated with Australia's special forces in Afghanistan have been proven. Image: Unassailable Heroes (Pioneer) Man with Whip and Sacred Cows, and the Band played Waltzing MatildaArtist: John CITIZEN (aka) Gordon BennettAboriginal/IndigenousDate: 1996Medium/Material: synthetic polymer, pencil and watercolour on paperState Art Collection, Art Gallery of Western Australia© The Estate of Gordon Bennett

Lizzy, Jimmy and Britt talk to Sarah Sacher, Law Reform Officer at Economic Justice Australia about some of the big issues in social security law currently, including changes to the couples assessment, the AAT, and ongoing issues with Robodebt. Listeners are advised that this episode discusses family violence and Centrelink.If you are requiring assistance with Social Security debts/Centrelink debts you can contact Social Security Rights Victoria on phone: 03 9481 0355 or National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007.If you are experiencing family violence you should contact Safe Steps on 1800 015 188 24 hours a day/7 days a week.  If you are in immediate danger, please contact 000.

Dylan and Indy speak with Eirene Tsolidis Noyce about renter's rights, the 'rental crisis', and RAHU.Learn more about RAHU here: https://rahu.org.au/

This week on Done by Law our very special guest is a true access to justice hero - Gerard Brody. After 10 years as CEO of Consumer Action law Centre, Gerard is stepping away from his role. Listen in as Gerard looks back over his incredible achievements during this time. He covers the rewards, the challenges, unfinished business and advice for future consumer law advocates. 

·       Beth and Ingrid look at the issue of de-banking and the impact on people working in the sex industry and in adjacent professions such as stripping. We look at the draft guidance from AUSTRAC on financial services for customers that financial institutions assess to be higher risk. We look in particular at the ways that that guidance supports sex workers and the ways it falls short, particularly in terms of the requirement to remind financial institutions about obligations under state and federal anti-discrimination laws. To speak on this issue, we're lucky to be joined by Matthew Roberts, a sex worker and the Policy Officer at Sex Work Law Reform Victoria. Sex Work Law Reform Victoria is an independent non-partisan volunteer group led by sex workers, lobbying for the full decriminalisation of consensual adult sex work in Victoria. We have spoken with Matthew before on Done by Law about the Sex Work Decriminalisation Bill and we're excited for him to return as a guest to shine a light on financial discrimination against sex workers, and the work of Sex Work Law Reform Victoria in this space.

This week on Done by Law we chat about Specialist Family Violence Courts. Why are they needed? What do they look like? Why aren't these in place already?Listen in to Belinda Lo from Eastern Community Legal Centre, and Rachel Pliner from the Federation of Community Legal Centres talk about this crucial part of the justice system. 

In this episode, we explore the issue of the cultural competency of legal practitioners appearing in matters involving First Nations clients - and in discussing the rights of First Nations people coming before the courts. We talk about what cultural competency is, how it impacts First Nations clients and how lawyers can improve cultural safety for First Nations clients involved in legal issues or requiring advice. We are joined by Avelina Tarrago, a barrister based in North Quarter Lane Chambers, Brisbane. Avelina is a proud Wangkamadla woman from Central-West Queensland, and was admitted to the profession in 2009 and called to the bar in 2017. She has a general practice with focus on inquest and Commissions of Inquiry, regulatory and administrative law. Prior to joining North Quarter Lane Chambers, Avelina worked as a Senior Legal Officer for the Office of the Health Ombudsman and Counsel Assisting in the Coroners Court of Queensland. In 2014 she was selected as an Indigenous Fellow by the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights to undertake a two month fellowship in Geneva. From 2018 to 2022 Avelina was the President of the Indigenous Lawyers Association of Queensland.  She is also a member of a number of different legal policy committees relating to Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders. In February 2020, Avelina was appointed as a part-time Legal Member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal.

In this episode of Done By Law we feature audio from the wonderful seminar ‘Women's Lived Experience in Decarceration and Carceral Resistance', held on Monday 24 October 2022 at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne.This evening of discussion, reflections and solutions was hosted by Fitzroy Legal Service and featured the insightful contributions of a number of expert panellists, including practitioners, and women with lived experience of incarceration and the criminal justice system. Panel 1 – Systemic changes required to address women's over-incarcerationElena Campbell (Moderator) – Centre for Innovative JusticeKaren Fletcher – Flat OutLisa Abbott – TaskForceElena Pappas – LACWMegan Pearce – VLAPanel 2 – Women's Lived ExperienceNina Storey (Moderator) – Homes Not Prisons, Women Transforming JusticeJacqui Bampton – Women Transforming JusticeSara Stilianos – Homes Not Prisons, Women Transforming JusticeJasmine Barzani – Homes Not PrisonsWe have unfortunately only been able to feature 30 minutes of this jam packed two and a half hour evening. To watch the whole event, head to YouTube via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB_TlMR3tTo&ab_channel=FitzroyLegalService  ***Full biographies Panel 1: Elena Pappas LACWElena is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Law and Advocacy Centre for Women, and community legal centre established specifically to combat women's increasing criminalisation and imprisonment. She also sits on the Board as an Executive Director.  Elena is a passionate advocate and leader who is dedicated to working collaboratively with organisation and individuals to address the causes of women's criminalisation.  She currently leads LACW's policy and systemic advocacy work, and is Co-Convenor of Smart Justice for Women, a sub-committee of the broader Smart Justice coalition convened by the Federation of Community Legal Centres.  Elena previously worked at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service where she held the position of Senior Lawyer in the Criminal Law team. She advised and appeared on behalf of clients in complex criminal matters and shared responsibility for the mentoring and management of junior and support staff. Prior to this, Elena was an Associate in the Workplace Relations team of a private law firm in Melbourne. She holds a Master of Public and International Law from the University of Melbourne. She has worked as a volunteer with the Mental Health Legal Centre, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and Fitzroy Legal Service.Lisa AbbottTaskforceLisa Abbott is the Executive Manager Social Impact and Growth at TaskForce Community Agency, a not-for profit operating in Victoria delivering a suite of services to our most marginalised. Lisa has worked with those in contact with the justice system for 20 years in Government and community and over the last five years has been leading the development and delivery of the Living Free Project, a project supporting vulnerable girls and women who are at risk of, or are in early contact with, the justice system. The project drives cross sectoral collaboration and seeks to improve service system responses to enhance how our health and community sectors support women who often fall through service gaps.Karen FletcherFlat OutKaren Fletcher is the Executive Officer of Flat Out Inc, a community organisation that supports and advocates for women and trans and gender diverse people to get out and stay out of prison. She is a lawyer by trade has worked as a prison advocacy lawyer at Fitzroy Legal Service and Prisoners Legal Service QLD and as a public health lawyer, with a special interest in drug decriminalisation, in government and non-government agencies. She is an activist in the Homes not Prisons campaign in Victoria.Megan PearceVLAMegan has spent much of her career working alongside criminalised people, particularly women and children. Having started her career as a criminal defence lawyer at Legal Aid Queensland, Megan has also led major law reform inquiries into Victoria's criminal trial process and child protection system.Between 2018 and 2022, Megan worked at Darebin Community Legal Centre (which merged with Fitzroy Legal Service in 2019), first managing the Women Transforming Justice project and then Fitzroy Legal Service's Social Action and Public Interest Law team. In both these roles Megan contributed to program design and advocacy work aimed at disrupting the cycle of women's criminalisation. In July 2022 Megan commenced a role at Victoria Legal Aid focusing on discrimination and equality law.In 2013-14, Megan also completed a master of laws at the University of Toronto, where her thesis critiqued the effectiveness of human rights frameworks to respond to violence against womenElena CampbellCIJAssociate Director of Research, Advocacy & Policy, Centre for Innovative Justice, RMIT University. Elena is a lawyer, writer and former political staffer who has worked in legal and social policy for over two decades. Elena's expertise includes therapeutic justice, court interventions, the impacts of crime victimisation and the prevention and elimination of violence against women and children.  At the CIJ, Elena oversees a program of research which predominantly focuses on family violence, court interventions, crime victimisation and the way in which experiences of trauma - including structural and systemic trauma - can push vulnerable cohorts, particularly women, into contact with the criminal justice system. Elena has led projects for Government departments and courts to support the implementation of recommendations from Victoria's Royal Commission into Family Violence. Elena has also been Principal Chief Investigator in multiple, ANROWS-funded projects looking at the use of violence by young people and adults.  Previously Elena worked as a legal adviser and staffer in the Victorian Government for over a decade. Elena has also been employed as a consultant for a range of social policy and justice organisations, including the Australian Human Rights Commission.  Panel 2: Nina StoreyHNP and WTJNina is an unapologetic criminalized survivor. Having experienced state sanctioned violence she now spends her time advocating for the rights of criminalized survivors. Nina would love to see the abolishment of the prison industrial complex in her lifetime.  Her systemic advocacy commenced in 2018 as a member of the Women's Transforming Justice Project. Nina now sits on the council of Victim Survivors Advisory Council, is a member of the Expert Advisory Panel at Safe and Equal, a WEAVER for research group at Melbourne University and sits on the steering committee of the Homes Not Prisons Campaign. Nina stands in solidarity with the traditional owners of these lands and acknowledges they have the solutions to living in a world of unity, we must make space and elevate their voices for their stories to be told and shared.      Nina lives works and plays in Millowl, Phillip island on the lands of the Bunurong people of the Kulin nations, with her son and Kelpie.   Jacqui BamptonWTJ Jacqui is a formally incarcerated woman who has worked with Fitzroy Legal Service as part of the Women's Leadership Group. She lives with anxiety and mental health concerns, and has previously struggled with substance dependency and homelessness. Jacqui is deeply passionate about working alongside other criminalised people, with a particular interest in supporting women to navigate child protection. Jacqui is a warm advocate, loyal friend and proud single mum.   Sara-Michelle StilianosSara is an active member of several community groups and organisations aimed at ending incarceration – including as a Homes Not Prisons steering committee member and – previously – as part of Fitzroy Legal Service's Women Transforming Justice project. Sara has lived experienced of criminalisation and incarceration. She's driven toward social change and is a fierce advocate for abolishing the carceral system and it's supporting structures, which only serve to perpetuate further harm and violence by exerting power and control over people's lives. Alongside studying a Bachelor Degree in Social Science, Sara stands in solidarity with all oppressed women and continues to fight for the rights of women and children. 

In this show, we are looking at the phenomenon of using foreign judges in Pacific states in light of the constitutional crisis currently faced by the Pacific state of Kiribati, which has sprung from the suspension of a number of foreign judges in recent weeks by the Kiribati government. We will be looking at the Kiribati crisis and international responses to it, and will delve more broadly into the practice of using foreign – or non-citizen – judges and whether and how the nationality of the judges on a domestic court matters.We are joined by an expert in this field, Dr Anna Dziedzic. Anna is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Laureate Program in Comparative Constitutional Law at Melbourne Law School. She researches comparative constitutional law and judicial studies, with a particular focus on the Pacific region.Anna holds a PhD from Melbourne Law School, an MA in Human Rights from University College London and a Bachelor of Arts and Law from the Australian National University. She is the author of ‘Foreign Judges in the Pacific' and co-editor of The Cambridge Handbook of Foreign Judges on Domestic Courts, a global comparative study of foreign judging.

Dylan and Jeremie interview Dr Rachael Burgin, lecturer in criminal justice and criminology at Swinburne Law School and the CEO of Rape and Sexual Assault Research and Advocacy (RASARA), and Shaun Ginsbourg, experienced trial and appellate criminal barrister who appears for both the defence and prosecution, and is a member of the Criminal Bar Association. Guests discuss new affirmative consent laws which requires accused persons to demonstrate consent was given under the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) for sexual assault. 

Prior to the recent interest rate increase, there was an alarming number of Victorians that were in mortgage stress. About half (44%) of Victorian households with a mortgage were in mortgage stress in late March 2022. Eight of the top 12 postcodes in Australia experiencing highest numbers of mortgage stress are in Victoria.In this episode, we are exploring what mortgage stress is and what services Mortgage Stress Victoria provides. The guests joining us are Stephanie Tonkin, Director of Operations + Strategy and Yvonne Montfort, a Social Work program manager at Mortgage Stress Victoria.

Indy and Jeremie discuss working with young people and mandatory sentencing schemes with Angus from Westjustice and Tim from YouthlawWEstjustice is a community organisation that provides free legal help to people in the Western suburbs of Melbourne.Youthlaw is Victoria's state-wide free community legal centre for young people under 25 years of age.

On 10 May 2022, a raft of sex work specific advertising criminal laws were repealed in Victoria. This relaxation of advertising laws is the first set of sex industry law changes following the passage of the Sex Work Decriminalisation Act 2022 in February.Tonight, we are exploring what this change in the law landscape means for sex workers.Joining us here in the studio is Matthew Roberts, Policy Advisor at Sex Work Law Reform Victoria.

In this show we looked at the Living Wonders Legal Intervention. Community legal centre Environmental Justice Australia, on behalf of their client Environment Council of Central Queensland, has submitted 19 reconsideration requests to federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, asking her to reconsider the first stage of the assessment of almost every pending coal and gas proposal and expansion across the country, currently on her desk. These reconsideration requests have been submitted under a rarely used provision of the Commonwealth legislation, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (under section 78A).We were fortunate to be joined by one of the lawyers from Environmental Justice Australia, Brittni Dienhoff. Brittni specialises in climate projects and has worked closely on the Living Wonders legal intervention.

The ASRC (Asylum Seeker Resource Centre) provides services for asylum seekers and refugees, such as access to housing, food banks, clothing drives, healthcare and social work. Jimi Muirhead, a solicitor at the ASRC, joins us tonight to share about what the ASRC does, what rights asylum seekers have and difficulties they face.

Community Legal Centres are independent community organisations that provide free legal services to the public. They exist to enable a strong collective voice for justice and equality, using the law as a tool to achieving this.We are fortunate to be joined by two deeply experienced and dedicated CLC lawyers. The first of these is Linh Cao, Managing Criminal Lawyer at the Law and Advocacy Centre for Women, a CLC designed specifically for women who are in or at risk of entering the criminal justice system.We are also lucky to be joined by Meghan Fitzgerald, who joined Fitzroy Legal Service in 2008 and for a number of years held the role of Manager of Social Action, Policy and Law Reform. In October 2020 she took on a new role of Special Counsel, leading the strategic litigation and campaign work. Meghan also sits on the Board of Harm Reduction Australia.JOIN US to hear all the ins and outs of life as a CLC lawyer!

 In this episode we are looking at Indigenous Legal Judgments, a collection of key legal decisions affecting Indigenous Australians, which have been re-imagined so as to be inclusive of Indigenous people's stories, historical experience, perspectives and worldviews. The collection was edited by Professor Heather Douglas and Associate Professor Nicole Watson and was published last year. Within the collection, Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars have collaborated to rewrite 16 key legal judgments. Spanning from 1889 to 2017, the judgments reflect the trajectory of Indigenous people's engagements with Australian law. The collection includes decisions that laid the foundation for the wrongful application of terra nullius and disavowal of native title. Contributors have also challenged narrow judicial interpretations of native title, which have denied recognition to Indigenous people who suffered the prolonged impacts of dispossession. Various authors have shown how judicial officers can use their power to challenge systemic racism and tell the stories of Indigenous people who have been dehumanised by the criminal justice system.We are fortunate tonight to be joined by one of the collection's editors, Associate Professor Nicole Watson. Nicole Watson is an Indigenous legal scholar, who belongs to the Munanjali and Birri Gubba Peoples of Queensland. She is currently employed as the Director of the Academic Unit in the Nura Gili Centre for Indigenous Programs, University of New South Wales. We are also lucky to be joined by one of the collection's contributors, Mary Spiers Williams. Mary is from the Australian National University where she is Sub Dean (Indigenous Studies) for the College of Arts and Social Science's Executive, as well as being a lecturer in law. Her research primarily concerns the impact of state laws on First Peoples, centring the knowledges, law and insights of the First Peoples of Australia. She brings to her research insider-outsider perspectives – including that borne of her experiences as a legal practitioner and her identity and status as a woman descended from coloniser-settlers and First Peoples of the sandstone country that stretches north from the Dyarubbin (aka the Hawkesbury River).

Dylan and Jeremie speak with Glenn and Ben about the Spent Convictions Act and what this means for those in the community with a criminal record.

Indy speaks with Lynda from Women's Legal Service Victoria and Estelle from the Police Accountablity Project about the misidentification of primary aggressors in family violence matters.Monitoring Victoria's Family Violence Reforms: Accurate Identification of the Predominant AggressorWomen's Legal Service VictoriaPolice Accountability Project

Do you use ‘buy now pay later' services like Afterpay, Zip Pay, Zip Money, Humm, Bundl? Maybe you've gotten yourself in a little deeper than you intended. Did you know that the law does not treat these the same way as credit cards? So, you may not have as much legal protection as you imagined. Our guests this week, Tom Abourizk and Claude Von Arx from Consumer Action Law Centre tell us about how the use and regulation of these products could be made better.

Brief synopsis: Tonight we look at the new Sex Work Decriminalisation Bill 2021 (Vic), which marks the most significant development in the sex workers' rights movement in Victoria to date. Introduction: On 10 February 2022 the Sex Work Decriminalisation Bill 2021 was passed by Victorian Parliament. The new laws replace Victoria's outdated licensing system, which criminalises consensual adult sex work. It represents the pinnacle of decades of advocacy by sex workers seeking to be treated in the same way as other workers, and will greatly improve the health and safety of workplaces where sex work occurs. Victoria is the fourth jurisdiction in the world to decriminalise sex work.  Guest: Tonight we're lucky to be joined by Matthew, a sex worker and the Policy Officer at Sex Work Law Reform Victoria. Sex Work Law Reform Victoria is an independent non-partisan volunteer group led by sex workers, lobbying for the full decriminalisation of consensual adult sex work in Victoria. We spoke with Matthew on Done by Law last year when this bill was yet to be passed. Now, Matthew joins us again to talk about the impact of the passing of the bill, particularly in terms of anti-discrimination laws and issues of key importance to sex workers, such as the ability to work from home.

For this episode of Done By Law we are joined by Nerita Waight, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS), to discuss ending Aboriginal deaths in custody and the Victorian Coroner's recent report on Aboriginal deaths by suicide. We are also lucky to be able to feature audio from VALS' Invasion Day webinar on Friday 21 January 2022, with a star line up including Meriki Onus, Marcus Stewart and Tarneen Onus Williams. Listen to the full webinar and view links to important resources recently produced by VALS here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKLZLQo6Gq0&ab_channel=VictorianAboriginalLegalService 

This week Adnan Choopani speaks to us about his experiences in immigration detention. Chris Breen joins him to discuss the work of Refugee Action Collective.Adnan is an Iranian refugee who faced persecution as an Ahwazi Arab in Iran. He came by boat to Australia when he was 15, he was detained on Nauru, and is now detained in the Park Hotel after being transferred to Australia for medical treatment. Though he has committed no crime, he has spent over 8 years, more than a third of his life, detained by Australia. He is an activist for refugee rights, and a musician.Chris Breen is a long term refugee activist with the Refugee Action Collective. He is a science and maths teacher and an Australian Education Union sub-branch president at his school.https://rac-vic.org/RAC meets every Monday at 6.30pm, currently via Zoom. www.facebook.com/racvic

Image Source: abc.net.au 18/12/2019In this episode, we discuss bail laws in the criminal justice system and how these connect to social inequality, especially in relation to gender and race.Remember the public outcry in recent times about violent men out on bail committing even more violent crimes? The government responded by introducing tougher bail laws. But has this tough approach created the desired effect? Or has something else been the upshot?This episode focusses on the increasing percentage of women, especially First Nations women, being placed in custody and how this phenomenon might be connected to toughening of bails laws.Our special guest is LaTrobe University academic, Emma Russell, who is doing research in this area. 

Our special guest is LaTrobe university law academic Dr Laura Griffin, who is researching human breast milk sharing and the law. Gemma and Su chat with Laura about how women support women by sharing breast milk, and what the legal system makes of this.

This week on Done By Law we look at the strengths and weaknesses of the Victorian Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill 2021.  After being introduced into parliament on 26 October 2021, the new laws proposed by this bill have led to recent Melbourne protests and some extreme rhetoric, including threats of harm to sitting members of parliament, associated with right-wing extremists. Members of the legal community have produced a more nuanced analysis of both the benefits of the Bill, and also how it could be improved. The Bill's passage into law was frustrated last week, and the government passed a motion to postpone debate so that further negotiations can take place.  The government has said that it must pass new legislation before 15 December, when the current state of emergency expires.  We're lucky to be joined by Gregory Buchhorn from Liberty Victoria, who will talk us through the bill. Liberty Victoria is a peak civil liberties organisation in Australia, and has been working to defend and extend human rights and freedoms in Victoria since 1936. Its members include lawyers, policy and advocacy experts, businesspeople, academics, community activists and students.  https://libertyvictoria.org.au/content/liberty-victoria-comment-public-health-and-wellbeing-amendment-pandemic-management-bill-2021

Dylan and Jeremie speak with Mairead from Young Workers Centre and Liam from United Worker's Union - HospoVoice about wage theft laws which came into effect on 01 July 2021.We discuss what wage theft is, how rampant wage theft is, what these new laws change, and where to get help.https://www.youngworkers.org.au/https://www.facebook.com/youngworkerscentrehttps://www.twitter.com/youngworkersvichttps://unitedworkers.org.au/https://www.hospovoice.org.au/https://www.facebook.com/HospoVoice/https://www.instagram.com/hospo.voice/https://twitter.com/hospovoice  

The amazing Akuch Anyieth gives a facinating insight into the world of interpreting in the legal system.

This week on Done By Law we chat with Sex Work Law Reform Victoria about the new Sex Work Decriminalisation Bill 2021 (Vic), which marks the most significant development in the sex workers' rights movement in Victoria to date.On 12 October 2021, the Victorian Government introduced a sex work decriminalisation bill into the Lower House of parliament, and this is anticipated to pass into law by the second of December 2021. The new laws would replace Victoria's outdated licensing system, which criminalises consensual adult sex work. It marks the culmination of decades of work by sex workers advocating to be treated in the same way as other workers, and will greatly improve the safety of their workplace. Victoria is the fourth jurisdiction in the world to decriminalise sex work.  Tonight we're lucky to be joined by Matthew, a sex worker and the Policy Officer at Sex Work Law Reform Victoria. Sex Work Law Reform Victoria is an independent non-partisan volunteer group led by sex workers, lobbying for the full decriminalisation of consensual adult sex work in Victoria. Matthew will speak with us about this bill and what it means for sex workers.  https://sexworklawreformvictoria.org.au/sex-workers-welcome-victorian-government-announcement-to-decriminalise-sex-work/ 

Dylan and Indy are joined by Ilo from PAP and Thomas from MALS to discuss militarisation of police.https://www.policeaccountability.org.au/https://melbactivistlegal.org.au/

Indy and Jeremie discuss the new Identify and Disrupt laws with guests Angus Murray and Lizzie O'Shea. More info on this topic:https://melbactivistlegal.org.au/2021/08/26/identify-and-disrupt-bill/https://digitalrightswatch.org.au/2021/09/02/australias-new-mass-surveillance-mandate/https://privacy.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/110221_Submission-to-PJCIS-Identify-Disrupt-Bill.pdf

This week on Done by law, we are talking about sex work. Currently in Victoria there is a review of the sex industry laws underway. Decriminalisation is on the table. There is a really interesting history to the way sex work has been dealt with by our justice system. Tess and Su chat with Barbara Minchinton, an expert on this history. Barbara's new book, Women of Little Lon, is focussed on the sex workers of Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne during the early 20th century. Part of that history is the law that surrounded sex work. We discuss connections between the old days and the 21st century situation, including what lessons we've learnt from the past, and what decriminalisation might achieve.

Dylan and Jeremie discuss the impacts of the recent changes to NT bail laws and their impact on young people with Mililma from Uprising of the People (UP). Facebook UprisingofthepeopleInstagram @uprisingofthepeopleYou can read more about this here: SBS News Article  

Sex Work and Access to Banking Services with special guests Denis Nelthorpe AM and Dean

Imagine if nature itself could fight back, legally, for its own protection against those who seek to destroy it? Recent 'next generation' laws around the world which hold that the natural environment has legal personhood and/or legal rights aim to enable just this. We talk with water law and policy specialist Dr Erin O'Donnell and respected Wurundjeri elder Aunty Diane Kerr OAM about the Yarra River Protection (Wilip-gin Birrarung murron) Act 2017, a similar Victorian law aiming to protect the Birrarung (Yarra river).https://www.water.vic.gov.au/waterways-and-catchments/protecting-the-yarra/yarra-river-protection-act?fbclid=IwAR2PAmLHddJgZ2OOxGtc8ojQBUfgQ6OaPcvdgvf4CbPtGHJs71Gy1zzdWvM

Su, Meg and Tess speak to Suzie Wnukowska-Mtonga and Sarah Schwartz about Movement Lawyering and Australia's first Rebellious Law Conference. For more information about the conference, visit www.reblaw.com.au.