Done By Law

Tonight on Done By Law we spoke with Meena Singh from the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service about new laws expunging criminal records given to members of the Stolen Generations, the impact of anti-association laws on Aboriginal children, and VALS key asks for the 2018 state election.www.vals.org.au

Tonight we hear an update from Matt on concerning developments this past week in Victoria’s criminal justice system, in particular the controversial Justice Legislation Amendment (Unlawful Association and Criminal Appeals) Bill 2018 which removes the right to de novo appeals of criminal cases to the County Court.We then chat with Mental Health Legal Centre Chair Stan Winford about privacy concerns surrounding the Federal Government’s My Health Record, and the impact these will have on the Centre’s clients living with mental illness.More information:https://www.lawlibrary.vic.gov.au/legal-research/legislation/victorian-bills/justice-legislation-amendment-unlawful-association-andhttps://www.myhealthrecord.gov.au/for-you-your-family/opt-out-my-health-record

Tonight on Done By Law we talk about an ongoing campaign in support of young NZers who are homeless in Australia. We then chat about how this campaign connects to  the broader issue of couch surfing and homelessness, and in particular with some of the findings of WEstjustice's report "Couch Surfing Limbo". More information:http://www.westjustice.org.au/cms_uploads/docs/westjustice-couch-surfing-limbo-report.pdfhttp://www.iwinaus.org

Following outraged headlines in Australian newspapers about a recent decision made by Australian Human Rights Commission, we discussed irrelevant criminal record discrimination and the impacts this can have on people with human rights lawyer Gemma Leigh-Dodds, co-producer of documentary ‘Off the Record’.

Balit Ngulu is a legal centre tailor-made for Victoria's Aboriginal children and young people that began in July 2017. Despite its success, it is facing possible closure due to a lack of funding. We're joined by Leah Tolley, managing director of Balit Ngulu.The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which provides funding for supports for people with disabilities, has been plagued with issues since its rollout in July 2016. The Ombudsman has recently released a report into some of the complaints, which we explore with Dr Meg Clement-Couzner, who is the senior policy officer at People with Disability Australia. Disability support worker "Amy" then tells us about some of the real life impact these issues are having on NDIS participants.

Victorian law makes it incredibly difficult for trans, gender diverse and intersex Victorians to change their birth certificate. This creates obvious and unnecessary distress, and can create barriers to participation. In anticipation of IDAHOBIT, we spoke with highly respected LGBTQI advocate Sally Goldner of TransGender Victoria, and queer advocate and activist Theodore Murray to discuss this issue.

In the first half of the show Matthew speaks to Sophie Lestrange from Melbourne Activist Legal Support about the introduction of new weapons in Victorias Police, and the potential for harm in the community. In the second half of the show Matthew and Ed speak with Cassandra Cohen from Bounding Plains to Share. Cassandra ran 4000kms to support asylum seekers and refugees. 

We talk to Phoebe Churches, Manager Advocacy and Legal, University of Melbourne Student Union about disciplinary and misconduct proceedings at universities, and how they sit with principles of natural justice and procedural fairness. We also talk about the UMSU Legal Service, a community legal centre providing advice and assistance to University of Melbourne students.

We talk with Ruth Barson, the Director of Legal Advocacy at Human Rights Law Centre about two concerning recent reports addressing neglect, abuse and prolonged periods of detention for people with disability in Australian prisons.

In 2017, the Andrew's Government announced that a number of inner city public housing estates are to be demolished and sold off to private developers for redevelopment.Tonight, we talk to Stephanie Price from West Heidelberg Community Legal Service and Molly Williams from Inner Melbourne Community Legal to find out about whether the renewal project stacks up against the Government's rhetoric.In the midst of a housing unaffordability crisis with tens of thousands of people on the public housing wait list, should we be selling off public land? Tune in to hear the discussion on 3CR Community Radio - 855AM at 6pm.

On this episode of Done By Law we speak with Dr Karen Gelb, Consultant Criminologist, about public attitudes to sentencing. Dr Gelb takes us through some of her research that shows public attitudes towards sentencing are often more lenient then the portrayal by media and government. 

On this episode of Done By law we chat with LidiaThorpe, Member for Northcote, who made history on 29 November 2017 as the first Aboriginal woman to be elected to the Victorian Parliament, about approaching Invasion/Survival Day this Friday 26 January with respect for our first peoples. 

This summer saw a frenzy of reports into so called ‘African gangs’. Some media outlets and politicians claimed Victoria is facing a ‘crisis’ in youth crime, so much so that it is no longer safe to eat out at restaurants. Fingers were also being pointed at the courts for being too ‘soft’. However, the State government and police rejected claims of a crisis, labelling them 'utter garbage' and unproductive. Members of the African community also warned against the harm this rhetoric causes, including discrimination and vilification.We speak to Sajda Yakub, a Peer Advocate from the Police Accountability Project, to unpack this issue and provide us with some perspective.

Bee chats with Hui Zhou, Principal Lawyer of Darebin Community Legal Centre about Women's Transforming Justice Project - a project of DCLC, Flat Out and LACW (Law and Advocacy Centre for Women)