We are reminded almost daily – whether by the gossip magazine we idly browse at the newsagent, morning television, or the casual chat with colleagues – our habitual use of social media has reached dizzying heights. Facebook alone has 1.4 billion daily active users around the world. But in the face of increasingly data-hungry governments and corporations, can we trust social … [Read more...]
About Amy Thomasson
Australia First Country Formally Recognising Connection Between Child Trafficking, Orphanage Tourism & Modern Slavery
n its final sitting week of 2017, the Federal Parliament did us proud.Of course, the main achievement was legalising same-sex marriage before the year’s end. But the Parliamentary Committee charged with conducting the Inquiry into establishing a Modern Slavery Act in Australia (the Inquiry) also handed down its final report, which has been widely commended for its … [Read more...]
Inside The Mind Of A Murderer: How Criminal Profiling Evolved Over Time
ou may have overheard your colleagues talking about the Netflix show ‘Mindhunter’ recently.Based on a true-crime book of the same name, ‘Mindhunter’ has quickly attracted a cult following which is hardly surprising given that the infallible David Fincher is an executive producer.Not one to miss out on a critically acclaimed TV show, I jumped on the bandwagon last … [Read more...]
New Modern Slavery: Australia Leading Fight Against Orphanage Tourism
he exploitative practice of orphanage tourism has finally received the political attention it deserves, with the Foreign Affairs and Aid Sub-Committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (the Committee), set to recommend a ban on Australians visiting orphanages overseas as part of their current Inquiry into establishing a Modern Slavery Act in … [Read more...]
Bucket Intell-O-gence: Untangling The Postal Plebiscite Debacle
he wheels of government have churned out a postal plebiscite as the answer to the same-sex marriage (SSM) debate. For people like me who have become tired of the hackneyed slippery slope arguments being trotted out by those who oppose SSM, this was initially welcome news.Dig a little deeper though, and you’ll realise as I did that a postal plebiscite is just … [Read more...]
Hidden In Plain Sight: Extremely Thin Models Are Harming Australian Women
For decades, models that are ‘too thin’ have hidden in plain sight in the fashion industry on catwalks and magazine spreads. Recently, France joined the likes of Italy, Spain and Israel in implementing legislation that aims to regulate the fashion and media industries and to promote positive body image by banning unhealthily thin models.Since May this year, French models … [Read more...]
Medical Malpractice: Unwanted Dental Procedures And Informed Consent
e’ve all been there – slowly reclining in an uncomfortable blue plastic dentist chair, willing the experience to be over as quickly and painlessly as possible. A basic check-up is what you signed up for, but you leave the office with a fresh set of x-rays, a numb mouth, three fillings and a follow-up appointment booked a few weeks later.We place a pretty unique amount of … [Read more...]
Student Survival Guides: Is Your University Watching You?
he University of Melbourne, University of Sydney and many other Australian tertiary institutions are the latest to use ‘learning analytics’ strategies, something that teaching institutions around the world are apparently lauding as the key to refining curriculums, improving the services they offer and the overall student experience.The University of Melbourne is reportedly … [Read more...]
UK Women Put Their Foot Down Over Requirement To Wear Heels At Work
here are many news items that have recently made me question whether we are living in the 21st century.One such example was the revelation that it is still legal in the UK to require that women wear high heels in the workplace. This all came to light when Nicola Thorp, who has since started a government petition to make it illegal for a company to require that women wear … [Read more...]
Same-Sex Unions Formally Recognised in ACT: But ls It Enough?
he Australian Capital Territory Government has long been a bold advocate of law reform surrounding same-sex unions. In 2013, it passed a bill that would legalise same-sex marriage in the state, only to have it ruled invalid by the High Court because it conflicted with the Federal Marriage Act 1961, which defines marriage as a heterosexual union. Under section 109 of the … [Read more...]
Intellectual Property Law Reform Needs a Hero
n October 2015, you know, the good old days when Donald Trump wasn’t POTUS and Brexit wasn’t a thing, the Australian Government asked the Productivity Commission to undertake a 12-month public inquiry into our intellectual property arrangements.The result? A document of over 750 pages that identifies pretty much every flaw in our current system, and boy are there a lot of … [Read more...]
#QuickLaw: Can You Legally Own A Hashtag?
’m a big fan of the #perthisok hashtag (I know, judge me accordingly) but I never really considered that someone could have intellectual property rights in something that seems so unassuming.Hashtags have proven to be very valuable tools for businesses, with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts that include hashtags returning twice the engagement rate of those without one. … [Read more...]
Find Another Way To Feel Better About Yourself ‘Do-Gooder’: The Narcissism Of Voluntourism
oung Australians have been volunteering overseas in their droves in recent decades, often as an altruistic alternative to Leavers or schoolies and, more broadly, as a way to get more out of travel.Voluntourism - a combination of volunteering and tourism - has become an incredibly popular way to travel and experience new destinations. But the industry has a dark side. Rising … [Read more...]
#PopLaw: What Are Your Legal Rights If Your Song Is Used Without Permission
We are lucky to live in a country where copyright protection is automatically afforded to creative works, a saving grace that makes Australia's copyright law imperfections almost palatable.For musicians, the stakes can be high when it comes to copyright infringement. Contrary to what many Australians may think, there is no such thing as the innocent use of a song, nor is … [Read more...]
Hurry Up, Parliament! We’re Dreaming Of Copyright Law Reform
News of the release of the Copyright Amendment (Disability Access and Other Measures) Bill 2016 exposure draft was probably drowned out by the tiresome election coverage and any hope of immediate action in the first few months of the new government is pipe-dreaming. This is indeed a bothersome state of affairs for copyright reform advocates.Copyright law is … [Read more...]
