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Katherine McFarlane

Senior Lecturer, Centre for Law & Justice, Charles Sturt University

Katherine McFarlane holds a Bachelor of Arts/Law from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the College of Law, Sydney. She recently completed a PhD in Law at UNSW, examining ‘Care-criminalisation’: the involvement of children in out of home care in the NSW criminal justice system’.

Kath has provided legal and policy advice to a range of clients, including to prisoners via the “The Mulawa Project”, a legal pro bono scheme she established and ran for several years, and as an Official Visitor to NSW prisons. Admitted as a solicitor in NSW in 1996, she worked as a criminal lawyer and was the principal solicitor at the University of Technology’s Community Law and Legal Research Centre from 1998-2000. She has held a variety of policy and research roles in child welfare and criminal justice, across bureaucracy, academia and politics, including as a senior policy officer in the Attorney Generals’ Department, Executive Officer of the NSW Sentencing Council and Executive Officer of the NSW Children’s Court.

Kath was a consultant to the Department of Community Services’ longitudinal study of the outcomes for children in OOHC, and a member both of the NSW CorrectionsHealth Inmate Health Advisory Group and the NSW Department of Justice and Attorney Generals’ Women’s Advisory Council. In 2010, while teaching in Justice Studies at Charles Sturt University (CSU), she was the Chief Investigator for a Government-awarded tender to examine bail practices affecting children and young people.

From 2011 Kath was Chief of Staff to a NSW Minister, running the political office across various portfolios including Planning and Infrastructure, Juvenile Justice, Corrections, Attorney General, Family and Community Services and Social Housing.

She rejoined CSU as a Senior Lecturer in Justice Studies in 2016.

Expunging the criminal records of kids in care does not absolve the state's injustices against them

Jul 31, 2018 15:31 pm UTC| Insights & Views Law

In the Victorian parliament last week, legislation was introduced to address a serious historical injustice that saw thousands of vulnerable children in state care treated as criminals. The Victorian government will...

NSW bail laws mean well but are landing homeless kids in prison

Dec 17, 2016 06:00 am UTC| Law

Every year in New South Wales, scores of children are locked up because they dont have a safe place to live. About one-third of them are Indigenous; about half are in the care of the state. Some are fleeing domestic...

Economy

Asia FX Weekly Gains Hold Amid U.S. Inflation Data and Iran Ceasefire Uncertainty

Most Asian currencies slipped slightly on Friday but remained on track to close the week in positive territory, as traders adopted a cautious stance ahead of the U.S. March Consumer Price Index (CPI) release and monitored...

U.S. Inflation Surges in March as Iran War and Tariffs Drive Prices Higher

Marchs Consumer Price Index is expected to post its sharpest monthly increase in nearly four years, driven by skyrocketing oil prices tied to the U.S.-Iran conflict and the ongoing ripple effects of import tariffs. The...

Asian Stocks Rally on Ceasefire Hopes and Bargain Buying

Asian equity markets climbed higher on Friday, driven by cautious optimism surrounding ceasefire negotiations between Iran and the United States. Regional benchmarks were also on track to close out the week with strong...

White House Warns Staff Over Insider Trading Amid Suspicious Oil Market Bets

The White House issued an internal warning to staff on March 24, cautioning employees against exploiting their government positions to gain an unfair advantage in financial futures markets. The directive came just one day...

U.S. Futures Slip as Iran Ceasefire Uncertainty and CPI Data Weigh on Markets

U.S. stock index futures edged slightly lower Thursday evening as investors exercised caution ahead of high-stakes ceasefire negotiations between Washington and Tehran, while bracing for a closely watched inflation report....

Politics

Global Elections 2026: What Investors and Markets Are Watching

Political uncertainty is sweeping the globe in 2026, with a series of high-stakes elections poised to reshape economic policies and rattle financial markets. From Eastern Europe to South America, investors are keeping a...

Xi Jinping and KMT's Cheng Li-wun Meet in Beijing Amid Cross-Strait Tensions

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Kuomintang (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun in Beijing on Friday, emphasizing that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait share a common Chinese identity and that the future of...

Pilots Fear Retaliation for Refusing Middle East Flights Amid Ongoing Conflict

Airline pilots expressing safety concerns about flying through Middle Eastern airspace are reportedly facing threats of lost wages or termination if they decline assignments, according to Ron Hay, president of the...

Iran Denies Negotiating Team Traveled to Pakistan for U.S. Talks Amid Ceasefire Uncertainty

Iran has firmly rejected reports suggesting that a diplomatic delegation traveled to Islamabad to engage in negotiations with the United States, calling the claims entirely false. The denial was issued through state-linked...

U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Under Pressure Ahead of Pakistan Peace Talks

A fragile two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran is showing serious cracks just one day before scheduled peace negotiations in Pakistan. Washington has accused Tehran of violating commitments related to the...

Science

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

Technology

TSMC Posts Strong Q1 2025 Revenue, Riding AI Chip Demand Wave

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the worlds leading contract chipmaker, has reported first-quarter revenue of T$1.134 trillion (approximately $35.71 billion USD), surpassing analyst expectations and...

Lumentum Holdings Rides AI Wave With Order Book Filled Through 2028

Lumentum Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: LITE) is experiencing a surge in demand from the artificial intelligence sector, with its order pipeline now fully booked through 2028, according to a Bloomberg report published Thursday. The...

Anthropic's Mythos AI Model Sparks Emergency Cybersecurity Meeting With Top U.S. Bank CEOs

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell convened an urgent closed-door meeting with the chief executives of Americas largest banks this week, warning them about serious cybersecurity...

Bank of America Identifies Top Asia-Pacific Semiconductor Stocks Poised for AI-Driven Growth

Bank of America has spotlighted a select group of Asia-Pacific semiconductor companies well-positioned to ride the wave of surging artificial intelligence chip demand, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company...

China's AI Stocks Surge as Zhipu and MiniMax Hit Record Highs

Chinese artificial intelligence stocks continued their remarkable rally on Thursday, with Zhipu AI and MiniMax Group posting strong gains in Hong Kong trading as a wave of new model launches and product announcements...