Mike Stanton

We are proud to announce that the recipient of this year’s Liberty Victoria Voltaire Human Rights award is Dr Mohammed Mustafa.
He is an English-Australian emergency physician trainee, humanitarian, and former international athlete of Palestinian heritage.
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Liberty Victoria calls on the Australian Government to immediately do everything in its power to stop the unnecessary and inhumane deaths of civilians in Gaza.
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Citizenship stripping is a terrible idea: (1) It creates two tiers of citizenship and weakens the ties that bind us; (2) it undermines the judiciary and results in executive overreach and politicised decisions; and (3) it seeks to offload our responsibilities to others. #auspol

The duplicity of this Government fronting Yoorrook and now desperately introducing these draconian bail reforms is just breathtaking. Including removing the principle of detention being a last resort for children? This will result in deaths in custody. It’s a disgrace. #springst

This was always on the cards for anyone that has watched Trump since he emerged in 2016. The real issue for us in Australia is AUKUS - Morrison signed us up to a total 🍋 - probably the worst strategic blunder on national security since Federation. #auspol

If the Coalition under Dutton isn’t liberal or conservative, what is it? Along with Scott Morrison, Peter Dutton is Coalition leader most willing to embrace a Trumpian style of politics.

ICYMI, pleased to have written this on Trumpism and Australian politics for @johnmenadue.com, and to see it run in @thenewdaily.bsky.social. www.thenewdaily.com.au/opinion/2025... #auspol

Great Liberty Victoria planning day for 2025. We’re looking forward to the challenges ahead (including a federal election)!

Now would be a good time to take a bipartisan approach confirming our commitment to international law and defending the International Criminal Court. But the masks are slipping and people with deep antagonism towards human rights and the rule of law are happy to watch it burn. #auspol #auslaw

And as soon as there is another incident the call for ever more draconian laws will be made and Labor will find themselves wedged again and the cycle will repeat itself ad nauseam. 10/10

Now of course the Government just looks weak and unprincipled and has handed the opposition a victory for no proper reason rather than holding the line and explaining to the public why mandatory sentencing fails. 9/10

And why support this amendment when the Bill would have been enacted? The only reason can be that the Government didn't want to be attacked coming into the election on the basis they didn't support the amendments. 8/10

And where is the evidence that sentences for these offences are too low? There simply isn't any. The hate symbols offences are new and people usually receive far lengthier sentences for terrorism offences. So why are the laws necessary? 7/10

Symbolic politics and 'terrorist' symbols - Pearls and Irritations Until recently, many Australians would not know it could be a criminal offence to display the symbol of a terrorist organisation in public.

I tried to explain the botched approach to these hate symbol laws here: johnmenadue.com/symbolic-pol... 6/10

The laws may extend, for example, to the red star used by the Kurdistan Workers' Party and, even more concerningly, something that so nearly resembles the symbol that it is likely to be confused with, or mistaken for, it. 5/10

People should be aware that these mandatory sentences apply to all hate symbols, so not just the Hakenkreuz (Nazi Swastika). It would extend to all symbols used by all thirty (!) proscribed terrorist organisations. Do you know the organisations and their symbols? 4/10

Labor’s Mandatory Sentencing Problem - Right Now Labor's own 2023 National Platform opposes mandatory sentencing. So why is the Albanese Labor Government introducing mandatory sentencing laws now?

So a race to the bottom with politics over principle again, just like past examples: rightnow.org.au/opinion/labo... 3/10

From Labor's national platform: "Labor opposes mandatory sentencing. This practice does not reduce crime but does undermine the independence of the judiciary, lead to unjust outcomes and is often discriminatory in practice." 2/10

On the last minute capitulation of the Government on the Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2024 (Cth)... The ALP know why mandatory sentencing fails and causes injustice. #auspol #auslaw 🧵 1/10

You can’t really blame people for falling for charlatans and authoritarians when progressive voices vacate the field and don’t explain why things like international law and the separation of powers matters. If people think it’s all just a game why would any of it matter? #auspol

‪If people are interested in a longer form article as to why mandatory sentencing fails, I tried to address the issue in the Victorian contact here: bridges.monash.edu/articles/jou...

Labor’s Mandatory Sentencing Problem - Right Now Labor's own 2023 National Platform opposes mandatory sentencing. So why is the Albanese Labor Government introducing mandatory sentencing laws now?

Sadly this has now been demonstrated again: “Labor’s long-standing policy against mandatory sentencing now comes with an asterisk; Labor is opposed to mandatory sentencing apart from when it’s politically expedient”. rightnow.org.au/opinion/labo... #auspol

How many focus groups does the ALP need to consult before deciding to speak out against ethnic cleansing? #auspol

The handwringing by some faith based groups to excuse Elon Musk would be ridiculous if it wasn’t so serious. Anyone who has been watching the emergence of the alt-right and now full blown neo-nazis online knows how they would receive and use that as message of support. Do better.

Thanks Angus!

We deserve better public policy than this, and for the Coalition to seek to protect the separation of powers and the rule of law, not to diminish it. That includes respecting the role of the judge as the independent umpire. 6/6

Dutton's attacks on the judiciary are anything but conservative In the midst of last week's tabloid-driven frenzy on so called "African gangs", Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton decided to attack judicial officers on talkback radio.

Dutton himself has previously attacked judges (including those he has decried as having civil libertarian roots), which is directly out of the authoritarian playbook. See here: www.smh.com.au/opinion/dutt... 5/6

Symbolic politics and 'terrorist' symbols - Pearls and Irritations Until recently, many Australians would not know it could be a criminal offence to display the symbol of a terrorist organisation in public.

Further, the legislation banning terrorist symbols is itself deeply flawed, for reasons I tried to explain here: johnmenadue.com/symbolic-pol... 4/6

Labor’s Mandatory Sentencing Problem - Right Now Labor's own 2023 National Platform opposes mandatory sentencing. So why is the Albanese Labor Government introducing mandatory sentencing laws now?

And (a shorter read) here: rightnow.org.au/opinion/labo... 3/6

Mandatory sentencing is deeply flawed and wont be effective for reasons I tried to explain here: classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/... 2/6