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Date: April 19, 2024 Fri
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10 results foundAuthor: Webster, Kim Title: Australians' Attitudes to Violence Against Women and Gender Equality: Findings from the 2017 National Community Attitudes Towards Violence Against Women Survey (NCAS) Summary: This report presents the findings of the 2017 National Community Attitudes Survey Towards Violence Against Women (NCAS) survey, and considers them in the context of other related research. The NCAS survey aims to monitor people's understanding of, and attitudes towards, violence against women, including their attitudes towards gender equality, what influences their attitudes, and whether they are prepared to intervene when witnessing abuse or disrespect towards women. The 2017 survey was conducted with a representative sample of 17,500 Australians aged 16 years and over, and has been previously held in 1995, 2009, and 2013. Overall, most participants have accurate knowledge of violence against women and do not endorse this violence, and most support gender equality. However, a significant number believe that women make up sexual assault accusations to get back at men and that gender inequality is exaggerated or no longer a problem. Sections include: About the Survey; The need for action to reduce and prevent violence against women; Why measure knowledge, attitudes and intentions?; About the 2017 questionnaire; Analysing and reporting the results; Benchmarking knowledge and understanding of violence against women; Benchmarking attitudes towards gender equality; Benchmarking attitudes to violence against women; Knowledge and attitudes among people and in places; Knowledge and attitudes in social contexts and occupations; Factors influencing knowledge and attitudes; Intended responses to violence against women; Key findings in Australian states and territories; Strengths and limitations of the NCAS; Discussion of findings and implications for policy, practice and further research. Separate reports for the samples of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders, people from non-English speaking backgrounds, and young people will be published separately; and the methodology is explained in greater detail in a separate report. Details: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: Australia 's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety, 2018. 192p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 18, 2018 at: https://ncas.anrows.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/NCAS-report-2018.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Australia URL: https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2018/11/apo-nid207046-1247461.pdf Shelf Number: 154038 Keywords: AboriginesAustraliaGender Based ViolenceGender InequalityNational Community Attitudes Survey Towards ViolenSexual AssaultViolence Against Women |
Author: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse Title: Consultation Paper: Criminal Justice Summary: The importance of a criminal justice response Criminal justice for victims In Chapter 2, we discuss the importance of a criminal justice response for victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse. Criminal justice involves the interests of the entire community in the detection and punishment of crime in general, in addition to the personal interests of the victim or survivor of the particular crime. Survivors have told us of a variety of responses they have sought from the criminal justice system, and they have expressed a range of views on what they would have regarded as 'justice' for a criminal justice response. We recognise that a criminal justice response is important to survivors not only in seeking 'justice' for them personally but also in encouraging reporting of child sexual abuse and preventing child sexual abuse in the future. Past and future criminal justice responses In private sessions and in personal submissions in response to Issues Paper No 8 – Experiences of police and prosecution responses (Issues Paper 8), we have heard accounts from survivors of their experiences with police, particularly from the 1940s onwards, and of their experiences with prosecutions from the 1970s and 1980s onwards. Survivors have told us of both positive and negative experiences with police and prosecution responses. In general terms, many of the negative experiences we have been told about were experienced in earlier periods of time through to the early 2000s. In our policy work on criminal justice responses, our main focus must be on understanding the contemporary response of the criminal justice system to institutional child sexual abuse and on identifying how it can be made more effective. Criminal justice and institutional child sexual abuse The criminal justice system is often seen as not being effective in responding to crimes of sexual violence, including adult sexual assault and child sexual abuse, both institutional and noninstitutional. Research identifies the following features of the criminal justice system's treatment of these crimes: - lower reporting rates - higher attrition rates - lower charging and prosecution rates - fewer guilty pleas - fewer convictions. There are also features of institutional child sexual abuse cases that may affect the ability of the criminal justice system to respond effectively to these cases. These include: - 'word against word' cases, where there are no eyewitnesses to the abuse and no medical or scientific evidence - the importance of the complainant being willing to proceed, particularly where their evidence is the only direct evidence of the abuse - lengthy delays, where many survivors take years, even decades, to disclose their abuse. This can make investigation and prosecution more difficult - particularly vulnerable victims may be involved, including young children or people with disability. There are also many myths and misconceptions about sexual offences, including child sexual abuse, that have affected the criminal justice system's responses to child sexual abuse prosecutions. The myths and misconceptions have influenced the law and the attitudes jury members bring to their decision-making. The following myths and misconceptions have been particularly prominent in child sexual abuse cases: - women and children make up stories of sexual assault - a victim of sexual abuse will cry for help and attempt to escape their abuser – that is, there will be no delay in reporting abuse and a 'real' victim will raise a 'hue and cry' as soon as they are abused - a victim of sexual abuse will avoid the abuser – that is, a 'real' victim will not return to the abuser or spend time with them or have mixed feelings about them - sexual assault, including child sexual assault, can be detected by a medical examination – that is, there will be medical evidence of the abuse in the case of 'real' victims. Operation of the criminal justice system There has been much academic debate about what might be said to be the purposes of the criminal justice system. In addition to the purpose of punishing the particular offender, the criminal justice system also seeks to reduce crime by deterring others from offending. The criminal justice systems in Australian jurisdictions function through an 'adversarial' system of justice, where the prosecution (representing the Crown) and the defence (representing the accused) each put forward their case and any evidence in relation to whether the act was committed, by whom, and with what intent. Theoretically, this 'contest between the parties' is designed to produce the most compelling argument as to what the truth of the matter is. Given that the investigation and prosecution of criminal matters is undertaken by the state, there is seen to be an imbalance between the prosecution and the accused. In recognition of this imbalance, a number of principles have emerged through the development of the common law to ensure that trials are conducted fairly. These include the following: - The prosecution must prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that the accused committed the crime or crimes charged. The corollary of this principle is that the accused is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. - The accused has a right to silence. This means that the accused cannot be compelled to give evidence or confess guilt. - The criminal trial should be conducted without unreasonable delay. - The accused has the right to examine witnesses in order to test the credibility of the witness and their testimony. - The prosecution is obliged to act independently and impartially and to conduct the case fairly. - If an accused is charged with a serious offence and lacks the financial means to engage legal representation, he or she should be provided with a lawyer. Many survivors have told us that they feel that the criminal justice system is weighted in favour of the accused. Some survivors who have participated as complainants in prosecutions have told us that they felt almost incidental to the criminal justice system and that they had little control over matters that were very important to them. Recognition of victims has increased over the last 50 years. States and territories introduced victims' compensation schemes from 1967 onwards. In the 1990s, emphasis shifted towards providing greater support services for victims. Victim impact statements were also introduced, and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) guidelines required prosecutors to consult with victims. In 2013, Australia's Attorneys-General endorsed the National Framework for Rights and Services for Victims of Crime. Other responses to institutional child sexual abuse A number of stakeholders have argued that the Royal Commission should consider the use of restorative justice approaches (involving a range of processes to address the harm caused to victims) in connection with, or instead of, traditional criminal justice responses to institutional child sexual abuse. It appears that restorative justice may not be available for or of assistance to many survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, including: - because of the power dynamics and seriousness of institutional child sexual abuse offending, restorative justice approaches may only be suitable in only a small number of these cases. - many survivors do not wish to seek a restorative justice outcome with the perpetrator of the abuse - given the frequent delay before reporting, many offenders will be unavailable or unwilling to participate in restorative justice approaches. The Royal Commission provided for elements of restorative justice approaches in institutional child sexual abuse through the 'direct personal response' component of redress. The recommendations we made in our Report on redress and civil litigation (2015) are not intended as an alternative to criminal justice for survivors. Ideally, victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse should have access to justice through both criminal justice responses and redress and civil litigation. Some survivors have also told us that they found real benefit in state and territory statutory victims of crime compensation schemes because the decisions made by the relevant tribunals or administrators gave them official recognition of the crimes committed against them. Our approach to criminal justice reforms It must be recognised that the criminal justice system is unlikely ever to provide an easy or straightforward experience for a complainant of institutional child sexual abuse. However, we consider it important that survivors seek and obtain a criminal justice response to any child sexual abuse in an institutional context in order to: - punish the offender for their wrongdoing and recognise the harm done to the victim - identify and condemn the abuse as a crime against the victim and the broader community - emphasise that abuse is not just a private matter between the perpetrator and the victim - increase awareness of the occurrence of child sexual abuse through the reporting of charges, prosecutions and convictions - deter further child sexual abuse, including through the increased risk of discovery and detection. We also consider that seeking a criminal justice response to institutional child sexual abuse is an important way of increasing institutions', governments' and the community's knowledge and awareness not only that such abuse happens but also of the circumstances in which it happens. We consider that all victims and survivors should be encouraged and supported to seek a criminal justice response and that the criminal justice system should not discourage victims and survivors from seeking a criminal justice response through reporting to police. We are satisfied that any necessary reforms should be made to ensure that: - criminal justice responses are available for victims and survivors who are able to seek them - victims and survivors are supported in seeking criminal justice responses - the criminal justice system operates in the interests of seeking justice for society, including the complainant and the accused. Regulatory responses to child sexual abuse However, it is unrealistic to expect that all true allegations of institutional child sexual abuse will result in a criminal conviction of the accused, even if the criminal justice system is reformed to achieve these objectives. We recognise the importance of ensuring that regulatory responses focusing on child protection can interact effectively with criminal justice responses, particularly in cases where there is no criminal conviction. These regulatory responses include reportable conduct schemes, Working with Children Check schemes and industry regulation. Details: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, 2016. 709p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 20, 2019 at: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/consultation-papers Year: 2016 Country: Australia URL: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/file-list/Consultation%20Paper%20-%20Criminal%20justice.pdf Shelf Number: 154273 Keywords: AbuserAustraliaChild AbuseChild Sexual AbuseDirector of Public ProsecutionsInstitutional ResponseNational Framework for Rights and Services for VicRestorative JusticeSexual AssaultSexual ViolenceSurvivorsTestimonyVictim |
Author: Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee Title: Active Armed Offender Guidelines for Crowded Places Summary: Introduction It is the responsibility of both Government and private sector stakeholders to work collaboratively to ensure that integrated and effective plans and arrangements are in place to prevent or reduce the impact of these incidents. Crowded places pose a broad range of security challenges for owners, operators and those responsible for providing a protective security overlay. They have been specifically identified - nationally and internationally - as attractive targets by those wishing to engage in terrorism, as well as disgruntled or mentally impaired individuals. Active armed offender attacks have occurred, and continue to occur, in crowded places around the world such as sporting stadiums, transport hubs and entertainment venues. Crowded places present a particularly attractive target for terrorism, due to the ready access to large numbers of potential victims. Attacks which occur in crowded places are particularly insidious because crowds using these places are often distracted by the venue event, reducing their situational awareness of their immediate environment. The Active Armed Offender Guidelines for Crowded Places are intended to increase understanding of the threat that active armed offender incidents pose in crowded places. The Guidelines seek to illustrate the key role that owners and operators of crowded places can play in developing and implementing appropriately informed prevention, preparedness, response and recovery arrangements to reduce the risks posed by such a threat. The guidance material has been developed by the 'Crowded Places Advisory Group' (CPAG) on behalf of the Australia-New Zealand Counter - Terrorism Committee (ANZCTC). It should be read in conjunction with Australia's Strategy for Protecting Crowded Places from Terrorism; Improvised Explosive Device Guidelines for Crowded Places, Chemical Weapon Guidelines and the Hostile Vehicle Mitigation Guidelines for Crowded Places. Purpose These Guidelines aim to increase the awareness of owners and operators of crowded places of the dynamic terrorism threat, while providing guidance on the issues and options which can be considered during risk mitigation and contingency planning activities. These Guidelines set out several broad guiding principles which public and private sector stakeholders should consider to reduce the vulnerability of their site to the threat of terrorism. The Guidelines aim to supplement and build upon some of those broad areas of focus, with particular emphasis on the following two principles: - Prevention and preparedness arrangements should be underpinned by an intelligence-led, risk management approach. - Effective security outcomes in complex crowded place environments require cooperation and coordination among stakeholders. Gaining a better understanding of the risk environment, and options for preventing and dealing with active armed offender incidents, will enable owners and operators in the private sector in particular to more effectively contribute to the collective national efforts to manage the active armed offender threat to crowded places. It is intended that this knowledge will lead to the development of 'contingency plans' or sub-plans to supplement existing emergency response plans and arrangements at facilities and venues. Details: Canberra, Australia: 2017. 13p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 9, 2019 at: https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Media-and-publications/Publications/Documents/active-armed-offender-guidelines-crowded-places.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Securityandyourcommunity/Pages/active-armed-offender-guidelines-for-crowded-places.aspx Shelf Number: 154371 Keywords: Active Armed OffenderAustraliaCounterterrorismCrowded PlacesCrowded Places Advisory GroupEntertainment VenuesEvent SecurityNew ZealandRadicalizationRisky FacilitiesSporting StadiumsTerrorismTerrorist AttacksVenue Security |
Author: Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee Title: Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Guidelines for Crowded Places Summary: Introduction Crowded places can pose a broad range of security challenges for their owners and operators. Terrorists and other criminals have, and will continue to, see crowded places as attractive targets for attacks both in Australia and overseas. Terrorist attacks using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) often target crowded places such as public transport hubs, sporting arenas, entertainment precincts, and shopping malls. Government and private sector cooperation helps to ensure incident planning and arrangements are integrated and effective, while aiming to reduce the likelihood and impact of IED attacks. The Crowded Places Advisory Group (CPAG) has developed these Guidelines on behalf of the Australia New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee (ANZCTC), with input from the Business Advisory Group (BAG). They should be read in conjunction with Australia’s Strategy for Protecting Crowded Places from Terrorism; Active Armed Offender Guidelines for Crowded Places, Chemical Weapon Guidelines and Hostile Vehicle Mitigation Guidelines. Purpose Those who own or operate crowded places are responsible for providing a safe and secure environment for the general public by applying well-informed risk and emergency management arrangements. It benefits everyone to stop or limit the consequences of an IED incident and quickly restore normal business activities. These Guidelines help people who own or operate crowded places to be more aware of the threat posed by IEDs. They also provide guidance on the issues and options to consider during risk mitigation and contingency planning activities. Australia’s Strategy for Protecting Crowded Places from Terrorism sets out several guiding principles for public and private sector stakeholders to reduce their vulnerability to the threat of terrorism. These Guidelines supplement the Strategy with key emphasis on the following two principles: - Prevention and preparedness arrangements should be underpinned by an intelligence- led, risk management approach; and - Effective security outcomes in complex environments where large crowds gather require cooperation and coordination between all stakeholders. Details: Canberra, Australia: Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee, 2017. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 9, 2019 at: https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Media-and-publications/Publications/Documents/IED-Guidelines/IED-guidelines-crowded-places.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Securityandyourcommunity/Pages/australias-strategy-for-protecting-crowded-places-from-terrorism.aspx Shelf Number: 154373 Keywords: AustraliaCounterterrorismCrowded PlacesCrowded Places Advisory GroupEntertainment VenuesImprovised Explosive DevicesNew ZealandRisk ManagementRisk MitigationRisky Facilities |
Author: Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee Title: Hostile Vehicle Guidelines for Crowded Places Summary: Who should read this and why - vehicles as weapons This publication provides an overview of hostile vehicle mitigation to all owners and operators responsible for the management of crowded places. It offers insight into how protective measures can be integrated into public and private places in order to mitigate and reduce the impact of vehicles being used as weapons. Owners and operators of crowded places want their site to be as safe as reasonably possible for their staff and the public. Organisational reputation, business continuity, and legal requirements for publicly accessible areas to be safe are all important reasons for owners and operators to understand and mitigate the risk posed by hostile vehicles. The aim of this document is to provide those responsible for crowded places with knowledge to inform security design considerations and decisions. It is intended to be a starting point to the development of effective and aesthetically complementary designs that help protect crowded places from hostile vehicles. Details: Canberra, Australia: 2017. 23p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 9, 2019 at: https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Media-and-publications/Publications/Documents/hostile-vehicle-guidelines-crowded-places.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Australia URL: https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Media-and-publications/Publications/Documents/hostile-vehicle-guidelines-crowded-places.pdf Shelf Number: 154374 Keywords: AustraliaCounterterrorismCrowded PlacesHostile VehiclesNew ZealandRisk ManagementRisk MitigationTerrorismTerrorist AttacksVehicles as Weapons |
Author: Walker, Samantha Title: Characteristics of Chronic Offenders in Victoria Summary: Previous Crime Statistics Agency analysis of reoffending has focused on youth. This fact sheet examined the offending frequency of alleged offenders of all ages recorded in the 10 years to 30 June 2017, and explored the characteristics of those who were chronic offenders during the study period (more than 10 alleged offender incidents) compared with those who offended less frequently. Key findings include: - Of all alleged offenders, 6.3% were chronic offenders and were responsible for 43.9% of the recorded offender incidents during the 10-year period. - People aged under 25 years (at the time their first offender incident was recorded during the 10-year period) made up more than half (54.2%) of all chronic offenders. - The majority of chronic offenders were male (83.3%) and were born in Australia (84.3%). - The most commonly recorded offence type for chronic offenders was non-aggravated burglary, followed by stealing from a retail store. - The most commonly recorded police outcome for chronic offenders was arrest. Details: Melbourne, Australia: Crime Statistics Agency, 2018. 3p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 18, 2019 at: https://www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/embridge_cache/emshare/original/public/2018/04/69/f9d1461ef/Crime%20Statistics%20Agency%20-%20In%20Fact%207%20-%20Characteristics%20of%20chronic%20offenders.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Australia URL: https://www.crimestatistics.vic.gov.au/research-and-evaluation/publications/reoffending/characteristics-of-chronic-offenders-in-victoria Shelf Number: 154357 Keywords: AustraliaBurglaryCareer CriminalsChronic OffendersMale CriminalsOffenders |
Author: Palmer, Hayley Title: Illegal Export of e-Waste from Australia: A Story Told by GPS Trackers Summary: In September and October of 2017 BAN deployed 35 pieces of non-functional electronic waste equipment including CRT monitors, LCD monitors and printers with GPS trackers imbedded within them across Australia. All of the equipment qualified under the Basel Convention as hazardous waste. 14 units of equipment were deployed in the Brisbane area, 13 in the Sydney area, 3 in Adelaide, and 5 in Perth. Out of these 35 trackers 2 were exported (5.71%), 1 moved to a seaport and was likely exported (2.86%), 11 moved to a Recycler (31.4%), 4 moved to a landfill (11.4%), 7 never moved, (20%), 6 had no signal after delivery (17.1%) and 2 moved to an unknown location (5.71%). 2 are still reporting regularly and the rest have gone quiet, meaning they could be bulldozed into a landfill, buried deep in a warehouse, or shredded or disassembled by a recycler. Exports from OfficeWorks -- Three of the devices appear to have been exported, with two definitely going to Hong Kong's New Territories area. Both of these were LCDs monitors from the Brisbane area and one of these was later re-exported to an e-waste processing facility in Thailand. The two exported LCDs were deployed at different OfficeWorks stores in the Brisbane area. Officeworks' "Bring I.T Back" as a "Drop Zone" location is an official Australian Government public drop-off location that the public is encouraged to use for their electronic recycling. Officeworks, according to their website, considers itself to be a very sustainable company. The third device, another LCD left at Endeavor Foundation Industries, another government approved e-waste dropoff location, last signaled at a container dock at the port of Brisbane and was likely exported- though it has yet to signal again. Site Visits BAN traveled to the two locations in Asia where the two exported LCDs ended up. Both of these, without showing any other stopping points after their respective OfficeWorks deliveries, were joined in one intermodal container and shipped to the Ping Che area of New Territories, Hong Kong. Ping Che is an infamous area of Hong Kong for e-waste trafficking where most commonly undocumented laborers are involved in the crude and harmful breakdown of the equipment, often exposing them to dangerous toner dust, and, in the case of LCDs -- the toxic metal mercury. However, when we visited the location a few months after the arrival of the LCDs, there was no trace of e-waste in the facility - apparently, it had been cleaned out and one of the tracked devices stopped signaling. The other one, however, we visited its second location in Thailand. In Thailand that LCD monitor arrived at a location that was involved in crude smelting of circuit boards, creating deadly dioxins and furans, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Illegal Exportation There can be little doubt that these exports were illegal due to the fact that all three countries concerned, Australia, China (including Hong Kong), and Thailand are all parties to the Basel Convention. Due to the presence of mercury in the backlights of these LCD monitors and the lead in the circuit boards of the monitors, and because the equipment was rendered non-functional, the equipment was clearly a hazardous waste under the definitions of the Basel Convention. As such, all exports would require that they be notified prior to export by the government of Australia and consented to by the initially receiving government of Hong Kong. Thailand, in recent weeks, has made it abundantly clear that they are not happy receiving e-waste imported illegally en masse to primitive processing facilities that have been springing up all over their territory following China's own importation ban (see Current Trends in the e-Waste Trade). Details: Seattle, Washington: Basel Action Network, 2018. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2019 at: http://wiki.ban.org/images/7/7c/Australian_e-Waste_Report_-_2018.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Australia URL: https://www.ban.org/trash-transparency Shelf Number: 155489 Keywords: AustraliaE-Waste Electronic Waste Environmental Crime Green CriminologyHazardous Waste Illegal Dumping Illegal Waste Offences Against the Environment Pollution Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment WEEE |
Author: Hammerle, Mara Title: Stopping the Spread: The Issue of Death by Plastic in Commonwealth Marine Areas and the Great Barrier Reef Summary: Plastic pollution, both land-based and in our oceans, is one of the most significant environmental challenges the world faces. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has even called it a critical problem, comparable to climate change. While plastic pollution is not the only type of marine litter, it is the most abundant form and poses a worldwide threat to marine environments. Mass production of plastic materials, coupled with inefficient disposal systems and widespread limited environmental awareness, exacerbate the issue. Marine litter is "any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material discarded, disposed of, or abandoned in, the marine and coastal environment". It is found across the planet, including in remote regions far from civilisation - such as Antarctica, remote mountain-tops and the deep-sea ocean floor. In marine environments, the litter accumulates in high densities posing detrimental consequences for marine life. Many species either accidentally swallow or become entangled in the litter, resulting in injury and sometimes death. It also has economic consequences, for example by limiting fishery productivity. There is an urgent need to address marine litter both through the strengthening of existing strategies and through new innovations and technology. As marine litter is rooted in production and consumption patterns and the disposal and management of waste, it is these areas where interventions are necessary. The aim of the report is to look at what could be done at the federal level to reduce marine litter in our oceans by examining lessons from international case studies. The strategies are categorised in five themes: prevention (preventing the production of plastic and other litter in the first place), mitigation (minimising the amount of litter entering water sources), removal (removing litter from marine environments), education (educating the public and other key stakeholders) and research (understanding the extent and impact of marine litter). It is however important that the potential negative impacts of any policy recommendations are assessed before adoption. However, the Constitution prescribes no specific environmental regulatory powers to the Federal Government and those powers that the Federal Government does have through the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 are limited and weak. As stressed by numerous environmental organisations, including the Boomerang Alliance, Places You Love and Environmental Defenders Offices, there is an urgent need for national leadership both on marine litter and on environmental matters more generally. Details: Queensland, Australia: McKell Institute, 2018. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2019 at: https://mckellinstitute.org.au/app/uploads/Stopping-the-Spread-1.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Australia URL: https://apo.org.au/node/204446 Shelf Number: 155492 Keywords: Australia Environmental Crime Green CriminologyHazardous Waste Marine LitterMarine Pollution Offences Against the Environment Plastic PollutionPolluted Oceans |
Author: Smyth, Chris Title: The Threat to Australia's Oceans from Supertrawlers Summary: Since the 1950s industrial-scale factory fishing fleets have roamed the world's oceans looking for fish, spurred on by demand, government subsidies and advances in technology. Overfishing, illegal fishing, decimated local coastal economies and illegal activities have followed in their wake. In the early 1980s Australia took control of its waters, limiting access by foreign fishing fleets that had been exploiting Australia's fish stocks including tuna and prawn for decades. Access thereafter was via agreement only. There was a lot at stake - Australian waters are particularly vulnerable to overfishing due to their low biological productivity and the difficulty in detection over such remote and vast areas. In the following decades Australia was able to develop a reputation for being one of the better managed fishing nations. The contrast between fishing intensity inside and outside Australia's waters is stark. Fishing fleets on the high seas operate right up to Australia's borders (see Figure 1, opposite). It is becoming apparent that Australia's reputation is increasingly a beacon drawing in the industrial fishing capacity that has depleted oceans elsewhere. The unprecedented approval for two European supertrawlers (industrial fishing boats that catch, process, freeze and store on a grand scale) to fish in Australian waters in recent years - the Margiris and the Dirk Dirk - is an indicator of this. The Australian public roundly rejected the notion of supertrawlers operating in our fisheries, but weak domestic regulation allows them to slip through into Australian waters. The two supertrawlers that have received regulatory approval to operate in Australian waters were hounded out by local communities. In response to high levels of concern, the federal government put in place a permanent ban on supertrawlers in Australian waters, but the research has found this to be 'tip of the iceberg regulation' - banning only a tiny subset (just six) of the world's supertrawler fleet. The research has also found that there have been moves for at least the last two years to bring other foreign fishing vessels into Australian waters. Australia's fishing fleet is relatively small, with limited capital and high operating costs given the vastness and limited productivity of our oceans. Ready-to-go foreign fishing vessels with far greater capacity appear to be an attractive option for significantly increasing catch in Australian waters. This report details what is known to this point including new information that has come to light as a result of questioning in the Federal Parliament and background research. At the time of going to print, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request lodged with the Federal Government earlier this year remains outstanding. Regulator transparency is limited in this area. Even with the limited information available, this report has found that there is both motive and opportunity - there is a push for increased commercial fishing effort in Australian waters, the industrial capacity found in foreign fishing fleets is necessary to achieve this aim, and Australia's legal loopholes and regulatory opaqueness make this possible. Further, this report finds that the prospect of industrial scale foreign fishing vessels becoming established in Australian waters poses an unacceptable risk to Australia's unique and diverse marine life, its fishing sustainability, its recreational fishing lifestyle and associated tourism ventures, its ability to uphold human rights and environmental safeguards, and its international reputation. This report makes two key recommendations - that a formal independent inquiry is now needed to investigate moves to bring foreign fishing vessels into Australian waters, and that the Federal Government must make good on its claim that supertrawlers are banned in Australia's vulnerable fisheries. Details: West End, Queensland, Australia: Australian Marine Conservation Society, 2019. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 20, 2019 at: https://www.marineconservation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/AMCS-SOML-supertrawler-overseas-fleets-report-2019.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Australia URL: https://apo.org.au/node/234341?utm_source=APO-feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=rss-all Shelf Number: 155939 Keywords: AustraliaFisheriesForeign Fishing VesselsIllegal FishingIllegal, Undocumented, and Unregulated FishingIUU FishingSupertrawlers |
Author: Our Watch Title: Change the Story :Three Years on: Reflections on Uptake and Impact, Lessons Learned and Our Watch's Ongoing Work to Embed and Expand the Evidence on Prevention Summary: In 2015, Our Watch, together with Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS) and VicHealth, published a world-first shared national framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children. Since its publication, Change the story: A shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia has been widely shared and endorsed, and used in many different ways by diverse audiences, from practitioners to policymakers, across a range of settings, and among both small community groups and large organisations. In this time, Our Watch has also used Change the story as the evidence base that informs our own ongoing work – in policy development and advice to governments, in supporting established and emerging prevention practitioners and developing prevention models for different settings, and in the development of media content and social marketing campaigns to change social norms, attitudes and behaviours. Three years after its release, it is an appropriate time to review the uptake of, and response to, Change the story by readers and users of the framework across the country, and to consider the lessons we’ve learned from this feedback. It is also an opportunity to reflect and report on our own subsequent and ongoing work, which aims both to promote and embed the approach outlined in Change the story across Australia, and to continue to develop the evidence base and expand our own thinking. Reporting publicly on this review and reflection process is the purpose of this publication. It also delivers on the first part of a commitment made in Change the story itself, namely that it would be reviewed in 2018 in parallel with planning for the Fourth Action Plan 2019-2022 of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022 (hereafter 'the National Plan'), and again in 2021, to align with the final stage of this National Plan and the anticipated development of its successor. Given the short time since the publication of Change the story, this three-year review and reflection has been kept deliberately limited in scope – it does not, for example, include an updated review of the international literature and evidence on prevention that informed the original document. We envisage that the 2021 review will encompass this substantial task, as well as a comprehensive assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of Change the story after five years of application and a revision or expansion of the approach if warranted. Details: Melbourne, Australia: Our Watch, 2019. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 28, 2019 at: https://www.ourwatch.org.au/Media-Resources Year: 2019 Country: International URL: https://www.ourwatch.org.au/getmedia/5625d7f5-40de-40d8-a3f7-d3b9147df909/OW005-Change-they-Story-Three-Years-On-WEB-AA-2.pdf.aspx?ext=.pdf Shelf Number: 156065 Keywords: AustraliaDomestic ViolenceGender and CrimeIntimate Partner ViolenceViolence Against Women and Children |