LibGuides: Civic Legal Investigation: Resources

Children left unattended

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Prison terms doubled for parents leaving kids in cars in Victoria
News report from the Age about the penalities for leaving children unattended in a car.
Leaving children unattended
Information from the Department of Human Services (Vic gov) relating to the legislation about leaving children unattended.

Animal Cruelty: Puppies from pet shops

Teigan Cloke of Upmarket Pets has her arms full with a trio of pups. Photo: Eddie Jim

Victorian cruelty laws
Victorian pet shops that deal with dodgy breeders will be targeted under new laws aimed at stamping out cruelty and puppy factories.

It will be mandatory for pet shops to keep records of the origin of puppies and kittens under the new legislation.
A win for dogs
In an Australian first, Victoria's newly elected Labor government will end the sale of dogs and cats in pet shops — only allowing stores to facilitate adoptions through rescue groups!
Pet shops and dog breeders irate
Read about which groups will resist the new laws.
Puppy Farms
Background to new laws around cruelty to animals. Check the dates of these articles to ensure you understand the timeline.

Who pushes for changes to the law?

Masa Vukotic. Photo: Facebook

Outrage over Masa Vukotic's death
This newspaper article outlines the pressure applied by groups towards the judiciary and government regarding the safety of women.

Brodie's Law

News report of court procedings
A YOUNG waitress committed suicide after humiliating and relentless bullying by her co-workers, a court was told today.
Brodie Panlock, 19, was spat on, called fat and ugly and, on one occasion, had fish oil poured all over her hair and clothes. Ms Panlock, who worked at Cafe Vamp in Melbourne, jumped to her death in September 2006.

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Second reading of the bill
PDF of the second reading of the bill to criminalise bullying behaviour - timeline
Bullying - Brodie's Law
Victoria’s anti-bullying legislation, known as Brodie’s Law, commenced in June 2011 and made serious bullying a crime punishable by up to 10 years in jail.
Official site for supporting Brodie's Law
Workplace Bullying Podcast (Radio National)
It's tricky territory. No one agrees on one definition, and what is bullying to one person is normal behaviour to another. But who investigates bullying, and is that process working? First-hand accounts from people who believe the system let them down. Reporter: Hagar Cohen
Resistance to Brodie's Law
Earlier this year the Prime Minister announced a federal parliamentary inquiry into workplace bullying. But some employer groups remain opposed to the introduction of new anti-bullying legislation.

GARRY BRACK, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, AUST. FED. OF EMPLOYERS AND INDUSTRIES: If there are criminal incidents, there's already a law there in the Crimes Act that can deal with this sort of stuff. We don’t want to see expanded piece of legislation that makes it more difficult for employers to deal with incidents between human beings in the workplace which at best are very, very difficult to deal with at any time.

Increased sentencing for police killers

Police killers to serve full terns
"This legislation is not limited to one person. It's a comprehensive approach covering all people convicted of murdering a police officer or officers and sentenced to a non-parole period."

Donor conception laws

Victoria’s world-first change to share sperm or egg donors’ names with children
More people conceived using donor sperm or eggs in Victoria will from today have the legal right to know details about their donor, even if the donation was made anonymously or the donor didn’t give consent to being identified.

How a law is made

New laws

The new laws that come into effect in 2016 around Australia
THE new year brings new laws from today, which will affect Australians every day. From passports to medicine, here are some of the changes ahead in 2016.
Parliament of Victoria
Information about which bills are being released, debated and passed when parliament is sitting.
Information about Bills from the current year and their current status. Explanatory memoranda are also contained here.
The Bill Status List details the current status of all Bills considered by the Parliament this year.

How a law is made

Pass the Bill
Launch Pass the Bill interactive guide and find out exactly how a law is made.
Parliamentary education
Extensive site designed just for students about Parliament.
Quick answers: Bills and Laws
An overview of Parliament
Making laws
Fact sheet from the Australian Parliament website.
The Vitorian Law Reform Commission
The Victorian Law Reform Commission is an independent, government-funded organisation that develops, reviews and recommends reform of Victoria's state laws. The Commission has a charter to consult with the community and advise the Attorney-General on how to improve and update Victorian laws.

Tobacco Plain Packaging

By CDC/ Debora Cartagena (CDC PHIL image, #14542) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Introduction of Tobacco Plain Packaging in Australia
Information from the Department of Health including objectives of the legislation, links to the legislation and key facts and figures.
Timeline of legislative and legal developments
This page contains a link to a document outlining the timeline from 2009 to when the law came into effect from the Cancer Council of Victoria.

Seatbelt legislation

1972. Industry - Motor vehicles - Car seat belt laws save lives in Australia, 1972

http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/PhotoSearchItemDetail.asp?M=0&B=11442077&SE=1

Buckled to history
Brief background to the introduction of seat belts in Victoria in 1970. Victoria was the first state in the world to make wearing seat belts compulsory.
Seat belts and child restraints
Information from Vic Roads site about the laws regarding the wearing of seat belts and the use of child restraints in cars.
Child Car Seats Podcast (Radio National)
Seat belts and child car seats are standard safety equipment but only if they're properly fitted. Car safety expert Lotta Jakobsson works with Volvo in Sweden and she's in Australia to promote the benefits of rear-facing safety seats for children under the age of four.
Car seat safety
This information from Baby Bunting (child care store) briefly outlines the length of time taken for the legislation to finally be enacted.

No jab no pay

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Children more likely to be vaccinated since start of ‘no jab no pay’, say doctors
But new data says in 2014-15, before ‘no jab no pay’ policy was introduced, parts of Australia had vaccination rates too low to prevent spread of diseases
Social Services Legislation Amendment (No Jab, No Pay) Bill 2015
See the progression of this amendment to the bill from its first reading to the passing of the amendment.

Medicinal cannabis

Medicinal cannabis
The Victorian Government is committed to making medicinal cannabis legal for patients in exceptional circumstances. The Victorian Government has introduced legislation to enable access to locally cultivated and manufactured medicinal cannabis products for a defined group of patients.

Medicinal cannabis factsheet
Changing the law

Law Reform Commission: Medicinal Cannabis
Information about the timeline and process of the proposed bill.
Medicinal cannabis report
This brief report (1 page) outlines the Law Reform Commission's recommendations to the State parliament. It recommends how it is to be manufactured and sold and which medical conditions it can be used as treatment.
Video
10 minute segment from 7.30 (ABC TV) about growing marijuana to treat medical conditions and the risks involved. Mentions who is pushing for the legislation.

Anti Hoon Laws

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Anti Hoon Laws
Crackdown on hoons not a moment too soon
The number of cars impounded in Victoria is on target to grow for a fifth consecutive year, with tough new anti-hoon laws to be introduced today.
Horror smash kills 5
Background to the anti hoon laws - who wanted to introduce the law and the reasons for it.
Premier Brumby calls for cars to be crushed
More information on the pressures to change the law

Discrimination Acts

The racist taunt aimed at Sydney player Adam Goodes from a young fan provides an opportunity for education rather than humiliation. Twitter/Channel 7

Racial vilification and acts of racial hatred
Information from the Victorian Legal AId site.
A guide to Australia's anti discrimination laws
Human Rights Commission site for summaries of the laws: racial, sexual, disability and age discrimination.
40 years celebrating Racial Discrimination Act
A speech given by Dr Tim Soutphommasane, Race Discrimination Commissioner, on the anniversary of the act. Parts of his speech mention the history of this Act.
History of the Racial Discrimination Act
Fifty years ago, a group of students from Sydney University, led by Charles Perkins, embarked on a freedom ride through country NSW, bringing racial prejudice to national attention.
The Freedom Ride
At a time when racism was seen by many Australians as issues experienced by other countries such as South Africa or the southern states of the USA, University of Sydney students decided to awaken the community to the reality of Australia’s racism and conditions of life for Aboriginal people in country New South Wales. Charles Perkins, one of only two Aboriginal students at the University at the time, was elected president of the newly-formed Student Action for Aborigines (SAFA).
Key events and the Racial Discrimination Act
From 1966 through to 1995 this PDF sets out various events that shaped the nation and led to the introduction of the Racial Discrimination Act of 1975.

One Punch laws

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10 years in jail
One-punch killers to spend 10 years in jail under new Victorian laws
This law will send a very clear and simple message: a punch to the head is a dangerous act that can kill.
Background to the Bill
From the Parliament of Victoria website.

Bike Laws

New law call: Kaleb Smith's bike on Toodyay Road in

Gidgegannup. Picture: Bill Hatto/The West Australian

One metre
Cyclist safety bill: Victorian Greens renew push for one-metre law for drivers overtaking cyclists
Greens push for 1 metre buffer between cars and bikes
This news article from the Herald Sun mentions the pressure groups who lobby the state government to change the law.

Solariums

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Laws to ban solariums in Victoria pass through State Parliament
"The Coalition Government noted that of all cancers, skin cancer represents one of the most significant cost burdens on our health system and adversely affects the health of many Victorians," Mr Davis said.

"The banning of commercial tanning units will, over time, contribute to reducing the incidence of the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma," he said.