Teen car chase through mall + Character reference ban for sex offenders
The Briefing29 Sep 2025

Teen car chase through mall + Character reference ban for sex offenders

Calls are mounting to abolish the use of character references in court sentencing, following Queensland’s recent legislation restricting their use in cases involving convicted sex offenders.

Character references have long played a controversial role in high-profile cases, including when former Prime Minister John Howard gave one to Cardinal George Pell, describing him as ‘a person of both high intelligence and exemplary character’. More recently in the case of paedophile Ashley Paul Griffith who has pleaded guilty to over 300 charges, also benefited from character references.

In this episode of The Briefing Helen Smith, is joined by victim-survivor Josh Byrnes, the ACT representative from Your Reference Ain’t Relevant campaign, to explain how character evidence works in court and why advocates want them abolished.

Afternoon headlines: Teens arrested in Melbourne CBD after a police pursuit, Opposition leader Sussan Ley calls for independent inquiry into the 'entire triple-zero ecosystem' and Bad Bunny to headline 2026 Super Bowl half-time show

Further listening: How to stop teen machete murders

Follow The Briefing:
TikTok: @thebriefingpod
Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast
YouTube: @TheBriefingPodcast
Facebook: @LiSTNR Newsroom

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episoder(2523)

The Aussie scientist who defied China and told the world about COVID

The Aussie scientist who defied China and told the world about COVID

Today's episode is about the rebellious act of an Aussie Professor. Professor Edward Holmes is the Aussie scientist who defied China and shared the genome sequence for COVID-19 with the world. When ...

28 Okt 202018min

The most powerful passport in the world

The most powerful passport in the world

What makes a passport powerful? and has the pandemic had any long-term impacts on where a passport might rank compared to others? The current global health crisis might have crippled global travel, ...

27 Okt 202019min

Will COVID-19 change footy forever?

Will COVID-19 change footy forever?

It was the weekend we didn’t think would happen: grand final weekend. Earlier in the year, coronavirus threatened to cancel the 2020 seasons of AFL and NRL, but luckily for sports fans, the games went...

26 Okt 202018min

Why US Supreme Court appointments are so controversial

Why US Supreme Court appointments are so controversial

The appointment of US Supreme Court judges is one of the most intense election issues, and as early as tomorrow US congress will vote to approve a new supreme court judge Amy Coney Barrett. If she’...

25 Okt 202019min

How private pollie lives can make national headlines

How private pollie lives can make national headlines

The Gladys Berejiklian secret relationship scandal has made national headlines, and on todays episode we explain what happened. There’s been a huge debate about whether or not the NSW Premier should r...

22 Okt 202014min

A road trip through Trump territory

A road trip through Trump territory

We take you on a road trip through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa and Illinois, and find out the one thing that locals say when asked why they vote for Trump. When we watch America thro...

21 Okt 202018min

The plan to make cigarettes prescription only

The plan to make cigarettes prescription only

Almost 1 in 9 Australians smoke, and the government have set a goal to bring down our smoking rate to 1 in 10 by 2025. In a new plan to wipe out smoking in Australia, smokers could be made to buy ciga...

20 Okt 202018min

Superannuation: Should our contributions be increased or is it better to have the money in our pocket now?

Superannuation: Should our contributions be increased or is it better to have the money in our pocket now?

Unlike a lot of other western countries, Australia has a forced saving system called superannuation. When the system was introduced back in 1992, 3% of your income went to your super, which is only ac...

19 Okt 202019min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
forklart
stopp-verden
popradet
det-store-bildet
fotballpodden-2
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-gukild-johaug
bt-dokumentar-2
nokon-ma-ga
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
aftenbla-bla
hanna-de-heldige
rss-dannet-uten-piano
e24-podden
frokostshowet-pa-p5
rss-ness
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk