Justice and Equity Centre (formerly the Public Interest Advocacy Centre)

E-scooters and e-bikes are giving people new options for sustainable and convenient transport. But they can also create new problems if not well-regulated, preventing people with disability from using public spaces safely and reducing public safety. Principal Solicitor Ellen Tilbury and Senior Solicitor Sheetal Balakrishnan appeared at today’s Parliamentary inquiry with Ed Morris and Alice Batchelor from Physical Disability Council of NSW, and Bruce Maguire from Vision Australia, to show how the NSW Government can learn important lessons from the experiences of other jurisdictions like Queensland, Victoria and the ACT. ‘Today, we explained to the NSW Government why the existing legal framework, including Disability Transport Standards, isn’t enough to ensure people’s safety as e-scooters and e-bikes are introduced,’ Sheetal said. ‘Regulation needs to be designed with people with disability to ensure these devices can be used safely and don’t reduce accessibility.’ ‘We don’t want to see an e-scooter ban, like in Melbourne. To avoid this, the Government must be proactive and create enforceable regulations that keep people safe and protect the rights of people with disability.’ We also raised important issues around the need for pedestrians to be compensated through an insurance scheme if they are injured in an accident with an e-scooter or e-bike.

We’ve raised concerns in The Saturday Paper about legal tactics being used by mining giant Santos that could hamper effective public interest litigation. After winning a legal challenge earlier this year, Santos sought to recover legal costs from third parties who supported the case brought by three Tiwi Islanders. This has significant ramifications for civil society organisations. As our Principal Solicitor Ellen Tilbury told journalist Michael Mazengarb: ‘The decision we saw in the Santos case could act to silence individuals and organisations who support a cause, significantly undermining effective public campaigning. And it could scare off potential allies who would otherwise offer practical and moral support to small legal organisations like ours that are fighting in the public interest.’ Community legal centres like the Justice and Equity Centre rely on third party supporters to help us highlight injustice and push for change. For those supporters to be targeted for offering indirect support or statements of solidarity is alarming and would have a profound chilling effect. We need greater clarity about laws relating to costs against third parties and improvements to protect people bringing public interest cases.  We hope to work collaboratively with government and the legal community to ensure access to justice for people who want to bring important cases that hold power to account. 

NSW renters now have better protections after new laws passed Parliament last night. Renters can no longer be evicted from their homes without a reason – a win are pleased to be part of, having called for this change alongside other advocacy organisations for years. ‘This change gives renters more certainty about staying in their homes – but it does much more than that. It means renters can now assert their rights to repairs and negotiate proposed rent rises without fear that their landlord can simply evict them without reason,’ Alannah Daly, Justice and Equity Centre Policy Officer said. ‘This change strikes a better balance between the rights of renters and landlords, who must have a valid reason for asking a tenant to leave. The current housing crisis means renters often have nowhere else to go. It’s critical that tenancy laws are fair and protect renters from homelessness.’ We look forward to seeing these reforms implemented over the coming months. https://lnkd.in/g_RcQfaQ

We are delighted to share our first Annual Report as the Justice and Equity Centre. In the last year we represented clients and partnered with community organisations to make real change that has improved lives, across our five priority areas of civil rights, First Nations justice, disability rights, homelessness and energy and water justice. The report shows how we are building on PIAC’s 40+ year legacy with ongoing strategic legal work and policy expertise that changes lives, and society, for the better.

We honour the survivors of the Kinchela Boys Home who have shared their experiences to mark 100 years since Kinchela’s opening. It is important truth that must be acknowledged. From 1924 until Kinchela was closed in 1971, hundreds of Aboriginal boys were forcibly removed from their families and sent to the ‘training institute’. New research from our Towards Truth project shows the government’s Public Service Board was questioning Kinchela’s operations as early as the 1930s, finding the facility ‘did not meet the necessary requirements of a government 'training home'’. Towards Truth Project manager Corey Smith told the ABC: ‘Although it was called a training institute, our research shows the young boys at Kinchela were forced to undertake gruelling farm work for long hours.’ Towards Truth supports local, Aboriginal-led truth-telling and provides documentary evidence to reinforce the histories of resistance and dispossession told by Aboriginal people. Read more about our research into laws and policies that allowed the labour of Aboriginal children to be exploited at our website: https://lnkd.in/gpEm9iiN  

The Australian Government is taking an important step towards making privacy protections fit for the digital age, with proposed changes including a new right to take legal action for a serious invasion of privacy. The reforms respond to recommendations we’ve made with other civil society organisations for years. At a Senate inquiry earlier today, Principal Solicitor Ellen Tilbury welcomed parts of the Government’s proposal but urged further improvements. As she explains: ‘We need to make sure people in a position of vulnerability have appropriate protection,’ says Ellen. ‘Vulnerability and disadvantage should be factors considered when assessing someone’s reasonable expectation of privacy.’ ‘The proposal’s suggested exemptions for journalists and police are too broad. We need to balance the need for public interest journalism with accountability for journalists and ensure police don’t unreasonably breach people’s privacy.’ ‘We also have serious concerns about the misuse of personal data. We’re calling for the Government to urgently introduce further changes to the Privacy Act, including a test to ensure the collection, use and sharing of personal information is “fair and reasonable” – with consequences if it’s not met.’ Read our submission to the inquiry for more detail: https://lnkd.in/g2j5B9eQ

‘Australians need to understand our history and the issues we still face. They need to understand that these issues are both historic, and on-going. Truth-telling is the best tool we have to create this understanding.’ Towards Truth Project Manager Corey Smith reflects on the lack of progress for First Nations justice since the Voice vote in a powerful opinion piece for the National Indigenous Times. And how truth-telling offers a pathway to make change. ‘The Yoorook Justice Commission in Victoria is a practical example of the power of Indigenous-led truth-telling that is backed by government. The light the Commission shines on the state's history is informing treaty processes to help bring about substantive change.’ https://lnkd.in/gX3ugUFv

NSW has taken a significant step towards LGBTIQ equality – but it’s not the end of the journey. Last night the Parliament passed Alex Greenwich MP’s Equality Bill, which makes important reforms meaning trans people can be recognised as who they are on their birth certificate without being forced to undergo costly, sterilising surgery. Birth certificates will also be able to record a gender other than male or female, such as non-binary. ‘These changes will make a very real, very positive difference to the lives of trans and gender diverse people across NSW,’ our Director of Policy and Advocacy, Alastair Lawrie, said. Disappointingly, changes to the Anti-Discrimination Act were dropped from the Bill to secure Parliamentary support. As Alastair explains: ‘NSW laws still fail to protect bisexual, non-binary and intersex people against discrimination. LGBTQ students and teachers in religious schools can also be lawfully mistreated just because of who they are, and exemptions that give religious organisations the ability to discriminate are unacceptably broad.’ The NSW Law Reform Commission’s review of the Anti-Discrimination Act must progress quickly so NSW Parliament can prioritise fixing this broken, out-dated law. https://lnkd.in/gxqdRmNU

We have a unique position for an Aboriginal and / or Torres Strait Islander law student in their final year, or a recent graduate. Our First Nations Social Justice Graduate Program provides hands-on experience across a range of social and criminal justice focus areas. The role includes paid Practical Legal Training and a transition into a solicitor position on completion. The Program is a partnership between the Shopfront Youth Legal Centre and the Justice and Equity Centre, two leading social justice legal centres. You’ll be working within dynamic teams working to challenge injustice, disadvantage and inequality. This is a 2 year program with placements at both Shopfront and the JEC – with flexibility to suit different law courses. Please send applications to jobs@jec.org.au. Close date is 15 November 2024. #hiring #werehiring #jobalert #legaljob #gradscheme #graduate

The Commonwealth Government can’t be selective about when it listens to the Australian Human Rights Commission. While the AHRC recommended increased search powers in immigration detention to combat serious safety issues, this was just one of the steps they said the Government needed to take. The AHRC also made 18 recommendations for urgently improving health services at Yongah Hill. ‘You can’t search your way to adequate healthcare and wellbeing for detainees,’ Justice and Equity Centre Principal Solicitor Jonathan Hall Spence said. ‘We’ve represented clients in Yongah Hill, who speak at length about the abhorrent conditions in the centre. While Australia maintains a system of mandatory immigration detention, the Government must ensure its facilities are fit for purpose and provide detainees safety, dignity and respect for their fundamental rights.’  https://lnkd.in/g_2y9qh5