Bri Lee

Bri Lee on how the current wave of defamation threats is impacting the ability of regular people to criticise their elected officials, and what that might mean for our democracy.

“When a citizen criticising an elected official can be sued by that official and potentially bankrupted by an adverse finding, the effects on democracy are profound. ”

For years, advocates against sexual assault have been pushing for law reform, particularly on the of issue consent. Now they’ve had a win, with sweeping new changes announced in NSW. Today, Bri Lee on what the changes mean, and the politician leading the charge.

As NSW announces major changes to its sexual consent laws, the state’s attorney-general, Mark Speakman, explains why he pushed ahead with these nation-leading reforms.

Foreign correspondent Sally Sara’s semi-autobiographical play at Belvoir, Stop Girl, captures the quotidian anguish of suffering a breakdown.

More than 100,000 people joined March 4 Justice rallies around the country. The rage was palpable, as was the desire for reform. Can this energy translate into change?

Kate Mulvany’s adaptation of Ruth Park’s Playing Beatie Bow throws a sinister enchantment over contemporary Sydney.

Rachel is a 20-something, non-practising Jewish woman working for a talent agency where most of the people around her suck. She’s weird and funny, occasionally doing stand-up routines full of black humour, but she doesn’t have any real friends. Her …

Eryn Jean Norvill’s bravura portrayal of 26 characters in Sydney Theatre Company’s remarkable adaptation is a triumph.

“Community standards, particularly around gendered and sexual violence, have progressed to the point that, arguably, the older a law is, the less it is likely to represent the interests of the people it is supposed to protect. Yet this perspective runs …”

“The curtains parted to reveal the leggy assistants in their beaded corsetry and feathered headdresses, and, when the sparse audience applauded, the man in the fedora emerged. He took a bow, tipped his hat and then threw it out into the audience, and spotlights …”

“They were reading in the lounge when a large helicopter landed on the helipad. Phil looked up from his paper, over the rim of his reading glasses, and could just make out the figures. The man hopping down held his fedora on top of his head, battling the …”

“The Emerald Queen was just beginning its second loop of the Tasman Peninsula when Phil, Ellen, John and Karen were seated for their standing 7 o’clock dinner reservation in the smaller of the two grand dining rooms. ‘Isn’t it …”

“When news broke this week that an independent inquiry at the High Court of Australia found former justice Dyson Heydon had sexually harassed six associates during his decade on the bench, my non-law friends and colleagues were incredulous. To them, the …”

Despite the Queensland government’s huge financial commitment to the battle against family violence, the brutal murders of Hannah Clarke and her three children at the hands of her abusive husband highlight how far there is to go.

The draft proposals on consent law in NSW contain some vital reforms, but experts maintain that further action is needed to combat sexual violence.

A catch-up with the director of the Sydney Contemporary art fair, Barry Keldoulis.

On their second album, Wild Seeds, Seeker Lover Keeper took a more collaborative approach to songwriting. While the process was challenging, it created a more cohesive record and deepened the three musicians’ friendship. “It’s a real relief when you can relax and lean into that,” says Sarah Blasko. “You don’t have to get everything right or have all the perfect ideas. It’s really nice to see each person take the song forward at a different moment and you can kind of rest in that.”

A recent High Court ruling has led to questions about how the law should define parenthood, especially when single women conceive with the help of known sperm donors.

After achieving significant success as the director of two major New Zealand galleries, Rhana Devenport brings her ambitious vision to the Art Gallery of South Australia. Here, she talks about building relationships with artists and creating a safe space for audiences to explore challenging ideas. “I think that it is our role, working in a cultural organisation, to love our audience, to be as absolutely in love with our audience, to be thinking in multiple ways about how to be as expansive and open as humanly possible.”

“‘Mistake of fact’ comes from section 24 of the Queensland criminal code. It says that where the defendant had an ‘honest and reasonable but mistaken belief’ in a state of things that made their actions legal, they must be acquitted. This defence …”

Advocacy organisations and academics argue Queensland’s proposed bill of rights will enshrine procedural unfairness in court for survivors and victims of crime.

Next month, Queensland will debate changes to pregnancy termination legislation. While many argue current laws disadvantage poorer women, particularly in rural areas, others are keen to maintain the status quo.

After writing about her experience of sexual assault, one woman found herself inundated with messages and confessions, both brave and gut-wrenching, from other survivors.

Patrick Parkinson’s long association with Christian lobby groups and the campaign against marriage equality has been questioned after his appointment as dean of the University of Queensland law school.