ACOSS urges national anti-poverty plan

The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) is calling for a national plan to reduce poverty.

Activities have been organised across Australia to highlight hardship in Australia and overseas during Anti-Poverty Week.

ACOSS president Andrew McCallum says 2 million Australians are living in poverty and 1.5 million do not have jobs.

Mr McCallum says Australia should take note of Ireland's national anti-poverty plan, which has reduced the poverty rate there from 15 to 5 per cent.

"Two million Australians living in poverty at this time of economic growth is something that should be unacceptable to all Australians," he said.

"We're saying let the governments get together and acknowledge there is a problem, then set about looking at how we can reduce that.

"A national anti-poverty plan is something that we think should be considered."

By Hungry 17 October 05

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Who in the real world believes the 5% unemployment numbers?

How the federal governmet abs unemployment numbers are all bull shit

Yesterday the federal government's ABS unemployment came out again at 5% low numbers, and according to our PM, he who would never, ever tell us lies, e.g no gst taxes, sell only one third of telstra etc etc,says this low unemployment number is the best numbers in the last 30 years or so.

I say that the abs is being corrupted by telling these lies over unemployment, because as far as I know that a person who is unemployed is not counted in these numbers, if on a work for the dole program, disability support, training exercise, australian job search club programs, or works only one hour per week.

So just ask your friends in your circle if you realy believe this low unemployment numbers crap from the federal government.

It seems that if the unemployed stand closer together at the centrelink lines, maybe this is what the government is using too measure this system.

Just a general comment from a government spin doctor.

By government spin doctor 9 September 05

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Work for the dole was originally sold to us by Howard as a warm and fuzzy light work project. We would be working for nothing but we would be enjoying giving back something to the community, so it was reckoned.

FIGHT UNEMPLOYMENT!
Peter Costello commended this result in his budget speech. Even if we were to believe this figure it still means more than half a million living at a level much lower than that is recognised as poverty.

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Democrats approve tougher welfare penalties: But how does that pan out?
There used to be an old saying in Australia" if your hungry steal a sheep and leave the pelt on the fence.

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Howard: We as a nation have got to invest heavily in defence?
Fascist Prime Minister John HoWARd has indicated the Government will make major changes to work place laws, cut disability support forcing the disabled to work and increase his defence commitment.

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Australian Caretaker Defence Minister Robert Hill has announced a multi-million dollar upgrade of the Pearce Air Force base in Western Australia. Hill says $87 million would be spent on a major upgrade of the base, which is Australia's main flying training facility.

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Ten things you should know about petrol sniffing

As a former youth worker working over the mid to late nineties with a large number of chronic 'chromers', and a two-year stint facilitating an illicit drug program for the Danila Dilba Medical Service, I have a unique insight to the petrol sniffing issue.

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, petroleum is a: "hydrocarbon oil found in upper strata of earth, refined for use as fuel for heating and in internal combustion engines". So why on earth is the NT Labor Government seriously considering the prohibition of petrol in remote indigenous communities and just what is the "Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Bill"?

According to the NT Department of Health and Community Services (DHCS), they have given up on addressing the petrol sniffing problem and they have turned to the 'justice' system for answers. You'll agree with their statement that: "Many of the causes of inhalant substance abuse, such as boredom and lack of employment and education options on remote communities, are not things which a health department is primarily responsible to change." Derr!!!

No guys, that's our - the people's - responsibility!

If the proposed 'Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Bill' is passed; members of the NT police will have the power to seize substances such as petrol, glue and paint where they suspect they are being inhaled, or abused. They will also have the power to apprehend a petrol sniffer where they feel that they can be a danger to themselves or others.

For people with a chronic substance misuse problem the bill provides the capacity for courts to order compulsory treatment programs. If they fail to comply with the treatment, a Magistrate can issue a warrant to take them to the place of treatment. They will not incur a jail sentence for leaving a treatment program, but for how long that clause lasts remains to be seen.

Where a compulsory course of treatment is not adhered to, support staff - with the support of the court - "will intervene to encourage compliance". If a chronic sniffer commits crimes that do carry jail penalties, then that will be considered by a court however the Government wants to reassure us by stating that an "act of petrol sniffing on its own will not involve a prison sentence."

The NT Government is promising ten million dollars over five years to go towards treatment programs that "support the legislation".

They have promised 'treatment centres' that will be set up throughout the Territory and will involve isolating sniffers from substances and "providing them with a supportive environment to help them to get back on track." There is scant if any detail.

The bill is also aimed at cracking down on people who "sell or supply volatile substances to users." In true 'war on drugs' parlance, the FAQ information sheet put out by the NT Department of Justice (DOJ) states: "We take restricting supply so seriously that we are giving protection to informants." There is no indication as to whether or not their will be a new offence of 'petrol-trafficing', let alone an indication of the number of litres of petrol considered a trafficable or commercial quantity under the threatened regime.

As an aside, the NT Police claimed in July 2004 that: "A 23-year-old man will face court following his arrest for allegedly supplying petrol to teenagers." He was charged with "supplying a volatile substance."

The Greens have called for a Royal Commission or Senate Inquiry into the issue but I fail to see how another inquiry can benefit anyone other than the legal eagles involved. Look at the Royal Commission into Deaths in Custody. Many of its recommendations are still ignored.

Take recommendation 143 for example: "All persons taken into custody, including those persons detained for intoxication, should be provided with a proper meal at regular meal times." This is one example of a recommendation being ignored. It is breached every afternoon when Berrimah prison inmates are given a pitiful 'breakfast' that they are supposed to save until morning; the result being that the prisoners go without a decent breakfast. But I digress.

Some indigenous Community Councils and many Territory youth agencies have put in their two-bobs-worth. Their solution: 'Opal', BP's 'non-sniffable' petrol. A lot of people are arguing that this should be introduced as the only petrol available in Central Australia. This would give BP a lovely monopoly.

BP of course, with a profit after tax of $852 million in 2004, maybe isn't as innocent as the company appears at first glance.

What would you expect from a corporation with a turnover last year in excess of 285 billion US dollars? You can bet your bottom dollar BP has the patent for Opal and they see this whole issue as a lovely revenue-raiser!

The BP website tells us: "Petrol sniffing has become a concern in outback communities in Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia and it is estimated that more than 1,000 people are affected by sniffing, which leads to permanent disability and premature death."

The Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) is also on the bandwagon with regards to petrol sniffing. In a July 2005 media release, ANCD member and Chair of the National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee (NIDAC), Associate Professor Ted Wilkes stated: "The ANCD has again heard about the extent and impact of petrol sniffing in Indigenous communities."

Yes, petrol sniffing has "become a concern", thanks to the ongoing alarmist and sensationalist media coverage of the issue - fuelled by the marketing and publicity people at BP's Elizabeth Street offices in Melbourne.

Alice Springs Alderman and 'Opal' supporter Melanie van Haaren recently told ABC radio: "We are taking on a cause with enormous commitment and gusto."

The ANCD are also backing Opal.

Commitment and gusto are admirable qualities. However, when deciding what to do about petrol sniffing, the fundamental principle you should keep in the back of your mind is that any 'solution' must reduce harm - not maximise it (The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines 'maximise' as: "increase or enhance to the utmost").

The following are some things you should consider when trying to address the issue of petrol sniffing in remote indigenous communities:

1. The criminalisation of petrol sniffing is just another bandaid that we would expect from those wound up in electoral politics. It takes the focus away from the root cause of the problem - the inherent structural racism faced by the Indigenous community in Australia and the reality of the poverty that some communities are forced to endure. As Major Michael Mori, the lawyer representing David Hicks said (referring to recent changes to the military tribunal faced by Hicks): "You can slap a new coat of paint on the outside of a house with broken foundations, but it doesn't fix the problem."

2. Together with the NT Government's 'war on longgrassers'. The criminalisation of petrol sniffing will further marginalise and criminalise a section of the community who are already targeted disproportionately by the 'justice' system. Young people and members of the indigenous community generally suffer an inordinate amount of police harassment and attention. The Territory's indigenous incarceration rate is higher than ever before. This can only increase under the proposed legislation. The recent establishment of the 'Remote Area Drug Desk' by the NT police Drug Enforcement Section is only compounding this.

3. It is public knowledge that Berrimah jail is well overcrowded. With the one hand, The Territory's Attorney-General, Peter Toyne MLA, says his department is working on alternatives to prison for non-violent crimes to ease pressure on the jail system - with the other hand they risk increasing the number of non-violent offenders in the prison system. This is typical of prohibitive approaches to substance misuse. It contradicts what Family and Community Services Minister Delia Lawrie has said. Delia claims: "part of that (our) approach is treating teenage substance abuse as a health issue not a criminal problem."

4. There are much cheaper alternatives to criminalisation. We must see the implementation of the full-range of youth services, crisis services, accommodation services as well as the mainstream youth services and drop-in centres. These are only bandaid solutions but surely we need a positive way for the government to spend its money instead of the zero-tolerance approach; and surely that is a saner way to expend money other than the illegal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan!

5. Prohibition has never worked and there is no reason to suggest that it will work in remote indigenous communities. It failed with Alcohol in the USA, it is failing now despite the US led 'war on drugs' and it even fails in countries such as Singapore and China, who execute people for possessing certain amounts of certain substances deemed illegal by the state. Why on earth would we want to increase the list of substances that we prohibit in vain? The stated aim of the NT Government is to: "To provide a strategic framework that reduces the occurrence of, and harm resulting from, petrol and other inhalant substance abuse in the Northern Territory". The prohibition of petrol and/or petrol sniffing will maximise - not reduce - harm.

6. Police aren't trained to deal with petrol sniffers and the jails have no facilities to cope with them either. Placing petrol sniffers behind bars is extremely dangerous and it flies in the face of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The seriously under-funded mental health system is already feeling the strain with a high burden of substance misuse in the Territory. The NT Government should be spending money on improving the Territory's mental health services rather than building more jails.

7. Despite all the hype - damage from petrol sniffing is reversible. A Northern Territory research centre has discovered the brain can completely recover from damage caused by petrol sniffing. Sheree Cairney, a researcher at the Menzies School of Health Research, told ABC radio in November last year that former petrol sniffers can regain the ability to concentrate, remember, learn and control emotions. Psychiatrist Rob Parker, who has been treating petrol sniffers for more than twenty years, says the research will provide an incentive for sniffers to stop. This is a far cry from the total social devastation focussed on by some parts of the media. As we know, the corporate media play an important role in diverting our attention from the genocide faced by Australia's indigenous community and the illegal Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

8. The responses to petrol sniffing reek of racism. Despite claims that the Volatile Substance Bill will target 'chromers' in the urban centres, it appears that 'as usual', people in remote indigenous communities are the target of the legislation. The Federal and State/Territory Governments are well aware that it is their policies of neglect and impoverishment that result in substance misuse in remote indigenous communities. The State's aim is to manage public perception until the next election, when who ever wins comes out with a whole raft of 'new' ideas. While the State looks like the good guy as it funds a series of bandaid projects, it uses issues like petrol sniffing to deflect blame for the impoverishment in remote communities. The blame is deflected firmly onto the community elders. The oppressor blames the oppressed for their own oppression. It is another diversion from the Federal Government's war on Iraq and Afghanistan, costing the taxpayer a whole lot more than the ten million they have committed for the introduction of 'Opal'.

9. The NT Police already have way too much power. With the 'drug house' laws, asset confiscation laws (supported by the Northern Territory News) and pending legislation targeting longgrassers, the NT Police have far too much power. They are even involved in writing legislation. In the past year, police have used their powers to seize 119 cars, the penalty for grog-running in the NT being automatic confiscation of the vehicle. This practice disproportionately effects remote indigenous communities and is another example of the racist application of laws in Australia's Top End.

10. The sad reality is that in the current climate, where the corporatists have free reign, close to nothing will be done to address the root causes of petrol sniffing. Remote indigenous communities are one of the key dilemmas faced by state officials. There is often limited transport in and out of the community, the services - including schools - are totally inadequate, the housing is overcrowded, there is no work. Alcoholism and in some cases violence and sexual abuse are rampant. There are no business opportunitiesÉ and when they come to one of the major centres we tell them: "no humbug" and order them "back to their country".

The Magistrates even 'banish' people to their communities. This only applies to indigenous people. Obviously I couldn't be banished to the UK (well, not easily). This is another example of the pervasive racism that has a stronghold in Australia's Top End.

Rather than banish indigenous people from our midst and making them feel extremely unwelcome when they visit Darwin, Katherine or Alice Springs (or any other Australian town or city), we should put those pesky army helicopters, constantly flying overhead in Darwin, to good use. Maybe, we should evacuate people from remote communities such as Mutitjulu, especially if you accept that the root causes are never going to be addressed; not until we see a radical change in the way this country is governed.

This is the crux of the issue. As long as indigenous people are treated as second-class citizens, petrol sniffing and other substance misuse will continue unabated. Relegated to third-world conditions and no hope of making it in the white man's world, many indigenous young people out bush have no alternative other than wiping themselves out. They just want to forget. They're well aware that they are not welcome in town. There are no jobs for them, cheap housing is virtually impossible to obtain and they constantly face the threat of being sent 'home'. They know that the white man doesn't want them hanging around. Just as Lindsay Murdoch wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald last month, "out of sight, out of their minds."

By Gary Meyerhoff, September 5, 2005

Gary's Drug War Rantz

Related:

People: 'Prisoners' of Drugs'
People who are addicted to heroin usually take the drug because it relieves them of problems such as low self-esteem, distrust and fear of abandonment. They may have poor communication skills & poor relationship skills.

Australian Greens Senator Responds To: Social Services Cuts

Dear Kerry Nettle,

I am writing to you because I am concerned about people living in poverty in Australia. In Parliament, legislation will be introduced to put many people with disabilities and single parents on unemployment payments. If this law goes ahead unchanged, more people will live on less money after July 2006.

Many people who apply for payments will be around $20-40 a week worse off. It is good that the Government aims to help more people gain access to paid work but I think this process should not make people poorer.

I have two specific concerns that I ask you, in your party room and in Parliament, to advocate for.

- Don't make more jobless people live on less

Legislation must be modified so that people with disabilities, who often have high health and travel costs, are not struggling to pay their bills. Jobless single parents must have the time and money they need to care for their children if they are studying or looking for work.

- Give them a chance

Any one can lose their job or have trouble finding one where they live. As part of this bill, some jobless people could lose their payments for two months. This is too long to leave people in difficult circumstances without money to live on. Rather than punishment, jobless people need training, advice and support to get ready for work.

You have an opportunity to do something for people who are struggling to make ends meet in our electorate. I will be watching to see how you respond to their needs and my concerns.

Kind Regards,
Just Us

This letter was sent using ACOSS's Action Network.

Senator Kerry Nettle

Thank you for your email about the proposed changes to welfare rules that were detailed in the federal government's 2005 Budget in May.

The Australian Greens support helping people with disabilities, sole parents and low-income parents, long-term jobless and older unemployed people to find paid work. However, we do not support the measures in the government's plan because they:

- Will leave people worse off financially, even if they can find part-time paid work. This is partly the result of withdrawing income support at a higher rate compared with the payments people will be moved from.

- Are not backed by adequate assistance. The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) estimated that $2 billion per year is needed to make a serious investment in helping people find employment but the government provided only a quarter of this.

- Fail to address some of the main barriers to long-term reliance on welfare, such as discrimination, extra costs for work equipment and transport, and lack of training and education.

- Provide insufficient affordable childcare which is critical to parents, especially those who can find only casual work at irregular hours.

- Punish jobless people by imposing harsher work-for-the-dole rules, including automatic eight week suspension of payments and up to 10 months work at $8 an hour, two-thirds of the minimum wage.

- Treat sole parents and low-income parents less favourably than middle and high income couple families. The government makes a regular payment (Family Tax Benefit B) to households where one partner is a full-time carer, regardless of whether the household has a high income. Yet the government wants to remove the choice of sole parents and parents of low-income partners to be full-time carers. The decision about when children need less supervision and care should be left to parents because every family's circumstances are different.

Congratulations on your lobbying efforts, I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

Yours sincerely

Kerry Nettle
Australian Greens Senator for NSW

By Just Us 8 August 05

Related:

Costello's anti-Job Network weapons discovered?
THE Federal Government had cut $500 million in funding to private sector employment agencies to ensure taxpayers received value for money, Treasurer Peter Costello said?

Pity Labor Couldn't be United over Social Services Cuts?
HoWARd/Costello (funny fellow) Big Mac and Small Fries. And Beazely's Kentucky Fried Two Piece Snack Box for those on minimum wages who should be enjoying - better Medicare Rebates, Public Housing, Hospitals, Education and Transport Infrastructure but instead get just $6.00.

Happy mothers day: Single mums forced to work!
AUSTRALIA can no longer sustain its warfare system, but can sustain the social dollar and that depends on where your priorities are? USA/Iraq or Australia?

HoWARd Gov't could be slued, community warns
Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) members will join a rally in Victoria Square today, protesting against the anticipated changes to workplace relations.

Work for the dole and prison industry slavery
Work for the dole certainly offers a lot of variety. The impression given by the government is that most unemployed do creative and helpful work assisting the community.

'Social Services cheats' may face election next time around
The Federal fascist HoWARd Government is attacking the poor and underprivileged again (on all fronts - now including social services, disabled, single mothers, Medicare rebate and IVF treatment.

Single parents deserve a living wage and not persecution
Being a single parent is hard work. It means a lot of responsibility. But you are not paid properly to do this work. You are paid way below what is recognised as the poverty line. StandUp! Believes that looking after a child is a job and should be paid for like any other job.

Labor sees problems in welfare proposals
The Federal Opposition says proposed changes to Australia's welfare system are a cost-cutting measure and will leave disability and sole parent pensioners worse off.

Dismantle the war machine, slash taxes, privatisation and keep social services The Centre for Independent Studies report says the flat-rate income tax of 10 per cent would ensure most Australians could afford to pay for essential services such as health and education, instead of relying on welfare [social service] payments.

Costello to force single mums to look for work?
SINGLE mothers would be forced to look for work once their children reached school age, under a draconian welfare package outlined last night by fascist Pastor Peter Costello to bolster funds to spend on military hardware and the ongoing illegal and degrading war in Iraq.

The HoWARd Government is simply robbing the disabled blind
KERRY O'BRIEN: Federal cabinet adjourned today still undecided about the final formula for what has become politically one of the toughest reform challenges the Government will face this term. For the past two decades, the disability support pension has been one of the fastest growing welfare payments [social security payments.]

Encouragement is the key to social-services-to-work programs
Corporate Welfare! I think we should start with Ingeus Company. Telling us what we already know for $$$$!

Peter Saunders shake-up is long overdue: Welfare Not Warfare
Peter Saunders: Many DSP claimants are older men with limited skills who have had difficulty finding work?

Welfare Reform for Warfare Expenditure?
John Howard: "Self-evidently we would have liked the major combat to have gone differently ... [but] coalition withdrawal or defeat is unimaginable."

Govt plots post-July strategy?
Fascist Prime Minister insists he is not on a mission to punish welfare recipients [social services.]

HoWARd 'determined' to make the disabled woRK?
The Federal Government is considering a system of "coercion" and incentive to force the disabled to work. But what happened to 6 billion-budget surpluses? Why do they need to force disabled people to work? Do they need more money and less disabled people? Or do would they rather spend the money on WAR?

Opposition pension claims valid
The Federal Governments secret agenda to cut pensions, including the disability and single parent payments while spending billions on military hardware is just too much for most disabled people to accept.

Thousands march for disability protest
"We are not prepared to go back to the dark ages. This has to be reversed," Mr Preston said. "We are hoping that the community sees that we shouldn't be taking money from people with disabilities. These people have had it tough all their lives (and) there is already more unmet need than we can cope with."

Howard's Job Network Bailout
Up to 670,000 people on disability support pensions will be encouraged to sign up to the Job Network under a radical new plan to get disabled people off welfare and into work.

THE HILLSONG'S ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF ' NEO-LIBERALISM' Only a bent mind would envisage the possibility or think of the concept that a '2nd Neo-Liberal 'front' promoted by the right and posing as a Church would enter politics under the flag of "Family First Party".

Costello, Howard's Disciple
JOHN HOWARD AND PETER Costello lost their vision for Australia from the time they were elected and embarked on a vision for the neo-Liberals.

Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel?
Well praise the Lord the light is Hell bent here on Peter Costello, treasurer of the Howard Government who now has his own "flock" of onward Christian Soldiers.

Corporate Welfare

Corporate welfare or how to steal social services?
Ever wondered why there are so many homeless, why we need a 10 pc GST, lack of services for mental disability, still paying off the Olympics, poor public transport planning etc etc etc?

Unemployed:

Work for the dole is legal slavery
Work for the dole was originally sold to us by Howard as a warm and fuzzy light work project. We would be working for nothing but we would be enjoying giving back something to the community, so it was reckoned.

FIGHT UNEMPLOYMENT!
Peter Costello commended this result in his budget speech. Even if we were to believe this figure it still means more than half a million living at a level much lower than that is recognised as poverty.

Mark Latham's, token gestures for older unemployed
StandUp appreciates the fact that Mark Latham is concerned about older unemployed people. His specialist job network proposal aimed at older people might provide a bit of assistance.

Work for the dole failure for two thirds
THE Un-Australian: " MORE than a third of the people who completed the Howard Government's work-for-the-dole programs last year were in jobs or studying within three months of finishing.

Work for the dole? $10.00?
StandUp! Wishes to draw your attention to a serious attack on all of us--work for the dole. We were assured that unemployed would not be forced to work in areas where employed workers would normally be employed. This has shown to be a lie! Under work for the dole, unemployed have been forced to carry out; concreting, tiling, landscaping, repairs, renovation, painting, gardening, nurses and teachers aid work.

'WORK FOR THE DOLE' REDUCES JOB PROSPECTS
A major independent study commissioned by the Government and released today under Freedom of Information by The Australian newspaper indicates that the 'Work for the Dole' program actually reduces the job prospects of unemployed people.

Youth welfare system unfair: ACOSS
The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) is warning urgent action is needed to fix youth poverty and disincentives for the unemployed to improve their job prospects.

Bringing up children Can we afford it?
Peter Costello expects us to carry out our patriotic duty by going home and having more children. But for most people it is a struggle to bring up one child let alone two or three.

Federal Budget: Tax cuts for the rich!
For the Howard government, unemployed people are not even worth thinking about.

Private job network agency blues
Can you trust a private job network agency? No you can't! A friend of ours is registered at MTC Marrickville.

Indigenous Social Justice Association Djadi Dugarang
INDIGENOUS EMPLOYMENT. Part 1

Centrelink puts the screws on prison debt
A 1999 study by the Brisbane Prisoners Legal Service revealed that on leaving prisoners had an average debt of $14,031. Almost one in five had a debt to Centrelink while in prison. This debt arose as a result inability to cancel things such as leases, Social Security payments, utilities and telephones.

Democrats approve tougher welfare penalties: But how does that pan out?
There used to be an old saying in Australia" if your hungry steal a sheep and leave the pelt on the fence.

Six weeks, six months, six years: inmates have little chance of making fresh start Even prisoners who serve short sentences are likely to suffer long-term consequences, including increased rates of homelessness and unemployment.

Military Spending

Howard: We as a nation have got to invest heavily in defence?
Fascist Prime Minister John HoWARd has indicated the Government will make major changes to work place laws, cut disability support forcing the disabled to work and increase his defence commitment.

Hill primed for war!
Australian Caretaker Defence Minister Robert Hill has announced a multi-million dollar upgrade of the Pearce Air Force base in Western Australia. Hill says $87 million would be spent on a major upgrade of the base, which is Australia's main flying training facility.

Troop deployment not a deepening of effort: Hill
Deploying an extra 30 troops to Iraq was not a deepening of Australia's involvement because they were being sent to protect those already there, Defence Minister Robert Hill said yesterday.

Auditor Generals damning defence report
The Defence Department computer system upgrade has cost Australia tens of millions of dollars in a gigantic bungle, according to the Federal Opposition. The Commonwealth auditor-general has issued a damning report into the project.

Ex-crims face sack in every plan?

THOUSANDS of workers with criminal convictions could be removed from the nation's airports and ports under a security crackdown to be considered by cabinet today.

But why is being an ex-crim and going to work a crime?

With the John HoWARd government's skilled and unskilled job shortages one does not have to wonder why?

The government won't employ ex-crims and now they're pushing the private sector into putting them off so they can join the unemployment que?

The latest target by the fascist HoWARd Government is the Airport workers' and wharfies with convictions for crimes such as assault and theft that could be sacked or denied a security clearance under the fascist plan.

The HoWARd Government will also move to appoint security supremos at Sydney and other major airports around Australia.

The pro-government corporate Newspaper the Un-Australian is jumping up and down intimating that the government sack honest workers as well as those who have been charged with a criminal offence.

But it makes you wonder whether they're too close to the action? How about they reveal their sources?

And if everyone who has a past criminal conviction has to get the sack because some right wing religious corporate media giant jumps up and down whether they're doing it for HoWARd or not, then you can bet all they're doing is trying to protect their own greedy interests. Of course it's a two way street, tit for tat and a pat on the back.

How can the corporations ensure there is no disruption to their precious tourist industry that reportedly brings in 20 Billion dollars a year opposed to the working-men-and-women's meagre living wage?

Shame about the jobs and other people's lively-hoods, that doesn't count.

How about News Limited employs these people?

The new team will have unprecedented powers to pursue criminal leads and co-ordinate the role of agencies including Customs, the Australian Federal Police and ASIO.

The planned security blitz allegedly follows embarrassing revelations published in The Un-Australian alleging that baggage handlers and other staff at Sydney Airport had been involved in organised crime.

But like I said how about identifying their sources?

Come on down John HoWARd's tourist industry opposed to the hard working men and women of this country trying to pay off a mortgage or make ends meet, just to survive.

What we need is a national industrial strike!

Government sources deny today's cabinet debate is a knee-jerk response to last week's outcry. That's because no doubt they initiated the material that went to the Un-Australian as per usual. They'd like you to think that the Un-Australian found it - but in reverse, it is more likely than not - the other way around.

It takes the heat of the fascist oppressors the HoWARd Government because they want you to think that it is someone else's finding, that they need to act on. But if the truth, be known the Government is creating the problem.

The Un-Australian: "Well-placed sources said last night that workers with convictions for even minor crimes could be axed, if they had been convicted several times."

A massive stocktake of all airport workers will be undertaken.

"This will be a central attack on criminality at airports," one senior government figure, familiar with the cabinet plan, told The Australian.

And it will cast the net much wider than the present security framework, which focuses on workers suspected of having any links with terrorism.

But it is likely to trigger union criticism that the Government is being over-zealous in preventing anyone with a criminal conviction from working in sensitive transport areas.

While cabinet will focus on cleaning up airport security, the Government is also likely to extend the crackdown to the nation's ports.

Deputy Prime Minister Anderson's plan will make it harder for people to obtain an Aviation Security Identity Card if they have been charged with a range of medium-level offences.

Conviction for minor crimes could see workers banned from working around airline baggage and other cargo.

Mr Anderson admitted last week that the Government needed to tighten up who worked at airports."

The bullshit from Anderson reported in the Un-Australian about what the community wants?

The Un-Australian: Anderson: "The community now wants us to look at who is a fit and proper person on those issues of criminality," he said.

But this is what the government wants not what the community wants because the Un-Australian has not given up their sources?

Allegedly, this followed the revelation, in The Australian, that a man who had served eight years in jail for drug smuggling was still working at Sydney Airport.

The Government is the problem

THE Un-Australian: A "classified Customs report" also"

They mean along the Un-Australian's Revelations?

The Un-Australian: "cited many workers convicted of lesser crimes including vehicle thefts, car re-birthing, escaping from custody and firearm offences."

But all those revelations came from the government itself and not the Un-Australian surely?

Now every time the pro-government media says something is wrong and - the government reacts to it like they have to - then you know damn well that it is the government's intention all along - only now they have to invest little time convincing you -because you think you need it, according to the Un-Australian - whose plan is to undermine Australia for the corporate US giants.

The Un-Australian: "About 50 workers have been removed from airports, or denied an ASIC clearance, under a sweep prompted by fears of a terrorist attack. But cabinet will consider a more fundamental crackdown on criminal behaviour, less than a fortnight since the conviction of Schapelle Corby for drug smuggling in Bali.

An international security expert is likely to oversee the review of ASIC holders and the introduction of the tougher rules.

The Government has been under pressure from Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon and Sydney Airport boss Max Moore-Wilton to tighten up criminal checks?

Qantas revealed last week that Sydney and Brisbane joined Mumbai as the only airports in its network of 100 major destinations that did not have a permanent uniformed police presence dedicated to community policing and crime prevention.

Mr Moore-Wilton renewed the pressure yesterday when he told Sydney radio that ASIC checks concentrating on terrorism but not crime had pointed to a "big gap in practical thinking".

An ex-crim is not an honest person?

"You can't separate them," he said. "The public and, certainly I -- and I know Geoff Dixon as well -- want honest people working at the airport so that the general public can feel they are safe and they don't have 'criminals' handling or tampering with their baggage."

And I suppose they don't want 'ex-criminals' taking a funking holiday either? He did mean 'ex-criminals' didn't he?

And another job bites the dust

Mr Moore-Wilton who is not working along side HoWARd? Said authorities had to make sure people with "a criminal record or criminal intent" did not work at airports. He said the identity card system had to be made foolproof.

Now they have criminal intent? So we have ex-criminals, criminals, and now people with criminal intent, sound familiar? Does he tune in to CH/10 thriving on CRIMINAL INTENT ON SUNDAY NIGHTS?

THE UN-AUSTRALIAN: "Aviation sources have raised concerns that criminal checks for the cards do not go far enough, have a 10-year limit on crimes that can be considered and do not require applicants to be fingerprinted.

Asked about reports that workers could easily use the cards to swipe other people through security gates, Mr Moore-Wilton said: "That's not acceptable. And, I think, we've got to get the police to get their act together."

He Did Time, So He's Unfit to Do Hair

She has managed to turn life in federal prison into a nifty career move. Her company's stock is soaring, and she has plans for not one but two television shows. It almost makes you wonder why the Enron types are fighting so hard to stay out of jail.

Six weeks, six months, six years: inmates have little chance of making fresh start

Even prisoners who serve short sentences are likely to suffer long-term consequences, including increased rates of homelessness and unemployment.

The Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986 Qld

The Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1986 (Qld), requires that any person who has committed an offence which is less than 10 years old or which resulted in a prison sentence of more than 30 months, must disclose that offence if requested eg. for employment purposes. If a criminal record is disclosed in a job application, it is unlikely that person will be given the job.

Judged Forever- The Orange County Register

California's largest job-placement program for parolees will be shut down May 31 after an Orange County Register investigation found that ex-convicts were sent to questionable jobs and that the state was charged for placements that did not occur.

Justice Action In 'JAIL'?

Jobs after jail: She had a drug conviction some years ago - was selected for public service job in August. A few days before she was due to start, the department concerned told her she couldn't have the job. She has also been advised that she can't sit on the committee of any organisation (e.g. NSW Justice Advocacy or similar).

SENTENCED FOR LIFE

Name removed by request served time in prison decades ago. Shes still being punished today. According to commonwealth and state legislation, ex-prisoners applying for jobs must declare any conviction that fits into the following categories: less than 10 years old, more than 10 years old but served more than 30 months in prison

By Stop Kidding Ex-Crims 7 June

Related:

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'.

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.]

Threat of terrorism overblown, says Kirby
The High Court judge Michael Kirby has urged Australia's security chiefs and judges not to exaggerate the risk of terrorism, saying that more people die of AIDS every day than were killed in the World Trade Centre in the September 11 [US false flag] attacks.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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!

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

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.