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Defending DemocracySubmitted by PF Journey on November 4, 2007 - 12:23pm.
There is nothing to beat a morning walk in a beautiful and exotic
place. I have seen John Howard walking, very often, by the beautiful Sydney
Harbour from Kirribilli to Luna Park and to Lavendar Bay. I have seen
him by sidewalk in front of the White House, the great Wall of China,
the Forbidden City in Beijing, and get ambushed by the Chaser Boys by
the Yarra River or the Howard Ladies who offerred him the Erection
(sorry the Election) viagra. Yes, I wish I could walk a mile in his
shoes. I still enjoy my walks very much but I have also
discovered another way of keeping fit that is just as enjoyable, if not
more enjoyable...
Submitted by Margo Kingston on November 4, 2007 - 9:37am.
I watched Insiders this morning with a friend who works in
Parliament House and admired Andren immensely. Upon hearing the
tributes from Howaerd and Rudd, and the solemn wish of Canberra' chief
personal muckraker journo Glen Milne that we need more decent blokes
like Andren in Parliament, she burst into tears.
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Submitted by Margo Kingston on November 3, 2007 - 1:45pm.
Webdiarist Susie Russell emailed me amazing news today which I thought you might like to
hear. Yes folks, Vaile has agreed, under questioning from a talk back
listener and citizen extraordinaire, to take a lie detector test on
AWB!
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Submitted by Solomon Wakeling on November 2, 2007 - 5:40pm.
Most people prepare themselves for disappointment but Margo Kingston
put an excessive and dangerous emotional investment in to a Howard
defeat (not a Latham victory) in 2004. She put a misplaced faith in to
the spontaneous Iraq war protests and in to her online activism. She
set herself up for failure. Then she burnt out.
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Submitted by Margo Kingston on November 2, 2007 - 8:11am.
Hi there. I wrote my first letter to the editor this week, published yesterday in the Canberra Times, about the Australian Christian Lobby's attack on the Greens. I did my first door knocking ever last Saturday - oh the pleasure in overcoming that fear - and yesterday I helped advise Kerrie Tucker when she filmed an election ad. The lesson there was not to be so bloody anxious and intense that it rubs off on the candidate!
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Submitted by Margo Kingston on October 31, 2007 - 10:46am.
Isn't it weird. Amrozi is about to be shot dead as the Indonesian courts decide they can't even look at the nation's Constitutional protection of human rights re the Bali Nine plea not to be shot dead - because they're foreigners. I, for one, will never forgive this government for handing over our bloody stupid, off the rails young people for arrest, knowing Indonesia had the death penalty for such offences. Yet there is silence from Labor. Where is Labor's promise to never ever let this happen again?
Submitted by Margo Kingston on October 28, 2007 - 8:11pm.
"This is about breaking the code of silence that has developed after 11 years of the Howard Government. Access to government information and decision-making are keys to a
healthy and vibrant democracy. It also means that members of the
community can obtain reasonable access to government records and
documents that affect their lives." From Labor's honest politics policy
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Submitted by Margo Kingston on October 18, 2007 - 11:09am.
A decade ago The Greens had a very simple slogan - “No environment no economy”. Today that is even truer. "Ten years ago it was a warning. Now, in 2007; it is a description of
our reality. And the farmers, the fishers, the tourism industry
workers, the city dwellers on water restrictions – Australians
everywhere – know this is true. Without the environment, there is no
economy." Bob Brown
Submitted by Susie Russell on October 15, 2007 - 4:35pm.
In northern NSW local communities are getting increasingly anxious
about the effects of logging on their catchments. Recently a court
refused to convict several people who had taken direct action to
protect their catchment. Now the residents of another valley are
preparing for action.
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Submitted by Margo Kingston on October 14, 2007 - 10:13am.
"This election will focus on the showdown between John Howard and Kevin
Rudd. But there is another battle looming – the contest for the balance
of power in the Senate between Family First and the Greens." Family First Senator Steve Fielding
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Submitted by Margo Kingston on October 12, 2007 - 11:16am.
'I acknowledge that my own journey in arriving at this point has not been without sidetracks and dry gullies. There have been low points when dialogue between me as Prime Minister
and many Indigenous leaders dwindled almost to the point of
non-existence. I fully accept my share of the blame for that. On the night of the 1998 election I publicly committed myself to
endeavouring to achieve Reconciliation by the year 2001. In the end,
that did not happen.' John Winston 'whatever it takes' Howard
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Submitted by Guest Contributor on October 12, 2007 - 7:47am.
Michael Kirby explores the interface of consensus and dissent in contemporary Australia In politics, securing consensus is often now essential because of the comparative decline in electoral support for the major political parties.
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Submitted by Margo Kingston on October 10, 2007 - 12:22pm.
Hello. Here is the Australian Law Council's statement yesterday on the death penalty debate. The recent history of
this issue is very interesting, as is its prominence now. I'll try to
write something later.
Submitted by Peter Ellis on October 7, 2007 - 7:04am.
"Elections, Parliament, the media, freedom of speech - these can all bethought of just as tools to enable citizens to exerciseaccountability. Accountability has two components. First, a target oragent (such as an executive government) has to explain their actionsand the reasons behind them to seekers of accountability (such as thepublic). Second, there needs to be power to impose sanctions whenthose actions and reasons are considered unsatisfactory. In theabsence of either of these elements, there is no accountability and nodemocracy." Peter Ellis
Submitted by Margo Kingston on September 24, 2007 - 12:28pm.
"I don’t feel like fluff anymore, I’ve become an activist again. Joined
a group. Organise public events to really debate the issues. I speak
about the government's lies at every opportunity I get. I even went to the APEC protests with a group of very respectable women. I still throw my slippers and I speak out and I vote! We’ll vote the liar out." Christa Schwoebel
Submitted by Margo Kingston on September 9, 2007 - 10:39am.
The APEC thuggery results from a Labor and
Liberal conspiracy to destroy our civil liberties and give police
untrammelled power to serve political ends. I've been warning of this on Webdiary for many
years. We saw with Haneef that now, police and/or government lawyers
are prepared to lie under oath to the Courts to get their way. And the NSW
Labor Government's disgrace started long before Iemma.Have a look at the start of the rot, under Bob Carr, in 2002, when Howard was revving up his 'terror' laws.
Submitted by Margo Kingston on September 9, 2007 - 8:45am.
On August 3, Penguin's publisher Bob Sessions rang me with a shock request - could I update Not Happy, John! in three weeks? Huh? I said I could if my old Webdiary friend and collaborator Jack Robertson agreed to come on board. He did, and the book goes to the printer this week. So, it's hardly in my personal interest for Howard to resign before the election. The book is a critique of his government, sure, but John Howard is the symbol of that government. And then there's the title! My guess is that he'll stay on. What's yours?
Submitted by David Davis on September 8, 2007 - 9:30pm.
Later I saw another old lady asking police if she could go to David
Jones. They told her it would be always there and it would be best if
she went home. Kindly old ladies being discouraged from David Jones?
That's not the Australia I grew up in! I saw the reassuring sign that
"it costs no more to shop at David Jones" but security guards blocked
me from leaving via the Elizabeth Street doors. How bizarre.
Submitted by Margo Kingston on September 7, 2007 - 5:52pm.
7 August 2005 Margo update: Janet Albrechtsen has joined Bolt - see 'Pass baton to Costello'. Last weekend's Newspoll was a shocker for the government, and
speculation is rife that next week Howard will either call an election
or stand down. The Chaser proved that the emperor has no clothes - eerily reminiscent of the Bush visit
to Canberra in 2003, when security waved what looked like a camera in without a
security check and the AFP dressed civilians up to look like cops. Howard is
about appearances, not reality.
Submitted by Democratic Audit on September 5, 2007 - 10:31am.
The latest update from the Democratic Audit program at ANU on how our democracy is working, including 'Be honest, Minister!' Restoring faith in government in Australia
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Submitted by Stephen Smith on September 2, 2007 - 5:29pm.
It seems incongruous that constant warnings about the terrorist threat should lead to APEC staging
itself in the very place most likely to be a magnet for such acts.
However, APEC has good reason for not meeting on some tropical island.
Far from seeking to avoid the week long APEC chaos diary, the event
seems to have a fetish with securing these set pieces. As I shall
argue here, APEC serves the cause of military urbanism.
Submitted by Margo Kingston on September 1, 2007 - 8:09pm.
'In a landmark decision, handed down on 30 August 2007, the High Court
has upheld the fundamental human right to vote, finding that the Howard
Government had acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally in imposing a
blanket ban denying prisoners the vote.'
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Submitted by Margo Kingston on August 14, 2007 - 8:01pm.
Susan Kiefel's appointment as a High Court judge is great for Australia, and one decision of Ruddock I not only applaud, but do so with gusto. Maybe after all his terrible deeds over the last decade he wants to leave something special in place as his career nears its end. I'm reminded of Paul Keating's appointment of Michael Kirby to the High Court just before he lost office. I met Justice Kiefel in the early 1980's in Brisbane, when she was a junior barrister and I was an articled clerk briefing her on a case. She told me then that Tony Fitzgerald had personally mentored her when she worked as a secretary in his chambers, convincing her that she talented enough to finish year 12 and take the bar exam.
Submitted by Margo Kingston on August 9, 2007 - 5:08pm.
Just seen the Network Ten news here in Queensland. I believe that Peter
Beattie is single handedly destroying Labor's chances of winning office
at the federal election.
Submitted by Richard Tonkin on August 3, 2007 - 9:45pm.
The watchdog organisation Aidwatch has released a report today which found that Australian aid money has been used in Iraq to rework the country to suit international corporations. Our Foreign Minister's response was to brand Aidwatch an extremist organisation.
Submitted by Margo Kingston on August 2, 2007 - 3:32pm.
"Never has there been a more prescient time for Australia, as one of the
world’s most stable democracies, to protect and secure its future by
redoubling its commitment to the traditions, values and institutions
that have made this nation what it is today. These civic values are fundamental to the successful existence of a
liberal democracy and we should never forget that they are principles
to be cherished and protected." Kevin Andrews!
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Submitted by Margo Kingston on August 2, 2007 - 11:25am.
Webdiary has done a bit of work on bad and allegedly corruptly procured
development over the years. This is an issue that brings people
together now matter who they vote for.
Submitted by Chris Saliba on July 30, 2007 - 10:55am.
Call me naive, but I’m hoping Barack Obama becomes the fourty-fourth
American president. He’s no political saviour, but he could point us in
a better direction.
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Submitted by Margo Kingston on July 27, 2007 - 4:38pm.
I also acknowledge that one of my officers put two errors of fact before the court. The first related to the SIM card and was based on a misunderstanding of the facts. The second related to the residence of Dr Haneef in the UK and was based on incorrect material provided by the AFP.
The prosecution is of course under a duty to inform the court promptly
of any errors that are made in submissions to the court. The hearing
in which these errors were made was determined in Dr Haneef’s favour
and when the errors were recognised it was decided to correct them when the matter was next before the court.
Submitted by Marilyn Shepherd on July 26, 2007 - 5:33pm.
When Vivian Alvarez was found in the Philipines the information of this
33 was already public, so Amanda Vanstone launched an inquiry into the
possible illegal detentions of other Australians, or worse other
deportations. 247 cases were then sent to the Ombudsman. The most chilling case was the case of LP, an Australian citizen child
incarcerated for 149 days as “a visitor to his mother”. Just a guest of the minister in a regime of brutal
detention that was utterly illegal. No-one bothered to ascertain if the
reality was that the child was a citizen.
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