Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

G'day. I'm at Parliament House and it's delivery day for the Senate Inquiry into the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill (No 2) 2005. The Senate Report will be published this afternoon and will recommend the removal of the sedition provisions in the terror laws. This finding was unanimous, and sets the scene for a showdown with Howard by small l Liberals, just as occurred with his terror laws in 2002.

"Howard's step-by-step desensitisation of Australians to our traditional democratic values is being aided by powerful media organisations that have lost sight of their duty to speak truth to the people and to power. And by ambitious men and women who lead public service and national security organisations, and are similarly negligent of their public duty to offer fearless advice on the rule of law and on the social consequences of government policies and actions that transgress the rule of law. And the desperately opportunistic federal Opposition leader must share the blame too, for his cowardly me-tooism on all national security issues." Tony Kevin

"I am going to address here the very personal question that will face those of of us like me, who will want to continue to contribute to democratic public discourse in Australia after these laws come into effect. What will these laws do to the way people like me exercise our rights to take part in Australia's public political conversation as Australian citizens, residents and voters? Such a personal affirmation has been turning around in my mind for some weeks. I am trying honestly to address the question - how will this legislation affect me in my public life as an Australian citizen? And I intend now to make my answer public, because I think to do so is in the public interest." Tony Kevin

"The list of examples of questionable ADF conduct over the past four years is very telling. Let me just flesh out the list a little to remind readers of what the substance is. All of these instances are serious cases where the ADF command structure or senior ADF figures in positions of authority and presumed accountability, set aside their own service rules and codes of conduct, and their service loyalties, in their anxiety to give the PM what he wanted of them, or what they may have guessed he wanted of them. And of course, this is how authoritarian unaccountable power structures operate - the subordinates interpret what the leader wants done and they do it, without asking him to specify exactly what he wants done - because they know he does not want to know the detail of what was done or how it was done." Tony Kevin

"Two RAAF helicopters, one about 300 metres behind the other, were flying circuits around central Canberra... They each appeared to be mounted with two large lethal-looking missile launchers, slung beneath the cabin. As the helicopters flew maybe 100 metres above my head, I saw these four launchers clearly. I wondered if the loaded missiles were armed, and I wondered what would happen if one of these helicopters were accidentally to crash over populated central Canberra." Tony Kevin

"I hope that it will not be too late for Hicks, when our Senate resumes in September, for it to propose an appropriate opposition parties and independents’ consensus motion calling for due judicial process for Hicks either in an Australian or US civil court,  and registering a Senate view that the US military “court” does not meet that standard of procedural justice. Even if such a motion does not get the numbers to pass – and who knows, it might if more than one Coalition Senators abstains or absents himself/herself from the vote -  the very act of the Australian Senate voting on such a motion would send a powerful message in Canberra and Washington." Tony Kevin