Latest news with #decriminalisation
ABC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Townsville businesses speak on public drunkenness as Queensland government looks to re-criminalise it
The Queensland government has flagged re-criminalising public drunkenness in a bid to curb what it says is a surge in antisocial behaviour, less than a year after it was decriminalised. Queensland became the final state in Australia to decriminalise public drunkenness, more than 30 years after it was first recommended by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Premier David Crisafulli this week held a forum in the largest city in north Queensland — Townsville — a city he once described as crime ground-zero to listen to community concerns. A walk down Townsville's main street paints a nuanced picture, with views mixed among business operators and community leaders on how best to make the CBD safer and more attractive to visitors. It's a quiet weekday afternoon when foot traffic should be busy. Shop owner Lucy Downes said she now worked seven days a week because it was harder to find staff wanting to work in the CBD. "It is not a family-friendly environment when you have people brawling and yelling," Ms Downes said. "Especially when there's substance abuse involved. That can be intimidating and scary for staff to witness." Ms Downes backed the state government's move to possibly re-criminalise public drunkenness, but said harsh punishment was not the solution to substance abuse. "It is a very complicated problem … it's good to look towards the bigger picture," she said. When public drunkenness was decriminalised last year, it brought Queensland into line with every other state and territory. The legislative change allowed for an intoxicated person to be taken to a place of safety. But, walking into a meeting with community and business leaders, Mr Crisafulli said it was a retrograde step. "We certainly won't be ruling [re-criminalising] out." Queensland Police statistics show that while the total number of crimes in Townsville has risen steadily over the past 10 years, good order offences, including public nuisance offences, have dropped. Business owners stressed the CBD was still a good place to visit and that police had been working hard recently to keep order. Pauline Jackson said she felt safe at the newsagency she had run on Townsville's Flinders Street for 18 years. Ms Jackson said criminalising public drunkenness would discourage people from poor behaviour. She said more consistent policing was needed. "As soon as you drop it off, antisocial behaviour comes back," she said. "It does keep people away." Marg Cox is often greeted by the smell of urine on her morning walk to her job as the operator of a sandwich shop on Flinders Street. Ms Cox said practical solutions were the best approach. "They need more public toilets in the city; the closest toilet is over the bridge, not in the area," Ms Cox said. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service principal legal officer Greg Shadbolt warned any move to bring back public intoxication laws would target the state's most marginalised people. The service said 2020–2021 statistics demonstrated Queensland Police were 11 times more likely to pursue public order offences against Indigenous people compared to the rest of the population. "If the park is your home and you're not doing anything wrong, other than just drinking, you could potentially be arrested," he said. "If anyone does make a nuisance of themselves in the public arena, police can still arrest them for a whole plethora of charges." Birrigubba elder and academic Gracelyn Smallwood said outlawing public drunkenness would be a backward step, risking more Aboriginal deaths in custody. "I think it's absolutely ridiculous," Professor Smallwood said. Professor Smallwood said alcohol abuse should never be dealt with by locking people up. "All the organisations, Indigenous and non-Indigenous that are receiving money for drunkenness and homelessness should all be collaborating," she said. Additional consultation sessions are being planned for Townsville, Maryborough, Cairns and Mackay.
Daily Mail
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
MPs vote in favour of measures to decriminalise abortion in move to make biggest law change in more than 50 years
MPs have voted in favour of measures to decriminalise women terminating their own pregnancies in the biggest change to the law on reproductive rights for half a century. Women will no longer face prosecution for aborting their own baby for any reason and at any stage up to birth under the proposed legislation, which was backed by 379 votes to 137 on Tuesday night. Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour MP who put forward the amendment, said it will remove the threat of 'investigation, arrest, prosecution, or imprisonment' of any woman who acts in relation to her own pregnancy. She told the Commons the current 'Victorian' abortion law in England and Wales is 'increasingly used against vulnerable women' and said her amendment was a 'once-in-a-generation' opportunity to change the law. Ms Antoniazzi's amendment will be the biggest change to the law concerning women's reproductive rights since the 1967 Abortion Act. It will alter the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act - which outlawed abortion - meaning it would no longer apply to women aborting their own babies. MPs and pro-choice activists welcomed the abortion vote and said it will finally put an end to the prosecution of vulnerable women for ending their own pregnancies. But anti-abortion campaigners and MPs opposed to the reforms said the move allows women to end the life of their unborn child right up to birth, and for any reason, without facing repercussions. Under Ms Antoniazzi's amendment women will no longer be prosecuted for an abortion when it relates to their own pregnancy, even if they abort their own baby without medical approval or after the current 24-week legal limit. However it maintains criminal punishments for doctors who carry out abortions beyond the legal limit and abusive partners who end a woman's pregnancy without her consent. Ms Antoniazzi listed examples of women who have recently been investigated or prosecuted for having an abortion, adding: 'Just what public interest is this serving? This is not justice. It is cruelty, and it has got to end.' 'Women affected are often acutely vulnerable victims of domestic abuse and violence, human trafficking and sexual exploitation, girls under the age of 18 and women who have suffered miscarriage,' she said. Six women have appeared in court in the last three years charged with ending or attempting to end their own pregnancy - a crime with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment - while others remain under investigation. Tory MP Rebecca Paul said she was 'disturbed' by the decriminalisation amendment, which will mean that 'fully developed babies up to term could be aborted by a woman with no consequences'. 'The reason we criminalise late term abortion is not about punishment. It's about protection,' she added. 'By providing a deterrent to such actions, we protect women. 'We protect them from trying to perform an abortion at home that is unsafe for them. We protect them from coercive partners and family members who may push them to end late term pregnancies.' Conservative MP Rebecca Smith told the Commons she the amendment risks 'creating a series of unintended consequences which could endanger women rather than protect and empower them'. 'If offences that make it illegal for a woman to administer her own abortion at any gestation were repealed, such abortions would de facto become possible up to birth for any reason, including abortions for sex selective purposes.' Meanwhile Dr Caroline Johnson, a Tory MP and consultant paediatrician, said the proposed legislation creates a 'situation where a woman is able to legally have an abortion up until term if she wants to'. She tabled a separate amendment that would have made it mandatory for women seeking an abortion through the at-home 'pills by post' scheme introduced during the pandemic to have an in-person consultation with a doctor before they are prescribed the drugs. However this was rejected last night as 379 MPs voted against it - the same number who backed decriminalising abortion. Another amendment, put forward by Labour MP Stella Creasy, had also sought to repeal sections of the 1861 Act, decriminalise abortion up to 24 weeks, and ensure that late-term abortions did not result in prison sentences. Ms Creasy's amendment would have gone go further in making it a human right for women to access abortion so that parliament could not, in future, roll back abortion rights as has happened in other countries. However, Sir Lindsay only selected Ms Antoniazzi's to be debated by MPs this evening, which had more than 170 backers last night - compared to over 110 for Ms Creasy's. During a Westminster Hall debate earlier this month, justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said the Government is neutral on decriminalisation and that it is an issue for Parliament to decide upon. Though the Government took a neutral stance on the vote, several high-profile Cabinet ministers, including Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, were among the MPs who backed the amendment in the free vote. Abortion in England and Wales currently remains a criminal offence but is legal with an authorised provider up to 24 weeks, with very limited circumstances allowing one after this time, such as when the mother's life is at risk or the child would be born with a severe disability. It is also legal to take prescribed medication at home if a woman is less than 10 weeks pregnant. Efforts to change the law to protect women from prosecution follow repeated calls to repeal sections of the 19th-century law the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, after abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in 2019. The measures to decriminalise abortion, which still need to complete their legislative journey through both the Commons and the Lords before they can become law, were welcomed by leading abortion providers and physicians. Heidi Stewart, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, BPAS, described it as a 'landmark moment for women's rights in this country'. She said: 'There will be no more women investigated after enduring a miscarriage, no more women dragged from their hospital beds to the back of a police van, no more women separated from their children because of our archaic abortion law.' It was welcomed by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, with its president Professor Ranee Thakar describing the vote as a 'victory for women and for their essential reproductive rights'. And the British Medical Association also welcomed the vote as a 'significant and long overdue step towards reforming antiquated abortion law'. But Alithea Williams, from the anti-abortion campaign group the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), said she was 'horrified that MPs have voted for this extreme and barbaric proposal'. She added: 'This change has been made after only a few hours debate, with little notice. It was not in the Government's manifesto, and it certainly doesn't reflect public opinion. 'We call on the Lords to throw this undemocratic, barbaric proposal out when it reaches them. We will never accept a law that puts women in danger and removes all rights from unborn babies.' How using medicines led to charges under 'outdated and harmful' laws Six women have appeared in court charged with ending or attempting to end their own pregnancy in the past three years. These included Nicola Packer, 45, who was cleared last month by a jury of 'unlawfully administering' herself with abortion pills at home during lockdown in 2020. Under emergency legislation in the pandemic, which has since been made permanent, the law was changed to allow the tablets to be taken in a system known as 'pills by post'. This let women access the medicine with no visit to a clinic up to a legal limit of ten weeks, compared to the normal limit of 24 weeks when assessed by two doctors. Ms Packer had taken prescribed abortion medicine when she was about 26 weeks pregnant. She told a court in London she did not realise she had been pregnant for more than ten weeks. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said Ms Packer's trial demonstrated 'just how outdated and harmful' that existing abortion law was. Another of these women is Carla Foster, 47, who was found guilty in June 2023 of illegally obtaining abortion tablets when she was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant. Ms Foster, from Staffordshire, was given the pills after claiming in a remote lockdown consultation she was only seven weeks pregnant. A court heard she had lied to a nurse on the phone about how far along she was to obtain the drugs, after searching online: 'I need to have an abortion but I'm past 24 weeks.' She pleaded guilty to a charge under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act and got a 28-month sentence, with half to be spent in jail. This was reduced to a 14-month suspended sentence on appeal with a judge saying the case called for 'compassion, not punishment'. Ms Foster would not have faced prosecution under changes to laws approved last night.
Telegraph
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Anglican church in Istanbul bars MPs from entry over abortion vote
An Anglican church in Istanbul barred British MPs from entry after they voted to decriminalise abortion up to birth in England. Christ Church in Turkey's largest city was slapped down by the Church of England for putting up a sign on its doors telling MPs not to cross its threshold. A sign affixed to the front door said that British MPs should 'refrain' from entering after the 'shameful vote' to decriminalise abortion last month. Parliament voted to change the law so that women will no longer be prosecuted for aborting their pregnancies at any point up until birth. Anyone who assists a woman, including medical professionals, in getting an abortion outside the current legal framework will still be prosecuted. The sign said: 'Would British Members of Parliament please refrain from entering this church? Check with the Chaplain first that you specifically are not anathematised as of 22 June 2025 for your shameful vote in enabling late abortion! 'If you are under anathema but wish to make amends, you are invited to speak with our priest. Thank you on behalf of English Chaplaincy Istanbul.' Christ Church, known also as the Crimean Memorial Church, in Turkey is affiliated with the Church of England and is the largest Protestant church in the city of Istanbul. A Diocese in Europe spokesman confirmed that the chaplain had been ordered to take down the sign, and that it had not been cleared with the Bishop before it was put up. In the aftermath of the historic change made to British abortion laws, the Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Sarah Mullally, said that women facing unwanted pregnancy require 'compassion and care'. She said: 'They should not be prosecuted. However, decriminalising abortion can at the same time inadvertently undermine the value of unborn life. 'The amendment passed to the Crime and Policing Bill may not change the 24-week abortion limit, but it undoubtedly risks eroding the safeguards and enforcement of those legal limits.' It comes after a Liberal Democrat MP, who is Catholic, was denied communion by his local priest after he voted in favour of legalising assisted dying last month. Chris Coghlan, who represents Dorking and Horley, said attendees of a mass at St Joseph's Catholic Church in Dorking were told that he would be refused communion. Mr Coghlan told BBC Radio Surrey that he and his family were not in the church in person to hear the priest, but that people who were there had contacted him to say they were 'pretty appalled'. 'It is one thing to take a view on an MPs vote on a conscience vote in Parliament, it is quite another to go out and publicly name and shame them, as a Catholic priest, to hundreds of their constituents.' Christ Church in Galata, Istanbul, was built during the Crimean War when servicemen expressed a wish for an Anglican church to minister to British sailors in the region. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were among those who donated money to the memorial fund that helped to found the church. A spokesman for the Diocese in Europe said: 'The chaplain had not been in touch with the Bishop to ask for any direction on this matter, as would be required by Canon law. 'If he had, the Bishop would not have approved the action. The chaplain has been told to remove the sign.'
The Guardian
26-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
NSW politicians say cannabis decriminalisation inevitable after report points to unequal system
NSW government members have suggested cannabis reform is inevitable in the state after a parliamentary inquiry found the current regime is discriminatory, because people with means can obtain medicinal cannabis legally, while others are criminalised. The NSW upper house inquiry released its landmark report into the effectiveness of cannabis regulation last week. The recommendations to decriminalise and consider legalisation were backed by six of the seven committee members – including Labor, Liberal and crossbench legislative council members. One Liberal member voted against the recommendations. The committee – chaired by the Legalise Cannabis party MLC Jeremy Buckingham – recommended the Minns government immediately axe the maximum two-year custodial sentence for people found with a small quantity of marijuana and instead replace it with a fine. Then, after a review of decriminalisation, the report said NSW should: 'Engage in a staged process of reform and review and consider legislating to legalise the use of cannabis by adults in a manner that eliminates the illicit market so far as is possible and creates a safe, regulated and accessible statewide market for legal cannabis'. The Labor MLCs Stephen Lawrence and Cameron Murphy, who were part of the committee, said decriminalisation and potential legalisation of cannabis was inevitable because all MLCs bar one voted for the recommendation. Lawrence, who moved for the recommendations to be included in the report, said the cross-party support showed 'the community has moved on from some kind of shock-horror reaction to cannabis'. 'The evidence in the inquiry shows the advantaged have designed a system where they are allowed to smoke their easily obtained medicinal cannabis, often for recreational purposes, while we punish the rest sometimes harshly,' the Labor MLC told Guardian Australia. 'The only question is how soon Australian governments actually lead on the issue, not if. 'The report offers a pathway that can be careful, gradual and bipartisan.' The premier, Chris Minns, spoke in favour of legalising cannabis in 2019 while in opposition but has backpedalled since winning office, saying the government doesn't have a mandate to do so and it is not on Labor's agenda. A spokesperson for the attorney general this week said the government was considering the report's recommendations. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The committee found while the widespread availability of medicinal cannabis in NSW via a prescription from a GP was welcome, it was facilitating widespread 'non-medicinal' use of cannabis. 'This highlights the inequitable and arbitrary nature of the current criminalisation of cannabis, whereby the criminal status of a person now depends on their capacity to obtain a prescription from a doctor,' the report stated. The inquiry found that irrespective of the merits of decriminalisation and legalisation, the maximum two-year prison penalty for being found in possession of a small quantity of marijuana was 'absurd, draconian and antiquated'. 'This degree of criminalisation, which has persisted for many decades, is irrational and an affront to the community's sense of justice and can be remedied by the parliament in a way consistent with the policy position of the government.' The committee found the presence of cannabis in a person's system did not necessarily indicate a person was impaired. The report stated that criminal regulation of cannabis had not achieved its aim of reducing use, and that decriminalisation in other jurisdictions had not led to a material increase in use. Murphy told Guardian Australia the 'two-tier' justice system when it came to cannabis use was of significant concern. 'I believe there is widespread community support, reflected in the committee, to remove personal use quantity cannabis possession offences from the criminal law,' he said.
South China Morning Post
24-06-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Thailand moves to recriminalise cannabis, except for medical use
The Thai government is moving to re-criminalise cannabis – except for medical use – after a pro-weed party quit the coalition, with political turmoil becoming the latest threat to the massive and largely unregulated industry. A new health ministry notification requiring medical prescriptions for cannabis was signed earlier this week and should become effective imminently, Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin said on Tuesday. A failure to formulate cannabis regulations following its 2022 decriminalisation has led to the mushrooming of more than 10,000 dispensaries and widespread recreational use, he said. 'It's a festering problem and we have received so many complaints,' Somsak told reporters before a cabinet meeting. 'Today it is classified as a strictly regulated herb for medical uses, but in the future it will be a narcotic.' Re-criminalisation will be a significant move for Thailand , which was the first country in Asia to decriminalise cannabis. With no cannabis law in place, dispensaries have opened nationwide, flourishing in popular tourist areas and even in Bangkok's business districts. There has also been a surge in cannabis smuggling across borders. A vendor tests cannabis aroma for sale at a cannabis shop in Bangkok. Photo: EPA-EFE The threat to put cannabis back on the list of illegal narcotics is nothing new. The issue had long been a flash point between the ruling Pheu Thai Party of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and its then-ally Bhumjathai Party, which spearheaded the decriminalisation policy.
