Latest news with #JusticeandEquityCentre
The Age
22-07-2025
- Business
- The Age
Paula wanted to travel with her guide dog, but Uber drivers kept cancelling
Hobley, in her response to Uber's defence, hit back at the notion that she and other riders enter into agreements with drivers directly. She notes Uber sends customers a receipt after each trip totalling the amount they paid to the company for point-to-point transport services, and that the receipts don't detail the amount their driver is paid. The ride-share company offers an 'Uber pet' booking class, alongside other options such as 'Uber X', but under its rules, riders with assistance animals do not need to book the specific pet option. Instead, customers who travel with assistance animals can opt in to a program that identifies them as travelling with an animal to drivers who accept their trip. When drivers, some of whom may prefer not to accept Uber pet trips, accept a regular trip request and are then notified that the customer will be travelling with an assistance animal, the app generates a notification that drivers are legally obliged under anti-discrimination law to accept the trip. However, Hobley claims drivers routinely cancel on her, causing her to become stranded and miss medical appointments and social functions. Hobley, in comments made before Uber filed its defence, alleged Uber had taken a 'softly-softly' approach to enforcing drivers' legal obligations. 'If I can't find a driver who will take me to essential appointments, my only other option is a long, indirect trip on public transport,' Hobley said this year, adding that what is a 10-minute car trip to an appointment near her place takes nearly an hour by bus. The experience of having trips cancelled has become 'too draining', to the point that Hobley avoids certain activities due to the risk of a cancellation. 'I need to be able to travel without stress and considerable pre-planning, just like most people do. This is a right, not a privilege,' Hobley said. Hobley said she was not asking for special treatment but had launched the legal action – in which the Justice and Equity Centre are representing her – so that drivers 'do their job and Uber enforce that'. The legal standing of Uber's claim is unclear. Alastair McEwin, who formerly served as Australia's disability discrimination commissioner and is a professor of practice in disability at the University of NSW, said a disabled person could not be refused service because of a disability support they require, such as an assistance animal. Contractors were covered by the act, he said. Loading He also questioned Uber's claim of unjustifiable hardship, noting carrying assistance animals did not cost extra and that Uber had not specified hardships such as cleaning charges. 'If the court were to find in Uber's favour in this case, it could potentially set a dangerous precedent that global organisations like Uber do not have to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act and therefore have no obligation to be accessible for disabled people,' McEwin says. Lee Kumutat, advocacy and policy manager at Guide Dogs Australia, said Hobley's experiences were 'all too common'. Kumutat pointed to research by the organisation that found 50 per cent of people requiring guide dogs had had an issue with ride-share or taxi companies in the past two years, with more than one-third saying their trip was cancelled. 'Uber should not be above the law when it comes to discrimination,' Kumutat says. An Uber spokesperson said if a driver refused service to a rider with an assistance animal, they must pass a test, and that a second refusal may result in permanent loss of access to its Uber driver app. 'The distress of being refused service because of an assistance animal is not something we take lightly at Uber, and we know this is a significant issue across broader society,' the spokesperson said, defending the company's investment tools and education 'to ensure drivers understand their legal obligation'. A mediation hearing is set for September.
The Advertiser
01-07-2025
- The Advertiser
Police heavy on checking bailed Aboriginal youth: group
Pounding on doors and shining torches in faces, police target young Aboriginal people in "discriminatory patterns", says a legal group that claims an 11-year-old on bail was checked more than 100 times over seven months. Young Indigenous people were 11.7 per cent more likely to be checked by police than non-Indigenous youth, according to an analysis of bail compliance checks data in NSW commissioned by the Justice and Equity Centre. Among those checked, Aboriginal young people were subjected to 42 per cent more checks on average than non-Aboriginal young people, the analysis shows. The legal group has taken NSW Police to the Human Rights Commission over alleged racial discrimination towards two Aboriginal brothers. One of the boys, aged 11, was bail-checked 101 times over seven months as he awaited trial for being a passenger in a stolen car, the group says, with 20 of those checks made in a single month. A senior solicitor at the Justice and Equity Centre said she was concerned police are misusing their powers "to unfairly surveil" young and already over-policed children and their communities. "It's unacceptable that Aboriginal families feel intimidated by police pounding on doors and shining torches through windows in the middle of the night without good reason," Grace Gooley said on Tuesday. "Courts, not police, should make decisions about when to disrupt a household with intrusive checking of young people on bail." The report, co-authored by former crime stats chief Don Weatherburn, used police data on bail checks on young people in their first 30 days of bail when subject to a bail condition. Nearly one in eight Indigenous children were checked 12 or more times, compared to about one in 20 non-Aboriginal young people, the report said. Data from the report will be presented in the two brothers' racial discrimination case. Bail checks are unlawful unless police have court authorisation or reasonable suspicion of a breach, but the Justice and Equity Centre says police are conducting excessive bail checks because offenders are Indigenous. The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission savaged the police in a scathing report in April for stretching their authority and powers by relying on a weak legal principle to conduct bail compliance checks. The state watchdog said that leaves the force open to complaints and claims of trespass if a resident revokes an officer's "implied licence" to enter the property. In its submission to the commission, NSW Police said it did not accept the watchdog's view the force has been acting "unreasonably". Each year, police officers in NSW conduct more than 100,000 bail compliance checks. Pounding on doors and shining torches in faces, police target young Aboriginal people in "discriminatory patterns", says a legal group that claims an 11-year-old on bail was checked more than 100 times over seven months. Young Indigenous people were 11.7 per cent more likely to be checked by police than non-Indigenous youth, according to an analysis of bail compliance checks data in NSW commissioned by the Justice and Equity Centre. Among those checked, Aboriginal young people were subjected to 42 per cent more checks on average than non-Aboriginal young people, the analysis shows. The legal group has taken NSW Police to the Human Rights Commission over alleged racial discrimination towards two Aboriginal brothers. One of the boys, aged 11, was bail-checked 101 times over seven months as he awaited trial for being a passenger in a stolen car, the group says, with 20 of those checks made in a single month. A senior solicitor at the Justice and Equity Centre said she was concerned police are misusing their powers "to unfairly surveil" young and already over-policed children and their communities. "It's unacceptable that Aboriginal families feel intimidated by police pounding on doors and shining torches through windows in the middle of the night without good reason," Grace Gooley said on Tuesday. "Courts, not police, should make decisions about when to disrupt a household with intrusive checking of young people on bail." The report, co-authored by former crime stats chief Don Weatherburn, used police data on bail checks on young people in their first 30 days of bail when subject to a bail condition. Nearly one in eight Indigenous children were checked 12 or more times, compared to about one in 20 non-Aboriginal young people, the report said. Data from the report will be presented in the two brothers' racial discrimination case. Bail checks are unlawful unless police have court authorisation or reasonable suspicion of a breach, but the Justice and Equity Centre says police are conducting excessive bail checks because offenders are Indigenous. The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission savaged the police in a scathing report in April for stretching their authority and powers by relying on a weak legal principle to conduct bail compliance checks. The state watchdog said that leaves the force open to complaints and claims of trespass if a resident revokes an officer's "implied licence" to enter the property. In its submission to the commission, NSW Police said it did not accept the watchdog's view the force has been acting "unreasonably". Each year, police officers in NSW conduct more than 100,000 bail compliance checks. Pounding on doors and shining torches in faces, police target young Aboriginal people in "discriminatory patterns", says a legal group that claims an 11-year-old on bail was checked more than 100 times over seven months. Young Indigenous people were 11.7 per cent more likely to be checked by police than non-Indigenous youth, according to an analysis of bail compliance checks data in NSW commissioned by the Justice and Equity Centre. Among those checked, Aboriginal young people were subjected to 42 per cent more checks on average than non-Aboriginal young people, the analysis shows. The legal group has taken NSW Police to the Human Rights Commission over alleged racial discrimination towards two Aboriginal brothers. One of the boys, aged 11, was bail-checked 101 times over seven months as he awaited trial for being a passenger in a stolen car, the group says, with 20 of those checks made in a single month. A senior solicitor at the Justice and Equity Centre said she was concerned police are misusing their powers "to unfairly surveil" young and already over-policed children and their communities. "It's unacceptable that Aboriginal families feel intimidated by police pounding on doors and shining torches through windows in the middle of the night without good reason," Grace Gooley said on Tuesday. "Courts, not police, should make decisions about when to disrupt a household with intrusive checking of young people on bail." The report, co-authored by former crime stats chief Don Weatherburn, used police data on bail checks on young people in their first 30 days of bail when subject to a bail condition. Nearly one in eight Indigenous children were checked 12 or more times, compared to about one in 20 non-Aboriginal young people, the report said. Data from the report will be presented in the two brothers' racial discrimination case. Bail checks are unlawful unless police have court authorisation or reasonable suspicion of a breach, but the Justice and Equity Centre says police are conducting excessive bail checks because offenders are Indigenous. The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission savaged the police in a scathing report in April for stretching their authority and powers by relying on a weak legal principle to conduct bail compliance checks. The state watchdog said that leaves the force open to complaints and claims of trespass if a resident revokes an officer's "implied licence" to enter the property. In its submission to the commission, NSW Police said it did not accept the watchdog's view the force has been acting "unreasonably". Each year, police officers in NSW conduct more than 100,000 bail compliance checks. Pounding on doors and shining torches in faces, police target young Aboriginal people in "discriminatory patterns", says a legal group that claims an 11-year-old on bail was checked more than 100 times over seven months. Young Indigenous people were 11.7 per cent more likely to be checked by police than non-Indigenous youth, according to an analysis of bail compliance checks data in NSW commissioned by the Justice and Equity Centre. Among those checked, Aboriginal young people were subjected to 42 per cent more checks on average than non-Aboriginal young people, the analysis shows. The legal group has taken NSW Police to the Human Rights Commission over alleged racial discrimination towards two Aboriginal brothers. One of the boys, aged 11, was bail-checked 101 times over seven months as he awaited trial for being a passenger in a stolen car, the group says, with 20 of those checks made in a single month. A senior solicitor at the Justice and Equity Centre said she was concerned police are misusing their powers "to unfairly surveil" young and already over-policed children and their communities. "It's unacceptable that Aboriginal families feel intimidated by police pounding on doors and shining torches through windows in the middle of the night without good reason," Grace Gooley said on Tuesday. "Courts, not police, should make decisions about when to disrupt a household with intrusive checking of young people on bail." The report, co-authored by former crime stats chief Don Weatherburn, used police data on bail checks on young people in their first 30 days of bail when subject to a bail condition. Nearly one in eight Indigenous children were checked 12 or more times, compared to about one in 20 non-Aboriginal young people, the report said. Data from the report will be presented in the two brothers' racial discrimination case. Bail checks are unlawful unless police have court authorisation or reasonable suspicion of a breach, but the Justice and Equity Centre says police are conducting excessive bail checks because offenders are Indigenous. The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission savaged the police in a scathing report in April for stretching their authority and powers by relying on a weak legal principle to conduct bail compliance checks. The state watchdog said that leaves the force open to complaints and claims of trespass if a resident revokes an officer's "implied licence" to enter the property. In its submission to the commission, NSW Police said it did not accept the watchdog's view the force has been acting "unreasonably". Each year, police officers in NSW conduct more than 100,000 bail compliance checks.
Perth Now
01-07-2025
- Perth Now
Police heavy on checking bailed Aboriginal youth: group
Pounding on doors and shining torches in faces, police target young Aboriginal people in "discriminatory patterns", says a legal group that claims an 11-year-old on bail was checked more than 100 times over seven months. Young Indigenous people were 11.7 per cent more likely to be checked by police than non-Indigenous youth, according to an analysis of bail compliance checks data in NSW commissioned by the Justice and Equity Centre. Among those checked, Aboriginal young people were subjected to 42 per cent more checks on average than non-Aboriginal young people, the analysis shows. The legal group has taken NSW Police to the Human Rights Commission over alleged racial discrimination towards two Aboriginal brothers. One of the boys, aged 11, was bail-checked 101 times over seven months as he awaited trial for being a passenger in a stolen car, the group says, with 20 of those checks made in a single month. A senior solicitor at the Justice and Equity Centre said she was concerned police are misusing their powers "to unfairly surveil" young and already over-policed children and their communities. "It's unacceptable that Aboriginal families feel intimidated by police pounding on doors and shining torches through windows in the middle of the night without good reason," Grace Gooley said on Tuesday. "Courts, not police, should make decisions about when to disrupt a household with intrusive checking of young people on bail." The report, co-authored by former crime stats chief Don Weatherburn, used police data on bail checks on young people in their first 30 days of bail when subject to a bail condition. Nearly one in eight Indigenous children were checked 12 or more times, compared to about one in 20 non-Aboriginal young people, the report said. Data from the report will be presented in the two brothers' racial discrimination case. Bail checks are unlawful unless police have court authorisation or reasonable suspicion of a breach, but the Justice and Equity Centre says police are conducting excessive bail checks because offenders are Indigenous. The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission savaged the police in a scathing report in April for stretching their authority and powers by relying on a weak legal principle to conduct bail compliance checks. The state watchdog said that leaves the force open to complaints and claims of trespass if a resident revokes an officer's "implied licence" to enter the property. In its submission to the commission, NSW Police said it did not accept the watchdog's view the force has been acting "unreasonably". Each year, police officers in NSW conduct more than 100,000 bail compliance checks.
