Anti-terrorism laws inquiry calls for submissions

Police State

A Senate inquiry into the proposed anti-terrorism laws will start advertising today for submissions.

Public hearings are likely to start in nine days and are expected to be held in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

After lobbying from the Australian Democrats, the Government has agreed to a three-week inquiry.

Democrats leader Lyn Allison is expecting a strong response from the community.

"I think it's going to generate a lot of interest, I think there will be a lot of submissions," Senator Allison said.

But Senator Allison doubts if her party will support the legislation.

"The Democrats have had a good look at the provisions in this bill and we are very, very concerned," she said.

"I doubt we will support any part of it, but we will keep an open mind and it is an opportunity for us to put forward amendments which could improve the Bill."

The state pre-meditators agreed to the counter-terrorism package after a lengthy round of negotiations between themselves and the dictator HoWARd.

The Prime Meanster, hoWARd the coward, wants the federal dictatorship to approve the laws before Christmas so he tried to terrify everyone playing his terrorist card.

But now decent people are being urged to send him their psychiatrist bills for the next twelve months. He should be glad to pay your psychiatrists bills for inciting fear in the community.

Sedition concerns

Liberal Member for Wentworth Malcolm Turnbull said he does not believe the sedition provisions in the proposed anti-terrorism laws are ideally drafted.

"I think they are an attempt and a very good effort but, nonetheless, I don't think the outcome is as effective or as clear as it should be," he said.

"The problem is, the sedition laws ... are very old laws going right back centuries.

"There's been an effort to modernise them, but I still think the language is very cumbersome and hard to follow."

He says the laws have to meet the circumstances of the times.

"I would like to see these offences we're concerned about - people promoting violence, people urging others to assist our enemies - those sort of provisions being expressed very clearly in contemporary language," he said.

"The primary duty of every state, every government and every society is to protect the security of its citizens.

"In doing so, it should endeavour to ensure the laws it enacts impinges on as little as possible on the liberties of the communities."

Christ would have little chance against the new sedition laws, writes David Marr

THE stench that hangs around sedition cases goes way, way back to the greatest trial in our history, the one that has loomed over our world for a couple of millennia. Christ was tried for sedition.

[Religious Bondage - take the next section of David Marr's piece as a mythical understanding of the facts. See links below for the truth about it.]

"Anyone who is relaxed and comfortable about the proposed anti-terrorism legislation might care to read Chapter 23 of Luke's Gospel," Canberra's auxiliary Catholic bishop, Pat Power, said this week.

"Jesus is dragged before Pilate accused of sedition. The trumped-up charges are laid but Pilate returns a 'not guilty' verdict. The accusers become more insistent, so the cowardly Pilate orders a review, sending Jesus the Galilean off to be examined by Herod. The new trial simply shows up the shallowness of Herod's character.

"The upshot is Jesus's eventual crucifixion and two old enemies, Pilate and Herod, becoming good friends. It is amazing how anti-terrorism measures bring together unlikely allies!"

Christ's trial had in spades elements that would emerge time and again through the squalid history of sedition: dodgy evidence, lies, duplicity, and a judge who goes with the mob knowing in his heart he's condemning an innocent - but troublesome - man.

The charge was clear. Dr Paul Barnett, the former Anglican bishop of North Sydney and ancient history lecturer at Macquarie University, says: "The gospels all agree, Christ was crucified as King of the Jews. So sedition and treason were the presenting cause for the Romans to crucify Jesus of Nazareth."

Note: the presenting cause. What makes Christ's the prototype of so many trials that followed was the use of sedition as a device for persecution. Christ was arrested and tried by the Sanhedrin on the night of April 6, AD30 (approx) for blasphemy. They wanted him dead, but as they explained to Pilate the next morning: "It is not lawful for us to put any man to death."

That's when they accused Christ of sedition, saying: "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ, a king."

The accusation played on two Roman fears. The first was the fear of another tax revolt like one that erupted a few years after Christ's birth when Judea first became a Roman province. The second was a fear that this man was trying to displace the local king. As Barnett explains: "It was Roman policy to set up client kings in the provinces they conquered. But the Romans decided who that would be and they took a very dim view of any local individual who made that claim for himself."

The Secret Rulers of the World - New Link

• The Secret Rulers of the World - Present/Past
• 2. The Secret Rulers of the World - Only the Start
• 3. Secret Rulers of the World - Profiting from 9/11
• 4. Secret Rulers of the World - Hidden Empire
• 5. The Secret Rulers of the World - Vatican Hoarding
• 6. The Secret Rulers of the World - Amen Pharaohs
• 7. Secret Rulers of the World - Forbidden Link
• 8. Secret Rulers of the World - Oceans of Blood
• 9. The Secret Rulers of the World - The Queen
• 10. The Secret Rulers of the World - King of Kings
• 11. The Secret Rulers of the World - The Empire
• 12.The Secret Rulers of the World - The Cult of Amen
• 13. The Secret Rulers of the World - Committee of 300
• 14. The Secret Rulers of the World - Rothschild
• 15. The Secret Rulers of the World - New World Order
• 16. The Secret Rulers of the World - Freemasonry
• 17. The Secret Rulers of the World - Money Control
• 18.Secret Rulers of the World - Credit Monopoly
• 19. The Secret Rulers of the World - Bush Nazis
• 20. The Secret Rulers of the World - Palestine Israel
• 21. The Secret Rulers of the World - The Butchers
• 22. Secret Rulers of the World - The Asses of Evil
• 23. The Secret Rulers of the World - Drug Running
• 24. The Secret Rulers of the World - War on Terror
• 25. The Secret Rulers of the World - Iraqi Dates
• 26. The Secret Rulers of the World - The AntiChrist
• 27. The Secret Rulers of the World - Enslavement
• 28. The Secret Rulers of the World - Tax Enslavement
• 29. The Secret Rulers of the World - The Power
• The Fabian Society, the Freemasonry and the Beehive
• The Occult Catholic & Islamic Connection pt.1/11
• The Fabian Society: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
• The Round Table: World Overview & Control
• Tavistock Institute: Global Mind Control
• Zeitgeist, The Movie - Remastered

By Draconian 5 November 05

Related:

Govt yet to show proper need for anti-terrorism laws: former judge A former senior judge has criticised the Federal Government's anti-terrorism legislation, saying it establishes a "secret regime".

Nazi tones in John Howard's anti-terror laws, says Malcolm Fraser
FORMER Liberal prime minister Malcolm Fraser has suggested parts of the Howard Government's anti-terror package resemble measures taken by Adolf Hitler and says Kim Beazley's handling of opposition to the package should determine his leadership.

Arbitrary Detention and Magna Carta
Perhaps some rear-view vision may help you when considering the laws now being proposed regarding arbitrary detention. It is somewhat gratifying that international treaties are belatedly being cited as reasons to oppose this slide into dictatorship, but it is odd that no-one seems to remember what underpins our personal freedom here and the whole of our legal system.

Australia's 'Anti-Terrorism' Bill: the framework for a police state Over the past month, Prime Minister John Howard and the six Australian state premiers and two territory chief ministers have joined hands to draft draconian new laws that will erect the juridical scaffolding for a police-state. The Anti-Terrorism Bill 2005 is unprecedented in both its content and in the conspiratorial methods that have been employed to push it through the state and federal parliaments.

ASIO settle wrongful detention case out of court
On the first of November ASIO and the federal Government of Australia settled out of court with a couple whose house had been raided a couple weeks after the [US false flag] September 11 2001 attacks against the Pentagon and the World Trade Center towers in the USA.

The race that doesn't stop the nation
CANBERRA: And welcome to Canberra on the first Tuesday in November for the race that doesn't stop the nation. The Anti-Terrorism Cup. The final horses are being brought into the barriers, and we are almost ready for the start.

Constitution: Defending Against State Terror and Despots
Australia has no major laws that are not derivatives of English Law and all of our major laws rely on British court precedents for interpretation and implementation. These laws and our Constitutional Monarchy system create a situation where, even if Howard and all State Premiers vote unanimously on the Anti-Terrorist laws, and every ALP/Dem/Lib/Nat/Green party hack also votes unanimously on their laws, and even if such laws are given Royal Assent, those laws are still void.

Open Letter to Australian Senate
Every West Australian needs to take note of the proposed terror legislation that will be debated in the Senate next Tuesday. Our own Premier has sold us out, and the time has come for some serious and organised protest in WA to protect our democracy and civil liberties. Write to the Senate, to the papers, and to every political party. This is a fundamental issue that affects the future of our society.

$145,000 for false arrest in NSW
The lawyer - who has represented almost all Sydney's high-profile accused [alleged] terrorists, [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's resource wars in the Middle East] including Mamdouh Habib - who was kidnapped and tortured and who successfully sued the state for wrongful arrest, malicious prosecution and false imprisonment.

Preventive Detention: A Shield or A Sword?
There is a consensus among educated Australians that Preventive Detention is inimical to the democratic evolution of our country. Many are those who argue that given the standards of our time preventive detention is an unnecessary evil.

What's the Difference Between CHINA and AUSTRALIA?
If John Howard's terror law comes into effect, what is the difference between China, and Australia? No rifle executions? I think it is time to approach the Governor General, to dissolve Parliament on the basis that the present Government is attempting to achieve Dictatorial Powers.

Cracks in terror solidarity
In remarks that are at odds with the Premier, Morris Iemma's determined support for the legislation, Mr Debus said yesterday: "I think I share the concern about the legislation with plenty of other people. I don't query that we need to have very tough responses to the threat of terrorism [actually though, the community do query it because the actual threat of terrorism is coming from the Government] and I don't query that the premiers have signed off on a framework last month.

Australian Prime Meanster 'tells' States?
Prime meanster john hoWARd's original pact with the states seems to have fallen into disarray because his new anti-liberty laws breach human rights obligations and the commonwealth constitution.

Anti-Terrorism Bill details draconian police-state plans
First and foremost, the legislation provides for extensive detention without charge or trial, on the flimsiest of pretexts. With no notice or legal hearing, any person can be thrown into secret "preventative detention" or placed, by a "control order," in isolation under house arrest.

Shoot to kill on the belief of reasonable grounds is a problem
Provisions in relation to use of force in s105.23 raise serious concerns. In particular subsection 105.23(2) specifically contemplates the use of lethal force against a detainee where an AFP member believes on reasonable grounds that this is necessary to protect life or to prevent serious injury to another person.

ASIO laws: Don't be silenced
The secrecy surrounding the proposed national anti-``terror'' legislation stands in stark contrast to previous ASIO and "anti-terror'' laws that have been subject to scrutiny by parliamentary committees and public hearings.

Brisbane Peace Convergence calls on Beattie to reject terror legislation changes The Brisbane Peace Convergence (BPC) are calling on Premier Peter Beattie to reject the Federal governments proposed amendments to anti-terror laws. The BPC consider the changes to pose a threat to fundamental rights in a democratic society, including life, liberty and democratic action.

How's this for sedition?
Edmund Burke, who declared the tyranny of bad laws, was a deep political thinker and a ferocious polemicist. In 1777, he wrote to the Sheriffs of Bristol that the true danger to freedom was when liberty was nibbled away, for expedience, and by parts.

Sydney Morning Herald Poll flawed
Sydney Morning Herald: "According to the latest Herald Poll, about three-quarters of voters think it is OK to lock up suspected terrorists [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killings resource wars in the Middle East] without charge, put them under house arrest or shackle them with tracking devices."

SHOOT TO KILL MADNESS AND DRACONIAN LAWS
The Howard Government wants to give police executing preventative detention orders the power to shoot to kill. This is shoot to kill madness.

New anti-terror laws and the Muslim community
On 8 September the Prime Minister introduced a 12-point plan outlining new anti-terror laws [draconian laws to bolster support for John Howard's resource wars in the Middle East] in a press release. Two weeks later he went to the Council of Australian Governments meeting with the proposals. They approved the measures by and large.

Secret agents brief Bracks on 'seditious' protest
Australia: Melbourne: Thursday 20 October, 2005: A phalanx of "secret agents" delivered a written briefing to Premier Steve Bracks at Parliament House today to tip him off to potential "seditious activities" at a planned demonstration for civil liberties on Saturday.

Shoot-to-kill bluff
AUSTRALIA: federal labor leader kim sleazley has predicted the federal dictatorship will fail in its push for a shoot-to-kill policy to be included in its counter-terrorism laws.

Sedition Laws Target Peaceful Civil Disobedience
The new Sedition Laws in the anti-terror bills clearly target people who call for acts of non-violent civil disobedience. Under the laws there is no defence for calling for change to any law by anything other than lawful means. Penalty is up to seven years jail.

Stanhope flags doubts on 'hasty' terrorism bill
ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope says he may refuse to sign off on parts of the Federal Government's hasty terrorism bill. Mr Stanhope published a draft of the controversial laws [draconian laws] on his website on Friday and has refused to take it down despite a directive from the Federal Government.

Despoja: Stanhope hero of the hour
Natasha Stott Despoja has described Mr Stanhope as the "hero of the hour". Senator Despoja says there is meant to be a vote on the draft legislation in the week beginning November 7.

Stanhope stands his ground
Stanhope: It is bizarre to think legislation of this significance can be rushed into Parliament without consulting a single Australian.

Anti-terrorism laws inquiry 'too short'
Australia: The Opposition says the inquiry effectively gives senators just one day to examine the bills. Labor's homeland security spokesman, Arch Bevis, says the inquiry will be unable to scrutinise whether the legislation provides a balance between security and civil rights.

Australia: Draconian laws draw rights watchdog's ire
Human Rights Watch has condemned Australia's proposed anti-terrorism laws as a "shocking departure" from its historical championing of the rights of the individual.

Dissent Isn't Taken Lightly Down Under
Historian Michael Foley said during times of war pacifists often get mugged. As a nonviolent activist working to end the war in Iraq and the corporate war profiteering that comes with it, September 2005 has been the most surreal time of my life and I definitely feel like I got mugged by Australian Attorney General Phillip Ruddock and the Australian government.

Australia: Rattling the cage
Recently, the federal government announced a controversial new 'counter-terrorism' package. Civil libertarians were quick to raise the spectre of a police state . Yet Muslim groups argued that the new security regime is already having an impact on the democratic freedoms and everyday safety of their communities.

AUSTRALIA: MUSLIMS SOLD OUT!
Hand picked alleged Australian Muslim leaders are being used to cut their own throats the same as the hand picked Indigenous mob have been used by the John HoWARd Government to screw ATSIC.

Anti-terrorism laws put rights at risk: Fraser
Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser says Australians could be treated unfairly under the Government's anti-terrorism [draconian] laws unless a human rights act is introduced.

Stop the war on civil liberties!
Prime Minister John Howard is using the "war on terror" to promote widespread fear about "terrorists" and "terrorism" in Australia. This is despite the fact that the biggest act of terror being committed today is being carried out by foreign troops, including Australia's, in occupied Iraq.

Spots and Stripes
It is well known that John Howard, infamous lackey and liar, is devoid of anything that could be remotely regarded as masculine or manly; the draconian measures he has implemented to 'secure' Australia against the terrorist bogeyman are astounding.

They know where you live
Twenty-four hours after the country's leaders agreed to draconian counter-terrorism laws this week, the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, was playing down media claims that ASIO believed there were 800 would-be suicide bombers living in Australia.

When Terrorism Outlaws Democracy
On September 27, 2005, Australian democracy surrendered to terrorism. On that day, a coalition of willing federal and state leaders agreed to anti-terrorism legislation that will enable police persecution of the Muslim community and threaten dissidents with imprisonment. In a country without a Bill of Rights, the prospect of more draconian Terror Laws delivers ultimate control through fear. Australia, with its history of penal colonies, racism and detention centers, is now set to become a police state.

Evans: moderate threat
Evans doubts reports that 800 potential terrorists are living in Australia.

No! Your Rights Australia
You have the right to not remain silent.

800 people deemed a potential security risk?
As reported in the Australian today, ASIO has apparently identified up to 800 people deemed a potential security risk. Ruddock says the draconian COAG measures "deal with people who pose a risk to the safety and security of the Australian community." Hmmm, like detained and deported US peace activist Scott Parkin perhaps? What is this broad definition of a "Terrorist"?

Democrat Will Oppose Anti-Terrorism Laws
NSW Democrat MLC, Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans, has accused the Premier, Mr Morris Iemma, of selling out to John Howard after agreeing to new 'Anti-Terrorism' laws yesterday. Dr Chesterfield-Evans said the proposed laws agreed to by Morris Iemma will not work.

Mein Kampf by John Howard
Months before Bali Au warships were seen invading Iraqi territorial waters in deliberate provocations under American protection. It was obvious that Howard had decided before Bali to join in an illegal and aggressive invasion of Iraq and in fact , when that happened, it was led by Au stormtroopers BEFORE the ultimatum given Baghdad had even run out!

Collection of Terrorists Meet to Take Away Our Rights
Tomorrow (27th of September) the State Premiers and the Federal Government are meeting to conspire to strip Australians of their rights. Welcome to the brave new world of electronic tagging and "preventative" detention.

Tell Your State Premier: Don't Do Ruddock's Dirty Work
Over the past several years, the Howard government has passed a series of dangerous new laws. These laws have undermined our basic legal and democratic rights.

Australian government unveils legal framework for police state
In the lead-up to his September 27 "counter-terrorism summit" with the eight Australian state and territory leaders, Prime Minister John Howard last week unveiled a package of legislation that goes well beyond the already deep inroads made into essential civil liberties under the fraudulent banner of the "war on terrorism..."

Australia: Counter-liberty plans unveiled
AUSTRALIA: VIC: BLACK Hawk helicopters and fighter jets will patrol Melbourne's skies during the Commonwealth Games next March, as part of counter-terror measures outlined today.

John H.o.W.A.R.d line roars at Fascism Week
AUSTRALIA: Parody: (Rooters) - While Attorney General Phillip Duddock helped wrap up a US protester for Prime Meanster, John HoWARd during Australia's Fascism Week after a 5 day detention debut and the removal of Mr Scott Parkin a peace activist who was deported back to Houston, Texas. The h.o.W.A.R.d fascism line, adding a dash of despotism to a week of largely draconian styles.

Parkin charged $11,700 for detention and removal
Los Angeles Friday, 16 September, 2005 : American peace activist Scott Parkin arrived back in the US today, escorted by 2 Australian immigration officials. He is expected to arrive in Houson, Texas on a Continental Airlines flight at around 3pm AEST.

Government out of control on security: Wilkie
Australia: Canberra Thursday, 15 September, 2005 : Former intelligence analyst Andrew Wilkie today staunchly defended US peace activist and teacher, Scott Parkin, saying that the government's national security agenda is out of control.

Australia, USA, Iraq: Scott Parkin
The rapid and widespread response to the detention of US peace and global justice activist, Scott Parkin, has been heartening and effective on many levels. Actions have taken place in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns and outside several Australian Consulates in the United States.

Peace Activist Agrees to be removed but challenges security review
ATTENTION: CHIEFS OF STAFF - IMMIGRATION REPORTERS - LEGAL REPORTERS

Australia's fascist ideal: Proof
Philip Ruddock, Federal Attorney General to Australian, hopes to eclipse the neo-cons of the US in the race toward the fascist ideal of social uniformity and control (oppression).

Anti-War Extremists Loyal to Scott
What can I say to someone like Scott Parkin? Sorry mate, to get a PEACE prize in this country you need to be drop dead sexy, go-tees are out - you gotta go. Peace Prize.

US Peace Activist to be Deported
Scott Parkin, a Texas based peace activist was detained by Federal police at approximately midday Saturday. He was en route to give a workshop about the progress and success of the peace movement in the US and companies profiting from the Iraq war.

Howard government threatens academic freedom
As Peter McGregor noted in GLW #639, I recently resigned in protest from a committee of the federal government's National Health and Medical Research Committee (NHMRC) and called for a boycott by academics of government committees generally.

'Different times' call for bill of rights, says QC'
To ensure no future government can erode basic human rights. Lex Lasry, QC, gave last night's key note address at the University of Western Australia's annual Day of Ideas.

Australia: a little dab will do ya .....
Reflections on the phoney, hypocritical "values" debate being promoted by the federal government, as part of its proscriptive program to emasculate our democracy.

Government warned Terror Laws "inherently dangerous, draconian and open to misuse" John North, Law Council of Australia: "In times of fear, it is easy for governments to impose ever (more) draconian laws."

Fishing expedition pays off
A man whose home was targeted by ASIO in fishing raids this year is facing fraud charges along with a co-accused who is linked to firearms offences.

The Terrorism of ASIO Laws
Wanda Fish asks Australian Senators to reject Howard's proposal to strengthen laws that already erode our basic legal rights. This legislation has the potential to turn ASIO agents into terrorists who can kidnap and detain innocent Australians simply because they "might know something".

Terrorgraph not quiet on 'Aussie militant' probe
AFP refuses to comment on investigation into militant video: hoWARd's abc.

Phillip Duddock's 'accent' heard in militant broadcast
Australian/Arab television has broadcast a video showing a masked militant with an apparent Australian accent criticising British Prime Minister tony bliar over Iraq.

HICKS: Not a Happy Birthday!
AUSTRALIA/CUBA/US :David Hicks, the Australian imprisoned at the US Base of Guantanamo Bay, will be 30 years old this coming Monday August 7, 2005.

GetUp! Stand Up! Stand Up For Your Rights!
Because of you, something exciting happened in our democracy last week. From every corner of the country, more than 20,000 emails were sent to the Coalition Senators. Our message was simple: now you have control of the Senate, we will be holding you to account. Thousands of you added personal messages to your representatives about the issues you care about.

Australia: We're Living In A War Zone
Prime Minister john hoWARd and his cronies have now placed us in a war-zone moving defence capabilities to Australia's south-east coast.

All the alleged terrorists are Muslims
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) commissioner mick keelty, a well know propagandist and liar, now claims that 60 Islamic extremists are operating in Australia and they are not news to the police and intelligence agencies.

All the wicked witches in Pakistan?
Pakistani authorities say 800 suspected militants [scapegoates and patsies] have been arrested in raids following the deadly London [false flag operation] bombings, as Islamic groups protest a move to expel 1,400 foreign students.

It's just not cricket: Khan
The perception in the West remained that somehow Islam was connected to militarism and terrorism, that all Muslims believe that all suicide bombers go straight to heaven. No one mentioned that before [false flag operations of] 9/11 70 per cent of suicide bombings in the world were committed by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, who were Hindus.

Lawyer dismisses ASIO fishing raids as PR stunt
Fascist federal Police (AFP) and ASIO officers conducted more raids in Melbourne and Sydney yesterday but the publicity surrounding the raids has been dismissed as a public relations exercise by the Melbourne lawyer for an accused terrorist.

Howard off to US, UK - part 5
PART-5- PRIME minister john hoWARd will meet US president george w buSHIT, British prime minister tony blair and queen 'imperialism' herself during a 10-day visit to the United States and the UK next month.

hoWARd, ruddock, ellison, keelty and news ltd plotted chaos
AUSTRALIA/CUBA: Government and corporate propaganda agencies 'believe' they have foiled an attack on the Melbourne Stock Exchange by a radical Islamic network linked to a covert group, which has carried out surveillance on key Sydney sites.

Houses raided over 'possible' political attack plans?
ASIO have raided a number of properties in Melbourne on a 'fishing expedition' in relation to a 'possible' political scare campaign by the hoWARd government, playing on the fears of all Australians... again!

Is this our most dangerous Newspaper?
The Daily Terrorist should be managed with manacles and flown into Siberia via a jumbo jet tomorrow amid fears government fascists may attempt to use them again on someone else.

HOSTAGES OF THE WAR ON TERROR
This forum will bring together legal representatives and victims of counter-terror, along with justice campaigners and organisations in order to share strategies for achieving justice for these men and the many other like them.

WAR ON TERROR, WAR ON HUMAN RIGHTS: AMNESTY
The Canterbury-Bankstown Peace Group & the Justice for Hicks & Habib Campaign welcome the statement by Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan, condemning the US Administration for condoning torture and the suppression of 'human rights' in their 'war on terror'.

Murdoch's war on truth in war reporting
People who remain to be convinced that cross-media laws are important to maintaining the fabric of our democracy need look no further than today's page one of The Daily Telegraph.

Chomsky signs on for justice
Noam Chomsky has signed the Justice for Jack campaign petition which calls on the Australian Attorney General Philip Ruddock and Director of Public Prosecutions to "drop any charges reliant on records of interviews conducted under duress without the presence of a lawyer."

If he'd been given his passport he'd be a free man
A Sydney man [scapegoat in the Coalition of the Killings resource wars in the Middle East] has been found not guilty of preparing for a terrorist attack on a Commonwealth building [ruling class propaganda.]

Trial by unrelated video clips
Should alleged terrorist suspects [scapegoats for the resource wars in the Middle East] be shown on television side-by side-'terrorist training camp film clips' gathered by the government and media archives to give the wrong impression of accused people facing trial?

Accused Australian Citizen 'denied passport in 2002'?
AN AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN who was refused a passport by DFAT in mid-2002 became frustrated at the government for treating him differently.

Court should be told Gov't using 'Jack'!
A Melbourne court should have been told a man accused of working for Al Qaeda is being used by the fascist Australian Government as a pawn in their leverage to win support for their illegal and degrading activities.

Noble Cause Torture?
AUSTRALIA: The Labor Party has decided not to support a Senate inquiry into new allegations made by Mamdouh Habib that the Australian Government cooperated with Egyptian intelligence authorities who he insists tortured him.

New account adds weight to interrogation claims
Australia/Cuba/Iraq: The fascist Federal Government is under further pressure today because Australians were involved in the interrogation of tortured Iraqi prisoners.

Australian senate accused govt of war crimes
Did you hear the one about David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib having a Barbeque in Afghanistan with Bin Laden? Yeah it was reported on Channel Seven's Sunrise this morning! But they don't know if it was a sheep or a goat, but sources say it was most likely a goat.

DPP to appeal innocent man's bail
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) will seek to have an innocent Melbourne man Joseph 'Jack' Thomas, returned to isolation in custody?

Fascist Australian Govt torture exposed
The fascist Federal Government has been exposed for the torture of Australian Mamdouh Habib and the US Government's allegations against him (if they were true) would have been made under duress.

Innocent witch verballed by federal fascists!
Shame on the federal fascists. The wicked old witch is dead! A Melbourne Magistrates Court has heard that a 31-year-old innocent Victorian man was facing terrorism charges?

Lawyer blames police for Habib break-in
John HoWARd, Alexander Downer, Phillip Ruddock, Robert Hill, to name just a few....HOW DO YOU PLEAD?

No reason for Habib to sell story: Beazley?
Federal Agreement Leader Kim Beazley is a well-paid loser. A loser who supposed to be defending our democratic rights by standing up to the HoWARd Government's fascism.

Australia: a presumption of guilt......
KAREN PERCY: Two of Australia's leading barristers have seized on the return of Guantanamo Bay detainee, Mamdouh Habib, to launch an unprecedented attack on the Federal Attorney General, Philip Ruddock.

Aust Community criticises Govt for 'crimes'!
Australia: The Law Council of Australia is warning that the Federal Government must learn from its mistakes over Guantanamo Bay? Now that's a mistake!

Australian Govt Guilty of Crimes: Community
Australia: The community says federal fascists who allowed the torture of its citizenry including Mamdouh Habib may be arrested when the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal address the War Crimes Indictment set out by the community.

What they did to Habib
Mamdouh Habib was the victim of atrocities fit for a concentration camp, including being tied to the ground while a prostitute menstruated on him, his lawyer said yesterday.

Innocent witch verballed by federal fascists!
Shame on the federal fascists. The wicked old witch is dead! A Melbourne Magistrates Court has heard that a 31-year-old innocent Victorian man was facing terrorism charges?

Innocent Victorian man held in custody for Xmas?!
Lawyers have argued the case against Mr Thomas was weak and based on a statement he made in Pakistan without a lawyer present and therefore unlawful.

Innocent Melbourne man makes second bail bid
Rubish, just plain propaganda, fear-mongering, draconian nonsence from the HoWARd goverment's war agenda stink tank.

MPs to review spy agency powers
Australian spy agency ASIO'S controversial powers to detain and question suspected terrorists [scapegoats for HoWARd's resource wars] will be re-examined by a parliamentary committee. Parliament passed the new counter-terrorism powers in July last year.

Goulburn Jail breaches UN standards
NSW: Greens MP Lee Rhiannon has called on Justice Minister John Hatzistergos to bring Goulburn Jail's Maximum Security Wing into line with United Nations standards, after a prison inmate's covert survey of his fellow inmates revealed problems with rehabilitation programs and basic amenities.

Lodhi toilet paper: crap!
He is facing nine charges and is accused of planning a major terrorist attack on Sydney defence sites and the electricity grid using downloads off the internet and having 100 rolls of toilet paper to wipe his arse after low level bombs and farts.

Community seeks more power to interrogate ASIO suspects
Greens Senator Bob Brown does not think increased police powers are necessary. "We have enormous powers for surveillance, apprehension or punishment of people who are engaged in or intending to engage in or thinking about being engaged in terrorist acts in this country," he said.

Greens warn of 'politicised' terror trials
AUSTRALIA/CUBA?: The Australian Greens say they are concerned that new anti-terrorism laws being debated in the Senate allow for the "political black-banning" of defence lawyers at terrorism trials.

Melbourne man charged over ASIO links
ASIO a know Australian terrorist organization is verballing the community again...about allegations that a man, while living overseas, received funds from Al Qaeda and had close association with the members of the terrorist group.

DING DONG! THE WITCH IS DEAD
A court has been told Joseph Thomas is a sleeper? ZZZ! Melbourne Australia: A court has been told that Osama bin Laden asked a Melbourne man to become a "sleeper" in Australia before undertaking activities for the Al Qaeda network? Munchkins: "Ding Dong! The Witch is dead. Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch! Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is dead."

AFP: The unlikely CRIMINAL
It was born of a bombing and it made its name after a far more devastating act of terrorism. But for most of the 25 years in between, little was known about the Australian Federal Police force or the work it did.

Australian Federal Government complicity in war crimes
Complaint to Australian law officers about Australian Federal Government complicity in war crimes.

There is no justification for torture
In the weeks since the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison were revealed, evidence continues to seep out of similar mistreatment of prisoners in other US military detention centers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay.

Howard rejects spy agency overhaul
Prime Minister John Howard has played down the need for a major overhaul of Australia's spy agencies as a result of an inquiry by former intelligence officer Phillip Flood.

Mamdouh Habib: Taunted and Tortured!
Four Corners [Walls]: Terrorist - or Taunted by the Australian Defence Force who sacked him as a cleaning contractor? Who is Mamdouh Habib? And why was he harassed by the Australian Federal Police? Then tagged and labelled as a spy? Why was he vilified by the community? When he fled to Pakistan how did he end up being tortured in Egypt? And how did he end up at Guantanamo prison camp reserved for the men America calls "the worst of the worst.

He was an undercover agent for the blues
He was my journalist, he was working undercover. The fellow knew all of the moves.... He really had me romping, bare footing stomping. He just kept igniting my fuse....

Up there Khasali: Innocent man new bail laws
The New South Wales Supreme Court has asked innocent man Bilal Khazal to increase to amount of surety offered, before the bail is formally continued.

HEY! BIG BROTHER? LET INNOCENT PEOPLE GO!
Young men terrorised, tortured, and threatened with charges for no crime by Australia mate the lucky country. Lucky if you're not used for Howard's FEDERAL ELECTION and George Dubya's WAR ON LIBERTY! Who shot liberty? IGNORANCE!

Ul-Haque 'the man who wants to become a doctor'
The taskforce is investigating French man Willie Brigitte, who was tipped back home for a visa breach. Allegedly the Un-Australian Newspaper claimed he also attended training camps before his six-month stay in Sydney. Police have not alleged Mr Ul-Haque knew Brigitte. The Un-Australian just mentioned it because they are 'you guessed it' up John Howard's butt and they like the USA want 'you guessed it' our Federal Government. Well Yankee go home!

Brain injury for suspicion 'inhumane'
Faheem Khalid Lodhi refused bail by a Sydney court and remanded until June in hell at the (HARM-U) High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn. While he is in there he will receive a brain injury and is likely to self-harm due to the gross violation of living standards.

Keelty foresees more terrorism
Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Mick Keelty says terrorist groups will continue to find new ways to threaten countries.

Daily Terror rolled-over for Howard's war games
The DAILY TERROR is suspected of being the source of the news this morning that Willie Brigitte is a terrorist and that Sydney faces a bomb attack.

Lawyer claims Al Qaeda suspect's evidence tainted!
Before returning to Australia last year, Thomas was arrested and held in custody for five months by Pakistani authorities before being released without charge.

Man terrorised by ASIO remanded in 'AA' isolation!
A Victorian man has been remanded in custody after being charged with terrorism offences, including having links to Al Qaeda?

Ruddock foreshadows new terrorism laws
The new laws will allow police to access emails and mobile phone SMS messages, enable wider use of surveillance devices, and protect sensitive national security information during terrorism trials.

Islamic movement denies links to Al Qaeda
The Islamic Youth Movement has denied having any links to Al Qaeda and says it is considering legal action against the Four Corners program. In a statement released early this morning, the group rejects allegations it is helping coordinate any kind of terrorist network inside Australia and says it is being unfairly targeted.

2nd Renaissance -10 The War on Witches [150]
In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued a Papal Bull that became the rationale for establishing the Inquisition in Germany. The following excerpt from the Bull sets out the official view of the danger of witches to the community. The Bull and this this passage provided the sole excuse for the torture and cruel executions that were, ultimately, to be the fate of up to fifty percent of the population of some villages.

Submission to Senate: Inquiry into Mental Health 2005

Justice Action makes this submission largely addressing one term of reference only (see below).

We appreciate that the urgent issues of Human Rights and other abuses including institutionalisation and the use of force, and the lack of progress on Burdekin are being examined by the Committee.

Justice Action is a volunteer organisation without formal funding focussing on prison issues. We are always stressed for resources, and our priority must also be assisting our members in and out of prison, we submit additional relevant materials trusting that the Committee will take up suggestions we have made in our work on these exact same topics prior to this Inquiry, such as in our Submissions regarding NSW Mental Health, which discuss issues within all the terms of reference of this Committee's Inquiry.

Justice Action Position Statement on Mental Health Policy:

Justice Action believes that there are several serious failings in the way public policy addresses mental illness in our society, the most serious being as follows:

- The endemic institutionalisation of those designated as mentally ill, whether that institutionalisation is carried out within the framework of a criminal justice or public health response to those so designated.

- The lack of a public voice in Australia for those who have been designated as mentally ill and the delegitimisation (and pathologisation) of their viewpoints by professional and political authorities.

- The abuse of psychiatric medication for the behavioural management of those designated as mentally ill, both in institutions and the community, and the lack of access by sufferers to well informed, noncoercive choice of therapeutic and support options.

- Neglect and lack of support for those living in the community with mental illness and making the transition from institutional to community living.

- False media portrayals of the mentally ill as being particularly prone to commit violent acts which justify intrusive and coercive measures to avert. Misleading media portrayals which promote the view that people can be appropriately categorised by their mental illness and that mental illness can be easily diagnosed and successfully treated by mental health professionals.

- The acceptance of the dubious diagnoses and untested opinions of mental health experts as 'scientific evidence' by elements of our criminal justice system.

- The increasing influence of large multinational pharmaceutical companies over mental health professionals, policymakers and the statutory bodies and NGOs involved in the resourcing, planning and delivery of mental health services.

- The ongoing stereotyping, vilification, discrimination and abuse suffered by those designated as mentally ill in our society.

Justice Action does not deny the existence of mental illness nor the real suffering it causes the many thousands of Australians afflicted with it and the millions of Australians affected by it.

However, we believe the single greatest cause of distress and difficulty to the greatest proportion of those living with mental illness is the way our society responds to them. Justice Action:

- Recognises that those designated as mentally ill are particularly vulnerable to vilification, neglect, abuse and denial of rights during their interaction with public and private institutions. Seeks to address such discrimination wherever it exists, but with particular emphasis on its presence in the criminal justice system.

- Prioritises the voices of those who have been diagnosed as mentally ill and promotes their participation in mental health education, policy development, planning and service delivery.

- Supports the establishment in Australia of independent grass roots mental health advocacy and activism groups along the lines of 'Support Coalition International' (US) Mind Freedom, 'Mad Nation'(Canada) and 'Mad Pride'(UK).

- Demands an end to the use of psychiatric drugs for patient/prisoner management purposes.

- Promotes programs, policies and campaigns that seek to end the institutionalisation and forced treatment of those designated as mentally ill. Opposes programs which are likely to lead to greater use of institutionalisation and forced treatment. Forced treatment is not therapy, it is abuse..

- Rejects the methods used by drug companies to exert disproportionate influence on mental health policy, including financial backing for practitioners, political parties and mental health NGOs.

- Supports the right of the mentally ill to access a wide range of support and treatment services or to reject treatment and services. Respects the right of the mentally ill to choose their own therapies and treatments.

- Calls for the rejection of psychiatric or psychological expert opinion in criminal proceedings unless supported with considerable experimental or actuarial data. Actuarial data should be treated with extreme caution and skepticism, especially in attempting to apply generalised findings to specific cases.

- Calls for streamlining of the procedures governing the release of forensic prisoners and significant investment in services to facilitate the reintegration of forensic prisoners into the community. All responsibility for the release of forensic prisoners should be taken from the hands of the executive (i.e. crown ministers).

- Rejects the all systems which seek to socially classify people by their alleged mental illness (e.g. 'registers' of the mentally ill, transfer or sharing of their medical records without their consent, New York style 'Kendra's Laws').

- Rejects the popular stereotyping of those designated as mentally ill as a threat from which the community must be protected. They are part of the community who have unmet medical or social needs and are particularly vulnerable to individual and institutional abuse.

Justice Action Submission to Senate Inquiry on Mental Health 2005 Term of reference:

1) the overrepresentation of people with a mental illness in the criminal justice system and in custody,

2) the extent to which these environments give rise to mental illness,

3) the adequacy of legislation and processes in protecting their human rights and

4) the use of diversion programs for such people.

1) The overrepresentation of people with a mental illness in the Criminal Justice System and in custody Poverty is disabling and disability leads to poverty. A criminal justice system weighted against those suffering either results in what we have now - jails full of people from very poor areas, who have high levels of disability, and most particularly those who fulfill both criteria.

One-third of the people in NSW prisons have a mental illness - they are locked up in their cells for 11-23 hours a day, dressed in prison clothes and fed prison food.

An offender diagnosed with mental illness is more likely than other offenders to be arrested, to be remanded to custody rather than be granted bail, to be viewed as dangerous, to spend longer in remand before court process completion, and to spend more time in prison. Lack of legal aid and general disempowerment leads to innocent people with mental illnesses being wrongly convicted. When the charges are minor, it is easier for the accused to just do the time than try to fight the charge.

The 2003 NSW Corrections Health Service (now Justice Health) Report on Mental Illness Among NSW Prisoners states that the 12 month prevalence of any psychiatric disorder in prison is 74%, compared to 22% in the general community, and while this includes substance disorder the high rate cannot be attributed to that alone.

We have included their key findings for your convenience in appendix A. The "deinstitutionalisation" of mental health patients that began in the 1970s and accelerated after the Richmond Report 20 years ago, was not carried out as envisioned.

The community resources, respect for disabled persons and support for what disabled people say is needed, have not appeared, whilst we continue to experience abusive institutional care in hospitals, jails and unofficial institutions like locked boarding houses.

Since the deinstitutionalisation of mental health services, community care is focused on home care. However, a reliance on this is clearly deficient, considering that a high percentage of the homeless also have a mental illness.

Many community services, including housing, exclude people on so many grounds (including other disabilities, prison record and so on) that it is a wonder that anyone is eligible.

For adequate 'treatment and care' for people with a mental illness in the community these must all be substantially increased: funding, staff skills mixes, free access to diverse, culturally and personally appropriate services and facilities.

NSW has the poorest funded mental health system in Australia, but a lot of money going into building prison beds. We need to stop building and filling prisons and instead put our efforts into empowering and supporting our most vulnerable, excluded and dispossessed, to enable our communities to heal ourselves.

2) The extent to which these environments give rise to mental illness Safe Cells So-called Safe Cells, suicide cells, observation cells, strip cells supposedly designed to prevent suicide are part of the problem. A prisoner tells about the

Mum Shirl Unit in Mulawa:

"Imagine yourself locked in a cube of thick Perspex with a series of small air holes in it. The electric light is always on. The camera is always watching you.

You are allowed to use the toilet. Sometimes you are allocated a pill. You are not allowed a pillow to cry into, or hug. You are alone. This is 24 hours a day."

These torture chambers rely on such things as no hanging points to die on. But it is merely a short-term solution to a problem of utter devastation.

These cells are commonly used as punishment. Cellmates tell of prisoners taken away in the night to the cells, hearing the screaming and breaking down at their inability to do anything.

Segregation Housing Units (SHU's) [Solitary Confinement]

These types of cells include the control units and all other such environments of extreme isolation and austerity with near permanent lockdown. SHUs are the problem, not just the holding of prisoners with psychiatric disabilities in SHUs.

We have evidence of prison-induced insanity and this is strongest in SHU type places. Human Rights arguments under the "cruel and unusual treatment" can and should be launched to remove SHU system for *everyone* in prison.

Modern prisons were developed by Stalin in the 1920's-30's following the work on the Russian psychologist Pavlov who is famous for his experiments on dogs developing the concept of classical conditioning. These experiments consisted of stressing dogs and observing their behaviour.

Stalinist prisons soon adopted these methods applying them to people to obtain confessions and as punishment regimes that did not require elaborate or time-consuming methods of torture.

By isolating and depriving prisoners of stimulation and comforts, the same effects as
electro-torture and beatings could be effected, but on a large number simultaneously and without the staffing required before.

These methods spread to the west in the 1950's, notably the United States, which experimented and documented its brain washing exercises. The effect of bland institutions on staff and inmates is well documented, see Goffman, Asylums.

All prisons in Australia today employ Pavlovian principles in their design and operation.This is the science of custody. In order to subjugate and punish individuals, the State had developed these hands-off approaches as a modern alternative to physical torture.

Anyone working and being held in confinement will show the symptoms of institutionalisation, a mental illness affecting everyone in a closed institution.

This illness is progressive and is described as blunting a person's sensitivity and awareness of their environment. They become depersonalised, and such a person will regress to an infantile stage. Loss of living skills, despair, loss of control of urinating and defecating, playing with faeces, pacing, wailing, self mutilation, nudity and other inappropriate behaviour are some of the signs of institutionalisation.

3) The adequacy of legislation and processes in protecting their human rights Please see Appedix B, "At the Minister's Pleasure?" regarding the case study of Michael Kelly.

There is concern at the imprisonment of people who were found not guilty of an offence because of mental illness. Many people found not guilty or unfit to plead by reason of mental illness are sent to jail anyway.

There is no official oversight of Australia's Human Rights obligations - even the limited number of rights accorded by the small number of UN treaties that Federal governments have signed up to, cannot be ensured, as the UN is not even allowed to do snap inspections of the treatment of Australia's State and Federal prisoners.

Australia has been negligent in signing up to Human Rights treaties and in passing them into domestic law. There are also loopholes in Human Rights that allow abuse to occur. Plus we argue that there is a blind spot in human rights regarding the 'English-speaking Western Democracies' that are put up as models for the world.

In places like the UK, US and Australia, it is very easy to hide abuse due to disbelief that it could ever possibly occur here ('they only do that sort of thing over there'), and due to the fact that those in power are well versed in the language of International Laws, and the propaganda needs related to this percolate through the system.

So for instance as the UNHCR has ruled that solitary confinement of one month in a cell with 24 hour a day artificial light is torture, it is quite easy for a prisons Commissioner to claim that there is no solitary at all, by saying every prisoner has access to exercise for an hour a week even if that is not the experience.

Or, a person can be transferred around a system, never really getting out of solitary, or they can flick the lights. A disempowered person has little chance of winning a 'he said-she said' type argument. The art of legal abuse is well practiced in Australia, in all institutions.

It makes a mockery of the ICCPR requirement that, "...all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person."

As another example of the problems of human rights protection and advocacy in this field, the difficulties of making a complaint if you are a person labelled mentally ill, especially if you are also a prisoner, cannot be underestimated.

Problems include legal credibility, a person's knowledge of rights, and belief that they themselves are a person whose rights are worth defending, education and ability to express and communicate in the style required for complaints, enforced silence and censorship, dismissive attitudes amongst professionals, society and officials, destruction of or slackness in creating records, and the fact that psychiatric treatments interfere with narrative memory and ability to think and communicate clearly (ie, making the type of story that evidence requires, rather than perhaps flashes of events told orally and collated by another).

4) The use of diversion programs for such people.

Justice Action promotes Mentoring in the community. The best mentors have been there and they're usually people who have experienced the treatment programs, such as ex-prisoners, ex hospital patients or people who have some knowledge of the pitfalls and have experience of the systems that have treated them.

Mentors can go into the prisons, hospitals and mental health institutions to expand our community support and goodwill to these community members.

At the moment the Mentoring groups have been blocked and locked out of the prison by the authorities because they often have criminal records.

Another diversion that is too often ignored is basic law reform. Many prisoners with mental illness have first contact with the criminal justice system as a result of extremely minor events, often as children. The criminal justice system is very "sticky" and once noticed by it, a person has a problem for life.

The inherent prejudices of the criminal justice system need to be removed so as to allow real change. A lot of minor offences could be removed from the formal legal system, and people's drug use needs to be dealt with as a health, rather that legal matter.

In this way much needed resources, manpower and funds can be freed up for vital services that people need to allow them to avoid problems and learn to change their lives.

Additionally, Justice Action wishes to draw the attention of the Senate Select Committee on Mental Health to the following:

Submission of the Indigenous Social Justice Association (ISJA) and Justice Action (JA) to the NSW Health Department's

1) Discussion Paper on the Review of the Mental Health Act. Location:
http://home..iprimus.com.au/dna_info/mh
http://home.iprimus.com.au/dna_info/mh/

2) Where the Norm is Not the Norm: Goulburn Correctional Centre and the Harm-U

In the absence of public policy, this paper is an attempt to shine a light through the rhetoric and test for coherency in the policy and function of NSW's only supermax prison, the High Risk Management Unit. Its present use will be compared with the 'vision' flogged by the Premier and the Department of Corrective Services (the Department) at its inception in 2001.

3) 'Killing Rational' and Prisoner Control in NSW
The following is a case study of a complaint made to justice action about the treatment of prisoners.

4) Mental Health Tribunal recommendations on forensic inmates
Below is the answer we have received from the Minister for Health regarding prisoners recommended for parole or release by the Mental Health Tribunal

5) Lunatics Running The Asylum
This is a media release about the Gold Coast Institute of Mental Health 6th International Mental Health Conference at Conrad Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast. To hold a mental health conference at Jupiters Casino is akin to arranging a seminar on drug and alcohol addiction at an inner city pub. Consumers, survivors and victims of mental health services will feel themselves thoroughly excluded from this conference, particularly if they are living with a gambling problem.

6) Relationship Between Mental Disorder And Violence
Relationship Between Mental Disorder And Violence Similar scrutiny must also be applied to the theory that people with a mental illness are more violent than the general population. Violence and violent crime are commonly regarded by the public as the domain of the mentally ill (Australian Institute of Criminology, 1990). Public misconception about the true nature of mental illness, as distinct from personality disorder or behavioural disorder, frequently links extreme violence with mental illness. This misconception is enhanced by media depictions of the involvement of the 'schizophrenic' or 'psycho' in violent crime.

7) Death in custody: In memory of Scott Simpson
Scott Simpson 34 died in custody on 7 June 2004 leaving behind a child. It is alleged that he hanged himself in a segregation yard at Long Bay Prison Complex. Justice Action has reasons to believe that Scott had been mistreated from the time he was taken into custody, and that his mental illness was not properly addressed.

Appendix A:

From: 2003 NSW Corrections Health Service Report on Mental Illness Among NSW Prisoners. Tony Butler & Stephen Allnut, August 2003. Key Findings

* The prevalence of mental illness in the NSW correctional system is substantial and consistent with international findings.

* The twelve-month prevalence of any psychiatric disorders (psychosis, anxiety disorder, affective disorder, substance use disorder, personality disorder, or neurasthenia) identified in the NSW inmate population is substantially higher than in the general community (74% vs. 22%).

* Almost half of reception (46%) and over one-third (38%) of sentenced inmates had suffered a mental disorder (psychosis, affective disorder, or anxiety disorder) in the previous twelve months.

* Female prisoners have a higher prevalence of psychiatric disorder than male prisoners.

* Psychiatric morbidity was higher among reception prisoners compared with sentenced prisoners.

* There was comparatively little difference between the one-month and twelvemonth prevalence estimates of mental disorder.

* Two-thirds of reception prisoners had a twelve-month diagnosis of substance use disorder.

* The high rate of mental disorder among inmates cannot be attributed to substance use disorder alone.

* 40% of reception prisoners had a twelve-month diagnosis of opioid use disorder.

* Almost one in ten inmates reported experiencing symptoms of psychosis in the twelve months prior to interview.

* An estimated 4% to 7% of reception inmates suffer from a functional psychotic mental illness.

* The twelve-month prevalence of psychosis in NSW inmates was thirty times higher than in the Australian community.

* 14% of male receptions and 21% of female receptions had a one-month diagnosis of depression.

* The most common group of mental disorders were anxiety disorders with over one-third of those screened experiencing an anxiety disorder in the previous twelve months.

* Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was the most common anxiety disorder (24%).

* One in twenty prisoners had attempted suicide in the twelve months prior to interview.

* Females were more likely than males to utilise health services for mental health problems.

* Prisoners with a psychiatric diagnosis had higher levels of disability.

Appendix B:

From Framed: The Magazine of Justice Action, December 2002, Issue No. 43

At the Minister's Pleasure? The case of Michael Kelly: In 1996, Michael Kelly, husband and father of two, shot a stranger on the stairwell in his block of units. Michael was terrified the stranger would harm his wife and children.

He was in the grip of a serious mental psychosis when he pulled the trigger.. A court found him not guilty of grievous bodily harm on the grounds of mental illness and Michael is still in gaol.

If he had been found guilty, he would probably have served his sentence and been released by now. Michael is caught up in a particularly cruel version of the game of Cat and Mouse.

Because he is classified as a forensic patient under the Mental Heath Act of NSW, the Minister for Health is his master, not the Minister for Corrective Services. And the Minister for health will not let him go.

The Act requires a Mental Health Tribunal to review Michael's case every six months. The legal requirements of the Tribunal under the Mental Health Act is to determine if a forensic patient poses a risk to the community if they don't they should not be held in prison.

The Tribunal has found Michael ready to be placed in the community for treatment and rehabilitation. The expert forensic psychiatric team managing him say he poses no risk to the community.

The community psychiatric team ha repeatedly reported they are ready to take him into care, but the Minister for Health refuses to let him go.

Deliberately undermining of professional psychiatric teams by the Minister's refusal to release mentally ill people under his control must end.

In addition forensic matters should not be subject to Ministerial Discretion because it is inappropriate use of Parliamentary powers and people with positive reports from the (MHRT) Mental Health Review Tribunal for release, conditional release and transfer (for example to allow people with intellectual disability to transfer to jail Disability Units from jail forensic wards) are kept for years unnecessarily in inappropriate accommodation and in jail.

In NSW one man has total power and choice over all people in this situation.. Ministerial Discretion must end.

Our submission has been published on the Senate website: It is submission number 174.

By Justice Action posted 27 May 05

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Mark Findlay argues that the present psychological approach to prison programs is increasing the likelihood of re-offending and the threat to community safety.

NSW Greens lose bid to stop jail boss getting more power
She said the regulation represents "shades of Guantanamo Bay", with the Carr government using draconian measures which fed the resentment and unfairness that caused terrorism.

NSW Prisoners' linked to Osama Bin Laden: Ten News
Allegedly Osama Bin Laden issued a "Fatwa" that was posted on an Islamic Website this morning. Osama Bin Laden's demands included visiting NSW prisoners' at the HRMU for Xmas!

Justice Denied In NSW Corrective Services
There used to be a (VJ) or Visiting Justice who would go into the prison and judge any claim or accusation that was made by any prisoner or prison guard. If it were found that a prisoner had offended then punishment was metered out.

Prison guards test positive for drugs
NSW prison visitors banned from using the toilet The visit is only for about one hour and any thing less than that is an insult. If it's proved that a visitor has broken the rules the punishment should apply to them. But collective punishment on all visitors should not be made general when others haven't broken the rules especially if it restricts all visitors from normal human needs like using a toilet.

NSW prison visitors banned from using the toilet
The New South Wales Government has introduced several initiatives to stop contraband getting into prisons they said last Friday. But under the guise of "stricter rules" the department had also introduced banning all visitors including children from using the toilet unless they terminate their visit at any NSW prison after using the toilet.

Carr Govt dramatic increases in the NSW prisoner pop...
Following the opening of the 500 bed Kempsey prison, and a new 200-bed prison for women at Windsor the Council of Social Service of NSW (NCOSS) and community organisations specialising in the rehabilitation of prisoners, have expressed concern....

The ALP's fascist police states
Welcome back Sid-in-knee. Old Falangist Samaranch would surely feel right at home in any number of fascist police states around this wide brown land today. Who needs Franco when you have Beattie, Rann, Carr, Bracks and co. Flamin' fascist fucks the lot of them.

Death in custody: In memory of Scott Simpson
Scott Simpson 34 died in custody on 7 June 2004 leaving behind a child. It is alleged that he hanged himself in a segregation yard at Long Bay Prison Complex. Justice Action has reasons to believe that Scott had been mistreated from the time he was taken into custody and the subsequent events that ensued that led to his sad death. We think that his treatment may well have caused his death.

Doctor Ron Woodham I presume?
"Corrections Health staff provide medical care. However, its staff's authority is essentially limited to making recommendations to corrective services on treatment. Corrective services staff can then decide what treatment can be given."

Sentencing: Violent crime and practical outcomes
In addition introducing restorative justice programs giving the offender a chance to interact with the offended person if they wish and visa-versa. People are not "dogmatic" therefore should be given a second chance opposed to Life means Life!

Government justice not personal justice
Mr Brett Collins of Justice Action said, "Victims should be looked after properly by implementing restorative justice measures and victims should be compensated for their pain and suffering. " However prisoners are entitled to serve their sentences in peace and privacy as well."

You have choses Bob The Barbarian!
New laws to make it difficult for people charged with terrorism offences to get bail have been whisked through the New South Wales Parliament after only being introduced earlier today.

Conditions in the HRMU
Justice Action is trying to obtain documents on behalf of prisoners held in the Goulburn High Risk Management Unit (HRMU) from the Federal Attorney General's Department, Corrective Services Minister's Conference regarding the process described below, in which the Standard Guidelines for Corrections in Australia were adopted. This documentation will help explain the justification for the conditions in the HRMU.

Call for royal commission into NSW prison health system
Mr Tony Ross a social justice activist said yesterday that a royal commission into the health system in NSW should be wide reaching to ensure that the Corrections Health Service is also exposed because of reported widespread cover ups in the prisons health system.

A TOTAL ABUSE OF POWER
We the prisoners at the High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn Correctional Centre would like to ask you for help in receiving equal treatment and opportunities as other prisoners throughout the system. As we are told that we are not in a segregation unit but we are treated as though we are in one.

People with Mental Retardation in the Criminal Justice System
How many people with mental retardation are in the criminal justice system? Based on the 1990 census, an estimated 6.2 to 7.5 million people in the United States have mental retardation. Various studies have suggested between 2 percent to 10 percent of the prison population has mental retardation.

MENTAL ILLNESS AMONG NEW SOUTH WALES PRISONERS
Anecdotal evidence from staff working in the New South Wales correctional system [prison system] has always suggested a high prevalence of mental illness among the prisoner population.

On the treatment of prisoners at the NSW HRMU
Prisoners sister's letter from her brother: Following our phone conversation some weeks ago I would like to set out a few points on the treatment of prisoners in the High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn (Super Max) (Guantanamo Bay).

Review of Justice Ministers claims about conditions at HRMU
There is no fresh air in our cells only Air conditioning pumped out of an 8 x 8-centimetre vent over our beds. Conditions change with filthy moods of the prison guards. Induction clothing "one set" mostly shorts and a prisoner remains there for two weeks depending whatever suits the staff. If a prisoner shuts up about the abuse, and freezing conditions (Goulburn cold in winter hot in summer taking into account you're housed in concrete) then you may go to units 8 or 9.

Watchdogs slaughtered in NSW
On Tuesday the Carr Government reduced transparency and accountability yet again and New South Wales is in danger of becoming entrenched with cronyism and intimidations with the Carr Labor Government that continues to slaughter the watchdogs.

Escape proof but not so the prisoners mind
Fewer prisoners escape from prison these days because they're "cemented in" by materials that do not break and by legislation that can keep prisoners in jail until they die.

High Risk Management Unit (HRMU) INSPECTION
The Special Care Unit (SCU) at Long Bay Correctional Centre was inspired by Barlinnie. The SCU was opened in 1981 to replace the Observation Unit, which was strongly criticised by the Nagle Report. The SCU was closed in 1997 because of lack of record-keeping which could give a measure of effectiveness. The SCU was replaced by the Four-Stage Violence Prevention Program, which is housed within the Metropolitan Special Programs Centre (MSPC).

Mental illness and the criminal justice system
Carol Berry, Solicitor – Health Policy and Advocacy, Public Interest Advocacy Centre

US: Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System
Today, some 283,800 inmates are identified as having a mental illness. This represents 16% of the inmate populations of state and local jails. Jails have effectively become America’s new mental institutions; they house a larger volume of mentally ill people than all other programs combined. However, these inmates rarely receive the treatment that they need and have a right to. The criminal justice system is overpopulated and under equipped to deal with those with psychotic disorders requiring mental health care services.

Relationship Between Mental Disorder And Violence
Similar scrutiny must also be applied to the theory that people with a mental illness are more violent than the general population. Violence and violent crime are commonly regarded by the public as the domain of the mentally ill (Australian Institute of Criminology, 1990). Public misconception about the true nature of mental illness, as distinct from personality disorder or behavioural disorder, frequently links extreme violence with mental illness. This misconception is enhanced by media depictions of the involvement of the 'schizophrenic' or 'psycho' in violent crime. The Victorian Government's health information website, BetterHealth Channel, gives the following content analysis:

People with Mental Retardation in the Criminal Justice System How many people with mental retardation are in the criminal justice system?