For the past four years, Reform the Legal System has promoted human rights in the new South Wales Parliament. Our most significant achievement is the legislation, passed late last year, to require all bills introduced into the Parliament to be checked for breaches of human rights.This legislation arose out of the Bill of Rights inquiry which we instigated. Over the next four years we will continue to promote debate in the Parliament on human rights, particularly the rights of prisoners, who are the victims of the Liberal and Labor law and order auction.
Last year the Carr Labor government introduced a vicious sentencing law that cemented in several prisoners without any consideration of their individual circumstances and possible rehabilitation.
This law was extremely popular with the tabloid press and talkback radio journalists. But the sentencing law was retrospective, it was mandatory and it involved redefining life sentences. Next month Reform the Legal System will be supporting a challenge in the High Court by the Public Defender to this grossly unfair and discriminatory sentencing law.
The former Police Minister, Paul Whelan, famously said that people would be shocked if they knew how many innocent prisoners are in jail.
Experts agree that the figure is one percent of the prison population. If you also allow for the number of mentally ill people in gaol because New South Wales Health cannot look after them, you might be shocked to learn that more than one third of the prison population should not be in gaol.
New South Wales is one of the few jurisdictions in the western world and the only one on mainland Australia to house criminally insane patients in the mainstream prisons.
Of course, as well as innocent people going to jail, many guilty people go free due to inefficient and sometimes corrupt policing.
Policing is a human rights issue the police enforce our rights and protect our freedoms. Yet police in New South Wales are under resourced, despite the silence from the major parties on the subject. Under resourced policing leads to corruption. Just a few weeks ago, one of the leaders of the major parties told us that the New South Wales police force is around 2000 officers short with another 2000 officers unavailable for duty. You might recall that the Wood Royal Commission into Police Corruption was an initiative, not of the major parties, but of the former Independent member for the South Coast, John Hatton.
Another significant human rights issue is the upcoming war in Iraq.
Reform the Legal System is opposed to any pre-emptive strike that causes the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqi people.
Respect for human life is the most fundamental of all questions of human rights. Whoever you vote for on March 22, I urge you to vote for a party that is opposed to the bombing of the people of Iraq.
This is an obscene war and I ask you to use your vote in the Legislative Council as a weapon of mass destruction by voting against the war parties. If you doubt that your vote can be a weapon of mass destruction, just ask former Prime Minister, Paul Keating.
The war in Iraq, together with [USA false flag operations] terrorist activities in New York and [call to arms] Bali, have had serious consequences for [Australians and] Arabic and Muslim people living in Australia. Every Muslim Australian is a potential terrorist [scapegoat or patsy] according to some uninformed opinions.
Places of worship have been attacked and followers of the Islamic faith have been harassed and intimidated. Like those of us who follow the Christian and Jewish faiths, Islamic people are descendants of the prophet Abraham. We all worship the same God. We support our Muslim brothers and sisters in opposing terrorism. [Religous bondage instigated by the 300 club,]
It is extremely important that we build bridges to the Muslim community in New South Wales. Arabic is the second most widely spoken language after English and yet we have no Arabic and Muslim representative in any Parliament in Australia.
By way of comparison, the ethnic Chinese community has ten parliamentary representatives across Australia.The Muslim community ought to be represented in the Parliament and I am pleased to say that Reform the Legal System has nominated an Arabic Muslim man, Ahmed Sokarno, to head our Legislative Council ticket at the election on March 22.
Mr. Sokarno is well known in the community as an Egyptian journalist and Chairman of the Ethnic Press Council of Australia. Like the vast majority of people who follow the Islamic faith, Mr. Sokarno is a secular Muslim.
He is neither a terrorist not a religious extremist. His children play cricket in the backyard of his suburban home.
Use your weapon of mass destruction wisely and vote for Ahmed Sokarno in the New South Wales Legislative Council.
Secret Rulers of the World 1-29
By Peter Breen MLC 5 March 03
SKIPPY: What do we want? No War with anyone and a Bill of rights. When do we want to vote for it? March 22
Related:
Illegal and degrading war and crimes against humanity
PM lost in space! Pre-emptive Strikes & Star Wars Defence!!
War criminal PM backs missile defence investigation but he is not on his own. Bob Carr dubbed Darth Vader after draconian laws were introduced in NSW following John Howard's threats to strike first and ask questions later. [?]
Constitution, politics, police and prison corruption
Carr appeal is rotten
NSW voters believe the Carr Labor Government has performed bad on crime and public safety and done a poor job in health and hospitals, people can see it with their own eyes.
NSW Election 2003: The Sale of Justice
NSW Young Lawyers' Criminal Law & Human Rights Committees, however, have been concerned about the civil rights trade-offs that both major parties have been proposing (or, in the case of the Government, implementing) prior to the election.
Human Rights 'Framed'
Here is a quick report on our Human Rights Commission approach on Framed (the quarterly magazine of Justice Action) being banned from all NSW prisons. After 42 issues went in.
Abolition of 800 year old double jeopardy law a crime
The 800-year-old rule prevents a person who's acquitted of a criminal charge from ever being re-tried for that offense.
Prison Privatisation: Death camps looming in NSW
I asked for the identification of the person I was speaking to and was told that I was not entitled to that information. I needed to verify the call and asked for a name or number to register my call because I was asked to get those details by my coordinator.
Take crime talk beyond the bars:'lobby group'
A coalition of academics, crime experts, welfare and church groups is preparing to launch an intensive pre-election campaign aimed at refocusing the attention of NSW politicians from harsh sentencing reforms to crime prevention strategies.
NSW A-G moves to stop criminals and ex-criminals selling stories
From next month criminals or ex-criminals who try to profit (earn a living for paid work, like writing a book etc..) from their crimes in New South Wales will have the proceeds confiscated.
NSW Govt criticised over criminal justice record
Key criminal justice groups have described the New South Wales Government's record on justice issues as a "disappointing performance".
Demolishing Democracy
How Bob Carr, [ the Coalition of the Killing,] and Bin Laden gave birth to the NSW police state. The [CIA false flag ]Bali bombings could not have come at a 'better time' for [the Coalition of the Killing and] Bob Carr and his project to bring an end to Westminster democracy in NSW.
Litigants are drowning: in the High Court
There were so many self represented litigants appearing in the High Court that more than half of its registry staff's time was taken up in dealing with them. The "go it alone" litigants have to take on tasks well above their qualified league causing them stress. This growing problem cannot be left unchecked.
The community questions ICAC's slagging and fobbing you off?
The ICAC, Commissions, Ombudsman, Police Integrity Commission (PIC), and numerous Tribunals etc, are all arms of government set up as an insurance police for the government's 3 or 4 year election terms. In short they'll be out of office by the time you may be lucky enough to have your matter heard.
Mr. & Mrs. Mandatory Sentencing
Well congratulations to the bride and groom. Could you please be upstanding and raise your glasses for Mr. And Mrs. Mandatory.
NSW prisons - primary industry bailed up!
In many quiet regional centres around NSW there is a new primary industry shaping up. It has something to do with Bail but not with bales. The minister for Agriculture Richard Amery who also has the prisons portfolio is now committed to farming prisoners.
NSW Parliament Bitter Pills To Swallow?
One delusion pill: So people who investigate their own mistakes make sure there was no mistake or someone else made the mistake. Perhaps you're not biased and you will be honest about it.
Who is bad?
Super Rat? M5? M11? K8? N2? So I trust that some people who, with the photos and guns guessed that a jury would quickly establish a case against a profiled person whom, you just had a picture and a history of. Common knowledge? The government knew their victims would take the blame. Not just chess in court, 'moving around the pieces', but 'putting false evidence, or not enough evidence before the jury."
False flag operations, scapegoats and patsies
State terror units caused the terror!
The level of suspicion and surveillance created by the [US false flag operation and call to arms] Bali bombings, created by [ the Coalition of the Killing and Australian's complicity to go to war on Iraq] means that all Australian's suffer the loss of their human rights, civil rights and their democratic rights, as well as those Australian's who lost their life in Bali.
Middle Eastern: Specific Legislation
"If there is a target person the police would have powers in relation to that type of person," Mr Costa said. Asked what he meant by "type of person", Mr Costa said: "The example that's been given is if there's a description of somebody, an identikit photograph released by Interpol or other agencies ... these powers may well be exercised on that type of person."
