Writer
Andrew Fraser
Andrew Fraser is the principal of Fraser Criminal Law and has worked in criminal law in the Canberra region for more than 15 years. Before beginning legal practice, Andrew was a journalist for close to 30 years with the <i>Canberra Times</i> and the <i>Sydney Morning Herald</i>, including stints in the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery. He is also a former news editor, chief of staff and political correspondent of the <em>Canberra Times</em>.
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Scotland a shining example in youth justice
As 2022 closed, WA’s main juvenile detention centre, Banksia Hill, grabbed national attention when one of its buildings was burned to the ground by rioting inmates, who scaled the fences in a stand-off with the riot squad. Continue reading »
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Guaranteed protection of home and hearth for next to nothing?
There is a simple, relatively costless government move that should give about half a million Australians confidence in homeland security. Continue reading »
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Lehrmann case: pointing finger at police blows smoke over manifold incongruities
Over 14 years as a criminal defender in Canberra and the region, I’ve had hundreds of clients, perhaps a couple of thousand. I’m still waiting for the first one who will get the decided benefit of having the police “run dead” in his or her matter. Continue reading »
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Why the ACT is miles in front
You might not immediately see the correlation between the average Australian politician and the sportspeople who advertise the products of Nike, but the ACT Government is very much living the “Just Do It” mantra. Continue reading »
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David Pocock’s a nice bloke, but …
Independent Senator David Pocock fronted his first “quarterly town hall” meeting at the grand old Albert Hall in Canberra with a welter of kindness and concern – but there’s a bit more to his new job than being nice. Continue reading »
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Pardoning Witness K a no-brainer, but then what?
In this week of fiery church politics, perhaps Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus is doing as the Good Lord himself does – moving in mysterious ways. Continue reading »
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What might our new Attorney do with Bernard Collaery?
A 22-year-old speech by the late, long-serving federal and ACT Judge John Gallop provides all that Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus needs to consider in the case of Bernard Collaery and Witness K. Continue reading »
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Presumption of innocence under threat
A citizen’s inalienable right to her or his day in court has increasingly become seen as a quaint frivolity by some and a waste of time by many more – but the presumption of innocence is coming under some threat in Australia. Continue reading »
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The cavalcade of the cretinous in Canberra
“You’ve had your say …NOW GO HOME.” Continue reading »
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The counter-revolution that AFL needs
This weekend’s AFL Grand Final is only the seventh time that the finals series hasn’t included one of the great four: Carlton, Collingwood Richmond and Hawthorn since 1925. Continue reading »
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Bringing ‘the Doc’ to the masses – review of Gideon Haigh’s new book
H. V. Evatt could be a massively polarising figure and that is more than unfortunate. It has closed many minds to what we should be celebrating and promulgating as true Australian values. Those values – not merely espoused, but judicially declared and enacted by and because of Evatt – are in evidence throughout Gideon Haigh’s Continue reading »
