Webdiary - Founded and Inspired by Margo Kingston

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.

A July Newspoll survey reveals there is widespread support by Australians for paid maternity leave (76%) for working women, with an overwhelming 78% of those in support of paid maternity leave in favour of the financial responsibility being shared jointly by employers, workers and the Federal Government. 71% supported a scheme funded by employers and employees only. “These results clearly show this is a critical issue for many Australian families with young children, struggling to meet their work and social responsibilities,” said Ms Marie Coleman, spokesperson for the National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW).

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?

"Over the last eleven years Australia has stagnated. It is time to change. It is time to rebuild our international reputation. It is time to protect our multicultural heritage. It is time to defend our legal systems. It is time to care for each other." John Pratt

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!

Opinion polls are integral to social regulation and control. Ever more intrusive and demanding, these polls are bigger than ever and have captured both sides of politics. Like surveillance that watches over us, the polls that claim to speak for us are becoming a permanent feature in the city of panic.

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.

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.

Two years after South Australia and Victoria "competed" to win the job of constructing Australia's (and perhaps other country's) contribution to the Bush Administration's Missile Shield, we finally know what we're going to be building. Surprisingly, its a Spanish ship instead of an American one.  Victoria has also had a win, with the same company helping out Tenix in building two amphibious ships.

"I really appreciated your Not Happy, John! campaign and like many Australians felt crushed and helpless at Howard's 2004 victory. Nevertheless, obsessed with his success, I determined to write a book targeting those Australians who don't normally read books about politics; a difficult if not impossible task. I told myself that if the book were well enough written, it might be possible to break through. I worked on this for almost a year." Mike Clancy

No. I will not be voting for the Liberals or Nationals in the next election. I cannot abide cruelty to animals. It would take courage to act against the big interests that run this abominable trade and this Government does not have what it takes. But does Labor? Probably not, so I probably won’t be voting for them either.

I joined the Labor Party some time after Howard’s election wins in 1998 and 2001 because of his obvious plans to divide our Nation into Haves and Have Nots. My Wife has her own values, but nevertheless, also joined the Labor Party as the only organised opposition left to an expanding dictatorship that I call Howard’s “New Order”. Older Australians and Veterans will know what I mean.  (pics added)

In 2002 when I turned 55, I retired and again we moved north in a caravan this time we settled in Cairns. I completed a certificate 3 in aged care and have been an aged care worker with RSLCARE for about 4 years. I retire next week as I am about to have my 60th birthday.

The cost of cancelling Iraq's debts to Australia has been paid from Australia's foreign aid budget, a new report has claimed.

Joint press conference by Condoleezza Rice and Alexander Downer earlier this week.

Former Greens leader Bob Brown says: “While I welcome Mr Turnbull to the party, I am concerned over these branch stacks by unruly mobs of disgruntled former Liberals.”

Pauline's story is of a naive, uneducated woman who was taken on rather than took a roller coaster political ride, got unjustly jailed and was set free to become a darling of the popular media. Do I recommend this book? Yes, for all its faults.

Peter Costello's speech and Q&A with journos in the pre-Budget lock-up

John Howard's 'vision for 2020' seems from the news reports to have been more about what the future isn't (it isn't about climate change, it isn't about workers rights) than what it will be. Here's the full text for your comments.

By way of introduction to the speech Petro Georgiou gave in Melbourne last Wednesday, I'd like to share something of my own recent experience of the effort taken by people set on becoming part of our society, citizens of our country, to study and learn the English language.

"Upon coming to power in March 1996 the Coalition removed reference to Australia being a “good international citizen” as an objective of Australian foreign policy. Examination of the Coalition’s 11 years in office confirms that omission was deliberate." Robert McClelland MP.