Michael McHugh

• Display of Nazi symbol now a jailable offence in NSW

  19th Jan 2023

  In response to an increase in right-wing extremism, NSW has joined Victoria in criminalising the public display of Nazi symbols without a reasonable excuse. Michael McHugh of Stacks Law Firm, Tamworth, discusses the new law, including the legal difficulties.

• How the term ‘coward punch’ won a $100,000 defamation payout

  20th Feb 2020

  As Michael McHugh explains, language is a powerful tool – in society and in law.  ‘Coward punch’ describes a characteristic of the perpetrator of such an act: that in hitting a defenceless person in an unprovoked manner, the actor is not only committing a violent act but also, distinctly, is contemptibly lacking the courage to act in a proper or fair way.