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“A Blunt Tool”: NSW Court Quashes Government’s Blanket Ban on Protest Marches

“A Blunt Tool”: NSW Court Quashes Government’s Blanket Ban on Protest Marches

Three justices of the New South Wales Court of Appeal struck down the Minns government’s law enabling the blanket banning of protest marches on Thursday, 17 April 2026, describing the law as a “blunt tool”. And as activist groups and a stella legal team saw the unconstitutional regime torn down, the analogy of a blunt tool certainly lent itself to many ...
Duggan’s US Extradition Appeal Failed But Albanese Could Save Our Fellow Australian

Duggan’s US Extradition Appeal Failed But Albanese Could Save Our Fellow Australian

The Federal Court has denied Australian citizen Dan Duggan’s appeal of former attorney general Mark Dreyfus’ 2024 decision to greenlight his extradition to the US on 2017 charges alleging he illegally trained Chinese military pilots. And while it’s understood the Trump White House has been sniffing around about getting its hands on him, our prime ...
Glory and shame, two noble myths corrode

Glory and shame, two noble myths corrode

There is a temptation in Australia to treat the Ben Roberts-Smith affair as though it were, at heart, a simple appeal to the rule of law. On one side stands the rules of conduct, agreed and published in the arcane annals of the various conventions that have accumulated over time, the gold standard of how to wage violent conduct against another state ...
ABC’s war on those who fight wars

ABC’s war on those who fight wars

There is a particular kind of arrogance that only flourishes at a safe distance from danger, and the arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith, a recipient of Australia’s highest military honour, has once again brought it into full view. Within hours, the familiar chorus assembled, commentators, analysts and above all, the professional moral class, each certain not ...
Before the Dawn Service, there was this

Before the Dawn Service, there was this

The staged arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith, just weeks before Anzac Day, is not just bad optics. It is a signal to every young Australian thinking about enlisting. Australia is facing a military recruitment crisis. As of early 2024, the Australian Defence Force was more than 4,300 people below its authorised strength of 62,700 permanent members. Its total ...
It’s the pictures that got small

It’s the pictures that got small

Nostalgia is one of Hollywood’s most potent and pervasive impulses. It is among the reasons why deep dives into classic movies are still a publishing phenomenon: there is an enduring market for excavating and celebrating past glories that can also speak to the present in unexpected ways. Anyone with a

“A Blunt Tool”: NSW Court Quashes Government’s Blanket Ban on Protest Marches

“A Blunt Tool”: NSW Court Quashes Government’s Blanket Ban on Protest Marches
Three justices of the New South Wales Court of Appeal struck down the Minns government’s law enabling the blanket banning of protest marches on Thursday, 17 April 2026, describing the law as a “blunt tool”. And as activist groups and a stella legal team saw the unconstitutional regime torn down, the analogy of a blunt tool certainly lent itself to many ...

Duggan’s US Extradition Appeal Failed But Albanese Could Save Our Fellow Australian

Duggan’s US Extradition Appeal Failed But Albanese Could Save Our Fellow Australian
The Federal Court has denied Australian citizen Dan Duggan’s appeal of former attorney general Mark Dreyfus’ 2024 decision to greenlight his extradition to the US on 2017 charges alleging he illegally trained Chinese military pilots. And while it’s understood the Trump White House has been sniffing around about getting its hands on him, our prime ...

Glory and shame, two noble myths corrode

Glory and shame, two noble myths corrode
There is a temptation in Australia to treat the Ben Roberts-Smith affair as though it were, at heart, a simple appeal to the rule of law. On one side stands the rules of conduct, agreed and published in the arcane annals of the various conventions that have accumulated over time, the gold standard of how to wage violent conduct against another state ...

ABC’s war on those who fight wars

ABC’s war on those who fight wars
There is a particular kind of arrogance that only flourishes at a safe distance from danger, and the arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith, a recipient of Australia’s highest military honour, has once again brought it into full view. Within hours, the familiar chorus assembled, commentators, analysts and above all, the professional moral class, each certain not ...

Before the Dawn Service, there was this

Before the Dawn Service, there was this
The staged arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith, just weeks before Anzac Day, is not just bad optics. It is a signal to every young Australian thinking about enlisting. Australia is facing a military recruitment crisis. As of early 2024, the Australian Defence Force was more than 4,300 people below its authorised strength of 62,700 permanent members. Its total ...

It’s the pictures that got small

It’s the pictures that got small
Nostalgia is one of Hollywood’s most potent and pervasive impulses. It is among the reasons why deep dives into classic movies are still a publishing phenomenon: there is an enduring market for excavating and celebrating past glories that can also speak to the present in unexpected ways. Anyone with a