Tasmania

• ALA welcomes closure of Ashley Youth Detention Centre

  9th Sep 2021

  The Government’s decision to close the Ashley Youth Detention Centre has been welcomed by lawyers who say that it is imperative that this opportunity for a complete overhaul of the youth justice system in Tasmania is not squandered.

• ALA calls on Government to take evidence-based approach to drug policy

  6th Sep 2021

  The Cannabis Decriminalisation Bill 2021 proposed last week should be tabled and voted to committee so that an evidence-based approach can be used to inform drug policy in Tasmania, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• ALA proposes legislation to decriminalise cannabis use in Tasmania

  2nd Sep 2021

  International and interstate examples of success, growing public support and the clear failure of current laws to stop drug use means the time is right for drug law reform in Tasmania, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Calls for law change to ensure transparency around development in Wilderness World Heritage Areas

  29th Jun 2021

  A change to the law is needed to ensure transparency around private development in environmentally significant parts of Tasmania, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Lawyers welcome rejection of anti-protest laws

  25th Mar 2021

  Today’s Tasmanian Legislative Council decision to oppose the Workplaces (Protection from Protesters) Amendment Act 2019 has been welcomed by the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Sexual abuse inquiry welcome but terms of reference must not be too limited

  23rd Nov 2020

  Lawyers in Tasmania have welcomed today’s announcement that a Commission of Inquiry into sexual abuse in government institutions will be held, but caution that the Inquiry’s terms of reference must not be too restrictive.

• Industrial manslaughter laws needed to set workplace safety expectations

  21st Oct 2020

  Tougher industrial manslaughter laws are needed in Tasmania says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) supporting Labor’s push to permit the prosecution of companies for a death in the workplace.

• Monetary Penalties Enforcement Bill fails to tackle issues of disadvantage & debt

  27th Sep 2020

  The Monetary Penalties Enforcement Amendment Bill 2020 is a missed opportunity to address issues facing Tasmanians experiencing extreme hardship and should not be allowed to pass in its current form, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) in a submission on the Bill which the Attorney-General Elise Archer has released for public comment.

• Disadvantaged & vulnerable Tasmanians need support - not prosecution – in health crisis

  2nd Apr 2020

  A moratorium on drug offences and help for the homeless are needed to keep all Tasmanians safe during this public health emergency, according to the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• COVID-19: TAS Government urged to make changes to ensure justice

  16th Mar 2020

  Changes need to be made to ensure the justice system can still operate fairly in light of the social distancing requirements caused by COVID-19, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Workplace safety laws being used inappropriately to restrict right to protest

  21st Feb 2020

  The unprecedented use of workplace safety laws to try to curtail the right to protest is very concerning said the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA), following the news that the Bob Brown Foundation has been threatened with fines by WorkSafe.

• Proposed anti-protest laws are authoritarian and are an attack on democracy, says ALA

  15th Nov 2019

  Anti-protest laws tabled in Tasmanian parliament yesterday are deeply authoritarian and are an attack on democracy, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• ALA welcomes repeal of begging offence

  30th Oct 2019

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) has welcomed the decision by the State Government to make changes to the Police Offences Act 1935 that will remove the offence of begging.

• ALA slams Place Names Bill: unnecessary and unjustified

  11th Sep 2019

  The Place Names Bill introduced into State Parliament on Tuesday, which makes it an offence to misrepresent the name of a place, is an unnecessary and appalling piece of legislation, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

   

• Pill testing: lawyers commend Hobart Council and call on state government to reconsider its position

  23rd Jul 2019

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) today commended Hobart City Council’s decision to endorse pill testing at festivals.

• Suburb lockdown: unprecedented abuse of power

  2nd Jul 2019

  Suburb lockdowns are plainly an extraordinary abuse of power and there does not appear to be any precedent for this type of police operation in any other state or territory in Australia, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Lawyers call on TAS Government to support pill-testing: current policies are failing

  6th Feb 2019

  Politicians need to take advice from health professionals, not police, on the question of pill testing, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today following reservations expressed by Health Minister Michael Ferguson.

• Lawyers support TAS Greens’ pill testing Bill

  22nd Nov 2018

  The ALA has given its support to the Tasmanian Greens’ Misuse of Drugs Amendment (Drug Analysis) Bill 2018 being tabled today.

• TAS police charging fees for evidence is outrageous and unfair, say lawyers

  2nd Nov 2018

  Tasmanians are being billed by police to view the evidence of their criminal and traffic offence charges which is both unfair and out of line with the rest of Australia, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Proposed anti-consorting law goes too far: ALA submits alternative form of legislation

  19th Sep 2018

  The proposed anti-consorting law introduced into the Tasmanian Parliament yesterday goes too far and is a violation of individual rights,

• Pair named ALA 2015 National Civil Justice Award Winners

  23rd Oct 2015

  The founders of Civil Liberties Australia are two people who have done more than many to help curb the security powers of police and security forces and governments.

• Proposed ‘crime levy’ just a tax on the poor

  25th Sep 2015

  The Tasmanian government’s proposed ‘crime levy’ is an unfair tax that will reduce access to justice and fall unfairly on low income earners, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.

• ALA calls for immediate removal of boy in Tas detention centre

  9th Jul 2013

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance is calling for the immediate removal of an 11-year-old child from Pontville detention centre in Tasmania.

• Planned unexplained wealth laws will not hinder crime in Tas - ALA

  15th May 2013

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance is concerned about planned unexplained wealth laws, soon to be tabled in Tasmanian parliament, after Attorney-General, Brian Wightman, flagged an upcoming Bill on the issue.