Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

It is tempting to lay the blame on Howard and his government for what has been done in our name but, at the end of the day, it is the Australian public with whom much of the fault lies. We have been gullible and self-absorbed. As a nation, we do not really take the threat of global warming seriously. The disengagement by the public at large has allowed our politicians of both major political persuasions to give our big polluters a free ride.

The trouble is that if there is no "Australian connection" the "terror scares" in Glasgow and London then the story being used to provide public support for the incredible amount of security that Sydney is about to endure will have much less credibility with the public.  The intense APEC security is more likely to be regarded with suspicion.

I don't know what the story is with Haneef. The courts will decide that. The first transcript does not reveal very much. Maybe when it is added to other evidence a clearer picture will emerge.It could be that Haneef just has "too much going on" and has an unfortunate link in a database. Thank God for the courts! If he is as the Federal Police allege, then thank God for the Federal Police for keeping us safe.

I cannot but see, on my reading of this book and his environmental arguments, that good ol’ Al is one of the major assailants.    His hero appears to be the well known tergiversator, Abraham Lincoln, constantly described as “our greatest president”.    Call me old fashioned but I have never thought entry into civil war singled anyone out for greatness.   The only one of note that comes readily to mind as dying in his bed is Cromwell who, very wisely, stayed away from theatres.

So, Australia now officially has its own Guantanamo Bay. And Howard didn't do the honours, but left it to poor old Andrews. Why? Doesn't think people believe him any more? Flying a kite to see what happens? So what did Howard do today, apart from order Andrews to detain Haneef.  APEC, that's what. Can anyone feel another terror scare coming up?

Since joining with Christians Against ALL Terrorism I've gotten a picture of how deeply Christians are discriminated against and put down by people I'll describe here as secular lefties. In the past twelve years I've found, in purely practical terms, that communities of faith are much more likely to provide people who'll act against injustice than are communities of secular lefties.  Certainly our support from some Christian communities has been such as to nurture, sustain and develop our project, while secular political groups including the Labor, Green and Democrats parties have been at best hesitant and partial.  

Imagine a Media Watch which didn't criticise the ABC. It would be meaningless, yes? Well so is Tim Blair when it comes to media and political commentary.

At last! I've just noticed that an alternative plan to Howard's plan to solve child abuse in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities has been proposed.  It's by the Combined Aboriginal Organisations of the NT. Now we've got 2 plans to compare. What do you think?

The Law Council of Australia today issued its considered position on the new terror laws in the light of their effect in practice. Here is its press release. Webdiary has campaigned for many years on the necessity of stopping the government, any government, from having the sole right to breach our democratic rights. The citizens in a democracy are supposed to live under the Rule of Law, not of men, and that offers the fundamental protection of citizens against arbitrary action by a government is the only real protection any of us have against governments taking away our freedoms to suit their political agenda.

Hello.  I've been off line for five days traveling with a friend from the South visiting her friends and mine and chilling out. Thank you, thank you to Fiona, Richard and David for keeping comments ticking along. I hope everyone is content at how Webdiary is traveling but if not, let me know in the comments box.

Hello. Just seen the news tonight and am absolutely dumbfounded that Howard and his defence minister have admitted that we're in Iraq because of its oil. He strongly denied it before the war. Most Australians now know that he was lying about his reasons for ordering our troops to invade Iraq. But who'd have thought they'd admit to the lie!

In their present form the proposals miss the mark and are unlikely to be effective. There is an over-reliance on top-down and punitive measures, and insufficient indication that additional resources will be mobilised where they are urgently needed; to improve housing, child protection and domestic violence supports, schools, health services, alcohol and drug rehab programs. These issues have been raised by many Indigenous leaders over many years.

Through representative government and the placing of the laws and nominated liberties in the hands of independent judges, sovereignty in the sense of power over others became the opposite of absolute and arbitrary.  It became limited and predictable.  Personal liberty involved a freedom to act, including in relation to property, and a freedom to speak, in any way not prohibited by the law.  Criminal laws could only be prospective.  Equality meant everyone was equally bound and protected by the law, although it did not mean political equality.  The independence of the judiciary existed to protect the community from arbitrary command.

The aim of the following recommendations should be plain from the report. They are offered to the Chief Minister in the knowledge that the safety of children is everybody’s business, not just that of government. Parents have responsibilities too.

Sifting through the speech by the PM and the subsequent commentary during the day and a bit since the announcement I kept coming back to the uneasy conclusion that, in true Howard fashion, this is not about really about the children. No doubt many will think me quite an unkind person for saying such a thing but really none of this makes a lot of sense.

Prime Minister why have you judged it necessary to take control of land bestowed under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act? "Because we don't believe we can effectively implement these changes without taking that authority."

Revelations that Prime Minister John Howard has been using official residences, Kirribilli House and The Lodge, to host Liberal Party events has sparked controversy. The Australian Electoral Commission has ruled that the rent-free use of Kirribilli House by the Liberal Party did not constitute a 'gift' that should have been disclosed under electoral rules.

As the Sydney APEC meeting draws closer and and the city closed to its citizens, it is becoming alarmingly clear that Australians are giving away the rights that they have fought for and subsequently taken for granted. So when I received this from my friends in the exiled Burmese trade union movement, I was taken aback. It reminded me that we are not much different from all those in the world who awake and find their lives monitored, their phones tapped, their movements and travel restricted.

The latest update from the Democratic Audit program at ANU on how our democracy is working.

The latest update from the Democratic Audit program at ANU on how our democracy is working.

There's been a big effort by the Member for Bennelong and his boys to beat up this Brian Burke business into a bigger deal this past week. We'll see if it will all blow over in a news cycle, but beyond all the bluster about anyone and everyone who's been within a bull's roar of this bloke, there is a much bigger issue.

The latest update from the Democratic Audit program at ANU on how our democracy is working.

The latest update from the Democratic Audit of Australia program at ANU on how our democracy is working.

Season's greetings from the Audit team. This is the last Update of 2006. To see the current team click here.

"This audit directly addresses the controversial role money plays in Australian politics by asking the question: How democratic is the way political parties are funded in Australia? It identifies two central problems with the funding of Australian political parties: a lack of transparency, with secrecy a hallmark of private funding, political spending and the use of parliamentary entitlements and government resources; and the political inequality that is maintained and perpetuated by Australian political finance. ": Joo-Cheong Tham and Sally Young, Democratic Audit of Australia

"History does not end, and it is forever full of surprises. Francis Fukuyama’s End of History and Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilisations appeared within a mere three years of each other in the 1990’s, and a decade later the return of religion to politics is visible for all to see – and for many to suffer.": Ralf Dahrendorf

"To mark this moment of triumph over tyranny, I've set the Story of Scott Parkin's Federal Court win to verse.  Click along on the links as you sing.  I picked this particular tune as it's the Australian song that the Texans know best.": Richard Tonkin

"The Southern Cross was the emblem raised in the boldest and most effective democratic initiative ever taken in Australian history. That to my mind is a good enough reason to fly it perpetually in Ballarat, and to raise it on November 29th every year all over the land.": Ian MacDougal

"It has not always been comfortable for those in government, and there is still a tug-of-war over sensitive documents. But, in the former communist bloc, the benefits brought by transparency have been undeniable. At the same time, Romania’s experience demonstrates that official secrecy remains a threat to the core values of democratic governance, and that only constant vigilance, in both established and young democracies, can prevent its encroachment.": Monica Macovei

"Financial donations to political parties and candidates are potentially one of the most corrupting forces in our political system. The Local Government and Shires Association calls upon the Federal Government to convene a National Summit to develop a national strategy to fundamentally reform, in a coordinated manner, all the financial donations legislation for all 3 levels of Australian government; ie: federal, all state governments and all local councils."