HREOC's deadline on child detainees passes

"We detainees request from human Australian to release us from Nauru cage" Years of waiting took their toll on asylum seekers. There are still two men there! They are suffering. (April 2006)

The fascist Federal Government has ignored a deadline set by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) for all children to be freed from immigration detention.

So what's new?

HREOC is an arm of government and help little if anyone.

As a caseworker I'm not sure that they could help anyone unless of course it's politically correct. I have thousands of dissatisfied complainants with complaints that have simply just been appeased or delayed by HREOC.

One aspect is that the people who need and seek out a reliable watchdog do so because they have a complaint and cannot sue for relief or damages.

Usually, because they have no money, are disabled or because they are being held in custody which means they are disabled. Those people have little if any resources. Those people usually lack the legal knowledge and understanding to do so.

And in anycase I would not advise anyone to take up their own matter in court unless they have an understanding of how the court rules work. Otherwise they could lose any prospect they may have had to seek relief or make an application for a damages claim.

Don't be fooled

If you can just imagine that all you do when you contact HREOC is make a formal complaint about Human Rights for the record.

In NSW (PIAC) the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, The (HCCC) Health Care Complaints Commission and the Ombudsman all do the same thing as HREOC.

QC at hand they'll try to stall and appease complainants all the while telling you they can help you and that's all the help you're likely to get from them.

These arms of government merely act as the Government of the days INSURANCE POLICY. Because after years of communicating the problem to them they will finally admit they cannot help you.

They'll find some excuses as to why they cannot help you. Just the same as a person might try and duck and weave a policeman trying to book them for speeding.

The person complained about doesn't work there anymore or a common phrase used by the arms is that by the time you get prime evidence against the offender or the offending department there is no utility or funding to take up your case. Even after three years.

But rest assured they won't give you that information until a year or so later or even longer but that may depend on how well you hit the ball back.

And you're unlucky if you still think they do more than rubber stamp the government's agenda. Because that means you play ping-pong with their QC until you drop dead.

One year ago, the HREOC released a detailed report into numerous and repeated breaches of the human rights of children in Australian detention centres.

It set a deadline of June 10 for all children to be released, although its recommendation was not binding on the Government.

The HREOC has expressed disappointment its deadline still has not been met?

Commissioner Dr Sev Ozdowski says the Government policy contravenes the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

"We are releasing them quite often with damaged health into the community," he said.

"It's time to have a look at the policy of mandatory detention of children again, it's time to release the children, allow them to wait in the community for the final decisions or for the time they can depart Australia."

Children's refugee advocacy group Chil-out says 68 children remain in the nation's detention centres.

Chil-out coordinator Dianne Hiles says the Government has reaffirmed its policy of mandatory detention for asylum seekers, including children.

"These children are innocent, whatever the scenario, they are caught up in a game that is not of their making and what we are doing to them is damaging them," she said.

"It has been proved time and time again and yet we still continue to treat them like political pawns and human shields.

"Children do not deserve to be treated like this - there are alternatives and families shouldn't be kept in these high security detention facilities for the purpose of sending a message to others - it's little lives we are dealing with."

Afghan children lose High Court battle against detention

Lawyers have lost their constitutional challenge to the detention of four children at a South Australian immigration centre. Four siblings from Afghanistan, aged between seven and 15, have been in detention since they arrived in Australia in 2001.

War on terror should tackle child abuse says UN...

A United Nations official has told a Brisbane conference tackling child abuse must be part of the war on terror.

Apologise to children abused in care: report

A Senate report on children placed in institutional care has called for the Federal Government to apologise to those who were harmed by their experience.

Gillard stirs Liberal leadership pot

Mr Costello yesterday said that the Federal Government should aim to get all children out of immigration detention and he suggested there should be an increase in immigration levels.

Here is a new project

1. Do you believe it is right to imprison innocent children?
2. Do you believe it is right to imprison innocent women?
3. Do you believe it is right to imprison innocent people?

Compo claims could follow child detention, group warns

A refugee group has predicted a string of compensation claims, after the Human Rights Commission found numerous and repeated breaches of the UN convention on the rights of the child in immigration detention.

Child detention breaches UN convention: human rights report

A leaked final draft report by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) is calling for urgent changes to Australia's immigration detention laws.

Report recommends freeing child detainees

The Human Rights Commission has found that some children held in Australia's immigration detention centres have been exposed to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.

No more children for Baxter, pleads SA

The South Australian Government is urging the Commonwealth not to shift any more children into the Baxter detention centre in the state's north.

Nauru staff 'fear children are next'

Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone says women and children are sitting in on a hunger strike at the Nauru detention centre, but are not participating.

Alternatives to mandatory detention

These people did not have to be detained. Especially not with the "Pacific Solution!" Are we now going to have more people feeling caged in Nauru?

By Injustice 10 June 05

UN Dialogue among Civilizations
This roundtable is a contribution to the UN Dialogue among Civilizations project that began in September 2000. At the first round table debate on Dialogue among Civilizations, Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN stated that, cultural diversity - in his opinion - is not only the basis for the Dialogue among Civilizations, but also the reality that makes dialogue necessary, since the perception of diversity as a threat is the very seed of war. [The role of religion in creating a culture of peace and moving on from a culture of fear.]

Association for the Prevention of Torture
What needs to be done now? The Optional Protocol requires 20 ratifications to enter into force. All States Parties to the UN Convention against Torture should seriously consider ratifying the OPCAT as soon as possible. National Institutions and others promoting the human rights of people deprived of their liberty need to be informed of their potential role as national preventive mechanisms under the OPCAT.

WHY IS THE HOWARD GOVERNMENT PLAYING 'DEATH' WITH AUSTRALIANS: There has been much controversy recently on whether the Australian Federal Police should have tipped-off the Indonesians over the arrest of the Bali Nine. Due to the fact that Indonesia executes convicted drug-traffickers, ACADP believes that any evidence collected by AFP should have been withheld from Indonesian authorities until they have a written guarantee not to pursue the death penalty for the Bali Nine.

DECLARATION OF ABORIGINAL SOVEREIGNTY
We the members of the Aboriginal Nations and Peoples, do hereby give notice of invoking our claim to all the land of the territories of our ancestors. Accordingly, we invoke the Rule of International Law that we have never surrendered nor acquiesced in our claim to these lands and territories.

UK report shows Iraq war illegal: former defence chief
Ruling Class Lord Goldsmith said a final UN resolution may be needed, that hard evidence of Iraqi non-compliance may have been required, and the UK could face sanction by international courts.

Australia owes Habib nothing: Beazley?
Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley says if Mamdouh Habib is entitled to any compensation for his detention and alleged torture it cannot come from the Australian Government.

Pressure remains on Australia as Kyoto takes effect
The Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will today come into force after a decade of deliberations.

QLD INDEFINITE DETENTION 'IN A NUTSHELL'
In Queensland prison sentences have become step-by-step more lengthy over the last decade according to prisoner Mr David Minty who has been in jail for 20 years.

Children of Imprisoned Mothers
United Nations lobbying body reports on women in prison and their children. I thought that two recent publications from the Quaker group that lobbies the UN might be of interest to you.

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.

E Timor threatens campaign against Aust over oil deal
East Timor's Foreign Minister is threatening to launch an international campaign to pressure Australia for a bigger share of their own oil and gas royalties from the Timor Sea.

UN panel proposes criteria for legitimate military action
With countries still bitterly divided over the war in Iraq, a high-level panel appointed by the United Nations has recommended a five-step guideline to determine when to use military action.

Afghan children lose High Court battle against detention
Lawyers have lost their constitutional challenge to the detention of four children at a South Australian immigration centre. Four siblings from Afghanistan, aged between seven and 15, have been in detention since they arrived in Australia in 2001.

War on terror should tackle child abuse says UN...
A United Nations official has told a Brisbane conference tackling child abuse must be part of the war on terror.

Drawing the line for trade
Once upon a "lifetime" there was a Prime Minister named John Howard. Dollar signs lit up in his eyes when he was told that if he got involved in the Iraq war and aligned the Australian Government with the Coalition of the Killing, US and the UK then the money he spent would be returned in a once in a lifetime Free Trade Agreement with the US.

Australian Govt human rights record 'worsening'
Community groups have given the Federal Government five out of ten for its record on human rights this year. Mr Purcell said the Government was also marked down because of the policy of holding children in immigration detention centres.

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.

A VISIT TO THE NSW HRMU, SUPERMAX PRISON

The pre-requisite to visit the HRMU is a security check that can take up to six months. Complaint to the NSW Ombudsman 2004.

HIGH RISK MANAGEMENT UNIT GOULBURN CORRECTIONAL CENTRE

Well, I made it to Goulburn on Saturday for my 9.30am visit. Didn't ride the bike as it looked like heavy rain when I set out.

First of all I parked the car and went to the little 'sentry box' and handed over my driver's licence, locked my car keys and ring in a locker in there (a new procedure) and got to take that key with me through the door of the HRMU.

Got inside, filled out the form, they looked on their computer and looked very confused.

Had to put my thumb on the fingerprint-reading machine, which is a little box with a red light. Nasty big-brother stuff, don't like it at all. However protesting would be futile and only lead to being banned, so like a good little sheepie, I do as I was told.

I was very nervous at this point, the computer did not seem to like my thumb print. They said "Are you sure you've been here before? How long ago? Which thumb did you use?" I was thinking 'Bugger, my thumb is wrong and they're not going to let me in.' It's all part of the torture process and an attempt to make you never want to go there again.

However I eventually got past the first checkpoint and got to stand in a glassed-in area, a tiny room like a phone box, where they check if you are carrying any nail clippers and stuff. The beeper went mad so I gave them my locker key. The beeper still didn't like me so they said I must have metal in my shoes. In my shoes? I didn't think they made shoes with metal! But sure enough, when the shoes went through the airport-style scanner thingie, there was a strip of metal in each shoe like a chassis! Well, they did cost me $400, so now I know why, when you pay that much you get metal reinforcements.

So into the next room. They checked my driver's licence again and unbelievably, my thumb print again, which seemed to take ages. Then they told me to lock my driver's licence and first locker key in another locker and I would be allowed to take that key with me. A sign warned, "This is the last opportunity to use the toilets. There are no toilets in the visiting area."

I must admit the toilets were very clean and the soap was pretty good quality too. However all the time I could hear the high-pitched buzz of electronic stuff and I found it very irritating - it was like having tinnitis.

There were about 10 other people going through this, all middle eastern. I was thinking 'This looks like a political prison! What have they got in here, prisoners of war or something?' It just seemed strange there were no other 'Australians' around.

Last time I had chatted to a family this lot did not want to talk, they looked very miserable indeed. When a prison officer said to a lady wearing the full shalwar kameez "Nice day outside, isn't it" she did not reply.

In none of these rooms - which are exactly like prison cells to me - were there any magazines to pass the time - or any confectionary machines, bubble gum dispensers, or TVs. It is so obvious they want to punish you for daring to turn up at all.

You wouldn't want to have claustrophobia, I can tell you, and I would not have got through this without having taken a Valium before I went in. So there I am in the next section sitting down waiting and in each section you wait at least 20 minutes and the walls start to close in on you and you wonder if there's enough oxygen to keep you going. Unlike last time, I did not feel out of breath, just scared it might happen again, and terrified there were no open windows.

After a long time, I am moved through yet another locked door to a smaller room. There I sit and sit until finally someone comes to take about six of us to the visiting area. Through another locked door and into a huge empty aircraft-hanger thing - I forgot, every time you change rooms they do the thumb thing again. And stare at the computer screen for ages looking like your thumb is the most dangerous thing they've ever come across. Out of the aircraft-hanger - more locks - and into the open, huge walls on every side, only thing you can see is the sky; a short walk to yet another door, then into another room where they check my troublesome thumb YET AGAIN. So I say to them "Is this in case I've changed my thumb print since you last did this?" No reply of course.

More sitting and waiting. There IS a toilet here. They said there wasn't. I like to know where all the toilets are.

Through the glass barriers I could see my friend already in the visiting area pacing up and down. It was like watching a lion pacing up and down its cage. I felt really sorry for him that he didn't feel he could just sit and wait. I said to the person behind the glass "Is there any chance of getting a chair with a back on it?" She replied "No, absolutely not."

I know that my other friend doesn't get a proper chair after she supplied a letter from her specialist. Finally they let me go through. I don't know whether you are allowed to touch the prisoner but I gave him two big hugs, one from me, and one from Brett and all of youse. I said to him "Brett says there's a lot of love and pride for you out there and don't give up." Then he made me a cup of tea but there was no 'real' sugar, only that poisonous artificial stuff, so I had to have my tea without sugar. I get very paranoid in there. I even imagined they might have put something nasty in those little pink packets of alleged sweetener. My friend has to sit on the white stool, the visitor on one of the green stools. They are cold, hard metal. I said, "Where's the chocolate biscuits?" Not a chance of that! My friend showed me where the CCTV camera is on the wall. I hadn't noticed it last time. Maybe they had not yet installed it. So they are recording everything that happens, and no doubt what is said, as well.

Twenty minutes of sitting, then the whole process reverses with all the thumb-checking and sitting in tiny cells waiting and waiting to be moved on to the next area. The silence in there is quite scary too, not a single outside sound penetrates the place, and always that high-pitched electronic buzz. Finally, at around midday, out into the open air again, my No. 2 locker key in hand, back to the sentry box, retrieve my car keys and ring and back to the car - what a relief to be out of that evil place. I remember now how the first prison officer said, "Enjoy your visit." Ha, as if you could. When I got home I felt that I had to have a shower and wash all my clothes to get rid of the nasty feeling, and then I had to go for a long bike ride before I could feel completely free again, because when you go in there as a visitor, you come out feeling that you have been a prisoner.

By Justice Action 18 May 05

Related:

Association for the Prevention of Torture
The Optional Protocol requires 20 ratifications to enter into force. All States Parties to the UN Convention against Torture should seriously consider ratifying the OPCAT as soon as possible. National Institutions and others promoting the human rights of people deprived of their liberty need to be informed of their potential role as national preventive mechanisms under the OPCAT.

Corrected or Corrupted
A psychiatrist from the prison Mental Health Team attached to Queensland Health made the comment that 25 per cent of inmates suffer from a diagnosed mental illness.

ICOPA XI International Conference on Penal Abolition
We are excited to announce that ICOPA X1, the eleventh International Conference on Penal Abolition will happen in Tasmania, Australia from February 9 - 11,2006. Please pass this onto all networks.

Ex-Prisoner Locked Out of Prison
The NSW Department of Corrective Services (DCS) has revealed a policy which bans ex-prisoners from entering prisons.

Justice Action: Access to our community
NSW: Justice Action went to the NSW Supreme Court before the last Federal election on the constitutional right for prisoners to receive information for their vote. The government avoided the hearing by bringing prisoners' mobile polling booths forward. We pursued it after the election. This is the report.

FAMILIES OF PRISONERS FORUM
14,500 children in NSW go to bed each night with a parent in prison!

In memory of the late Bob Jewson
Some will remember that Bob was In the Bathurst riot in February 1974 and was a leading member of the Prisoners Action Group now - (JusticeACTION) upon his release. He wrote Stir, the screenplay upon which the film Stir was based. He played a major role in agitating for a Royal Commission into the events at Bathurst, and when the Nagle Commission commenced hearings Bob was to be found every day sitting in court for the duration, following proceedings for the PAG.

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 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 FYI.

Isolation, psychiatric treatment and prisoner' control
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.

Australian Prisoners in Solitary Confinement:

The prison system requires assiduous oversight
As NSW Attorney General Bob Debus noted in 1996: "The kinds of complaints which occur in the system may seem trivial to outsiders but in the superheated world of the prison, such issues can produce explosive results."

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

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.

Where the Norm is Not the Norm: 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.

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.

Prisoner Abuse Not Just in Iraq
The shocking revelations of abuse of prisoners by US prison guards in Iraq have been denounced by politicians around the world, including our own Prime Minister.

NSW Prisoners' linked to Osama Bin Laden: Ten News
NSW prisoners held in a "box within a box" with "no fresh air or sunlight" at the countries terrorist jail (HRMU) or High Risk Management Unit at Goulburn Correctional Centre, (a super-max prison in NSW), are said to have followed Osama Bin Laden from their isolated cells.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

Carr's Castle the real story H.R.M.U.The High Risk Management Unit Goulburn Correctional Centre. A prisoner writes, " I was unsuccessful in my letters to Dr Matthews CEO of the Corrections Health Service on my problem regarding air - claustrophobic effect the cells have on me. Just recently the management decided my injuries are not seriously affecting me so no further discussions are necessary.

The prison system requires assiduous oversight

As NSW Attorney General Bob Debus noted in 1996: "The kinds of complaints which occur in the system may seem trivial to outsiders but in the superheated world of the prison, such issues can produce explosive results."

NSW: The Sydney Morning Herald also reported:

"The appointment [of an I-G] reflects dissatisfaction within the Government, based on its experience of the prison system in Opposition, concerning the rising number of complaints about the system to the Ombudsman, reports showing increased violence in jails and dissatisfaction with the monitoring of operations at the State's only privately run prison in Junee.

Government sources confirmed yesterday that the appointment would go ahead despite unease within the Department of Corrective Services about the new layer of accountability that the appointment of the inspector-general will force on the department."

...and Peter Breen MP in 2003 added:

"Some issues of prisoners seem trivial by our standards - we often wonder how they can develop and blow up to such an extent that they cause confrontations, and often assaults and serious injuries. A couple of areas cause problems for prisoners.

It is worth noting them in the context of this debate because, in my experience - which is only limited - the I-G has been able to deal with these issues in a way that I believe the Ombudsman has been unable to.

I refer to [Official] visitors - a matter of great concern to prisoners - and to what prisoners term 'buy-ups'...I do not believe the Ombudsman has the same status and rapport with prisoners, with those who represent their interests or with community groups as the I-G."

And regarding Official Visitors during the same debate, John Ryan (Labor) put it in Parliament:

"The value of official visitors is that they have been independent of the department and have been seen as an external agency able to make contact with inmates. Their role would be destroyed if they were to become the responsibility of the directorate...there is no requirement for the Directorate to report to Parliament, and thereby to the public, and its reports remain a closed shop. No one would ever know what was in them or whether they were implemented."

UTS: COMMUNITY LAW CENTRE

The abolition of the Office of the Inspector General of Prisons: Legal Briefing Paper

Acknowledgements

This report was prepared by: Julia Beehag, Adam Fletcher, Violey Foulis, Krishni Goonesna, Lynda Maitland and Vicki Sentas

This report was coordinated by Louise Buchanan between March and August 2004 and by Krishni Goonesena between September and December 2004.

Thanks to Justice Action for providing us with the brief for this paper, including providing the specific details of Ms Timbrell's case.

Special thanks to Simon Moran from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) for legal advice on the powers and obligations of the NSW Ombudsman.

1. Introduction

This briefing paper was prepared by volunteer law students at the UTS Community Law Centre to provide information for Justice Action on prisoner complaint handling in NSW. We will examine the impact of the abolition of the role of the Office of the Inspector General of Prisons and the transfer of some functions of that role to the NSW Ombudsman.

Initially we provide important background information to the report, which was initiated by a case where a person was denied visiting rights to a prisoner on the grounds of smuggling drugs into the prison. We have concerns about the lack of appeal against such decisions, and shall discuss the international law implications and possible affect on civil liberties.

We then detail the history of the Office of the Inspector General of Prisons (I-G), examine legislation, and identify which of the functions of that Office, were taken up by the NSW Ombudsman. We compare the effectiveness of the I-G to that of the Ombudsman in dealing with prisoner complaints by analysing statistics from annual reports.

We examine legal and policy issues arising from the abolition of the I-G and the challenges faced by the NSW Ombudsman's office in effectively handling prisoner complaints.

Finally we discuss the role and functions of Official Visitors and raise concerns about their independence.

2. Aims of this briefing paper

* To examine the roles of the NSW Ombudsman and the now expired Office of the I-G in relation to dealing with prisoner complaints.

* To conduct a comparative analysis of both the legislation and the practice of the I-G and the Ombudsman, highlighting the strengths and weakness of both models.

* To consider the role of Official Visitors during the existence of the I-G and currently.

* To raise questions and areas that could be the subject of future research.

* To make recommendations for improvements in dealing with prisoner complaints

3. Methodology

There were various research strategies undertaken in preparing this paper:

* We undertook detailed comparative analysis of legislation, regulations and annual reports.

* We made contact with the NSW Ombudsman's office to obtain information about how the new Corrections unit for prisoner complaint handling works in practice.

* We researched the NSW Parliamentary website and Hansard papers.

* We analysed material provided by Justice Action on the Timbrell case and the Dalton Avery review.

* We conducted research of various journal articles on the role of NSW Ombudsman and the prison system.

[Questions: Is it possible or relevant to consider interviewing prisoners to determine their satisfaction with the NSW Ombudsman's complaint handling procedures?]

4. Background

This investigation into the consequences of the abolition of the Office of the NSW Inspector-General of Prisons (I-G) was prompted by the matter of Josephine Timbrell.

Ms Timbrell made a complaint to Justice Action after the Department of Corrective Services (DCS) accused her of bringing 5.1 grams of green vegetable matter into Goulburn Gaol.

This was based on evidence allegedly comprising a cell search and the testimony of the person she visited, Mr Russell Dinan, her fiance.

Mr Dinan denies ever having given such a testimony, and despite the DCS claiming the video was given to the police to investigate further, the Police, when contacted, could not confirm this.

In February 2003 Ms Timbrell was notified by DCS of the ban, effective until 2005, and through Justice Action she complained to the NSW Ombudsman and to the I-G. Ms Trimbrell wanted her rights restored so she can take her young sons to visit his father, at Mannus Correctional Centre, before 2005. We note that both the Ombudsman's Office and the I-G advised her that they could not assist her as she had not exhausted the DCS' internal appeals process.

Ms Timbrell decided that trying to traverse the DCS internal appeals process yet again, after receiving conflicting information from DCS and the Police, as an impossible task. Ms Timbrell's relationship with her fiance has now ended due to the mistrust caused by the allegations that he had made a statement against her. Due to the continuing visitor ban, Ms Timbrell's sons have not seen their father since December 2002 .

4.1 Visitor Bans Generally

The correspondence between Justice Action and the NSW Ombudsman's office highlights some issues that are important, and which require further investigation. For example, the NSW Ombudsman stated that:

"Citizens have no actual rights to visit inmates in correctional centers under the law. It is a privilege granted by individual Governors and the Commissioner whose primary responsibility is to maintain the security and good order of correctional centres.

The Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act gives Corrective Services staff the power and discretion to restrict or refuse visiting privileges where there are reasonable grounds for believing that the security and good order of correctional centres might be jeopardized by allowing further visits to proceed.

Such decisions are discretionary decisions. The law does not require them to prove any offences before imposing a ban. They only have to form a reasonable opinion that it is necessary"

While the power to restrict or refuse visitor bans is given, in fact, there is no mention in the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 of outright visitor bans. In the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Regulations 2001, Division 5 deals with General restrictions on Persons who may visit.

Section 103 and 105 state that the Governor or Commissioner may bar persons from visiting prisons if they are of the opinion that the visit would prejudice the good order and security of the prison.

This would appear to be highly discretionary and limit any right of appeal to, or review by, an administrative judicial body. In only requiring the DCS to form an 'opinion' to prove offences, it also appears to limit any right to natural justice.

4.2 Australia's International Obligations

It is possible that the discretionary decisions of the DCS regarding visitation bans could be in contravention of Australia's international obligations under at least two ratified treaties.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was ratified in Australia on 13 November 1980. Article 10 states that:

1. All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.

3. The penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of prisoners the essential aim of which shall be their reformation and social rehabilitation. It is therefore possible to argue that not allowing Ms Timbrell's son to see his father is not treating him with humanity and respect and would not promote his reformation and social rehabilitation.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is currently under review by the United Nations.

Convention on the Rights of the Child

The Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified in Australia on 16 January 1991. Article 3 states that;

1. In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.

Article 7 states that:

1. The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and, as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents.

It would appear that DCS did not have Ms Timbrell's son's best interests in mind when enforcing the visitor ban, and not being able to visit his father would severely impact on his right to know his father.

[Question: Is there information available on possible breaches of Australia's international obligations in relation to visitor bans?]

7.4 Complaints made through Justice Action

Justice Action has received numerous complaints from inmates at the High Risk Management Unit (HRMU) at Goulburn about general conditions affecting inmate health, such as lack of natural light and ventilation. Inmates requested Justice Action act on their behalf in making complaints about these conditions.

To do this, direct authorities were required from the prisoners as the Ombudsman had determined that it 'was not necessary to pursue enquiries on the basis of a complaint from a third party, such as Justice Action" . Correspondence to the prisoners containing the authorities was never received. A written complaint was then made by Justice Action on the 19th December 2003.

Correspondence detailing the outcome of inquiries was not received from the Ombudsman's Office until 21st June 2004, six months later. This issue had still not been finalised as the Commissioner of Corrective Services had "yet to articulate the grounds for his forming the opinion that receipt of the letters was likely to prejudice the good order and security of the correctional centre" .

It was only on the 25th November 2004 that the NSW Ombudsman could write to Justice Action to inform them of the Commissioner's views, a full eleven months after the initial complaint was made.

By the NSW Ombudsman taking an inordinately long period of time to investigate this complaint about authorizations from prisoners, the real issue about conditions at the prison affecting inmate health has been ignored, or at best, sidelined.

Conclusion:

Whilst the Ombudsman's office has had an increase in staffing levels, it appears that this has not translated into a decrease in the time taken to finalise complaints, and in fact, is markedly worse than the complaint finalisation horizon under the I-G.

It is disturbing that such few complaints are formally investigated by the Ombudsman compared to those of the IG, while an increase in funding to the Ombudsman's Office would provide extra staff and improve complaint resolution time. Unfortunately there is no publicly available information on funding given to the Office of the IG or what extra funding has been received by the Ombudsman's office since the expiry of the Office of the I-G.

There is a lack of accountability from DCS in not being required to implement any recommendations of the Ombudsman's office. Also the role of the Ombudsman is too restrictive in not being able to review prisons.

Therefore we recommend that the Corrections team be reviewed after one year of processing prisoner complaints. The review should also include figures on how Official Visitors have contributed to complaint resolution, with the results being tabled in Parliament to determine if prisoner complaints are being appropriately addressed.

The Ombudsman has no similar power to the I-G to investigate or comment on Official Visitor reports (as outlined in page 11). This report should also detail the level and nature of the investigation and conciliation training that the Correctional Services team is given to enable them to handle prisoner complaints.

10. Recommendations

Recommendation 1:

1) That the Office of the I-G be re-instated the training of Official Visitors be undertaken by that Office; or
2) That Official Visitors be trained by the NSW Ombudsman; or
3) That Official Visitors be trained by an independent body.

Recommendation 2:

1) Reinstate of the Office of the I-G inclusive of all legislative provisions; or

2) Amend the Ombudsman Act 1974 (NSW) to include sections equivalent to 213(1)(e), 213(1)(f), 213(1)(g) and 213(1)(m) of the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 (NSW).

Recommendation 3:

1) Reinstate the I-G, or establish a new independent body, or empower an existing independent body to: -make recommendations to the Minister for Justice on ways in which procedure of the DCS can be improved, and -investigate and comment on reports of the Official Visitors and Community Advisory Councils, and -fully implement all of the functions that were covered by the Office of the I-G

Recommendation 4

1) Increase funding of the NSW Ombudsman to expand current staffing of the Corrections Team, to allow for increased investigation of complaints and decrease the time taken to finalise complaints; and

2) Conduct a review of the first year of the NSW Ombudsman's Corrections team, including figures on how Official Visitors have contributed to complaint resolution, with the results being tabled in Parliament to determine if prisoner complaints are being appropriately addressed. This report should also detail the level and nature of the investigation and conciliation training that the Correctional Services team is given to enable them to handle prisoner complaints.

Recommendation 5:

Re-instate Office of Inspector General or an equivalent including in its functions:

1) responsibility for reporting on Official Visitors; and
1) power to report directly to Parliament.

Recommendation 6

1) Legislation, regulations or publicly available policies and guidelines should provide a clear and definitive explanation of the role and functions of Official Visitors.

Recommendation 7:

1) Official Visitor training should be provided by an independent body and not by DCS.

Recommendation 8:

1)Official Visitors should report to the NSW Ombudsman or another independent body.

11. Conclusion

The Office of the Inspector General played an important role in providing not only an effective and timely prisoner complaint handling process, but also a review process that investigated prisons, made recommendations on procedure and oversaw training of, and reports made by, Official Visitors.

The legislative provisions governing the Office of the I-G under the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Act 1999 remain intact yet are dormant due to the 'sunset' clause which expired the position of the I-G after 1st October 2003. Therefore in theory it would not be difficult to reinstate the Office of the I-G to allow effective complaint handling and prison oversight.

However the political reality of such a revival of the Office is unlikely given the political climate plus the financial cost of re-establishing a bureaucracy that has been so recently dismantled. On this basis, we have made recommendations that are mutually exclusive of that outcome. For example, training of Official Visitors may be carried out by the NSW Ombudsman or another body independent of the DCS. The review functions performed by the I-G could now be legislatively provided for in the Ombudsman Act 1974 or by a new or existing independent body.

With the expiry of the Office of the I-G, most functions performed by that Office have now been assigned in full to the NSW Ombudsman. The Ombudsman has since established a Corrections Unit of five staff that is responsible for handling prisoner complaints. Information should be made publicly available on how much of the I-G budget has been transferred to the Ombudsman and why complaint finalisation times have increased by over two and a half times under the Ombudsman. At the very least, there should be a review conducted of this new team's first year performance that includes information on the training provided to staff in complaints investigation and finalisation as well as how Official Visitors have contributed to complaint resolution.

Official Visitors have been a part of the prison management system in NSW for a very long time. Even so, there is very little publicly available information on the role and functions of Official Visitors. We submit that this information should be detailed in regulations, policies or guidelines. The independence of Official Visitors was assured when they were trained outside the DCS by the Office of the I-G, and it is of great concern that their training has reverted to the Executive Director, Probity and Performance Management, a division of DCS. This arrangement should cease, and training be undertaken by an independent body. Our recommendation is that Official Visitors report directly to the Ombudsman, thereby ensuring independence of the complaints handling.

Effective oversight of prisons is vital not just for maintaining prisoner rights but also for increasing public confidence in the prison system. A mechanism that provides an independent body, ideally the I-G, to report directly to Parliament on how prisons are being run and how procedures can be improved, without the need to defer to the DCS or the Ombudsman would provide this truly transparent and accountable process.

While this paper aims to answer questions about the abolition of the Office of the I-G, it also seeks to raise questions that could form the basis of further research & discussion.

by JusticeACTION Monday January 24, 2005

Related:

Prison boom will prove a social bust
Hardened criminals are not filling NSW's prisons - the mentally ill and socially disadvantaged are, writes Eileen Baldry.

Isolation, psychiatric treatment and prisoner' control
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.

Where the Norm is Not the Norm: 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.

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

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."

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!

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....

Children at risk, lack of govt support

The Ombudsman Amendment (Child Protection and Community Services) Act 1998, commenced on May 7, 1999.

Let's take this further: The Federal Government has detained hundreds of young children and their families in desert detention camps locked in behind razor wire enclosures for the crime of fleeing persecution.

The Australian courts have found these children to be psychologically damaged from this imprisonment and likely to be so for life.

The NSW Commissioner of Police Ken Moroney yesterday called for a national summit on child abuse. I guess he won't be arresting Phillip Ruddock or John Howard, two of the worst child abusers on record.

In October stupid white Australians returned a child abusing, family abusing Federal Government intent on destroying the health, welfare and educational institutions built over generations for the care of needy children and families.

The last 30 years has seen a working wage fall so low that two parents working full time can only just meet their responsibilities to feed, house and educate their children.

30 years ago one wage sufficed. The stress of caring for children now is greater than any time in living memory.

Parents are torn from their children to work as wage slaves whilst their children are farmed out as a commodity to the child care industry. Grandparents have had to be dragged in to become de-facto parents to allow parents to slave away for measly wages.

Children bear the brunt of this stress and we can thank our leaders for this. Hale John Howard saviour of the antisocial State, leader of callous business, worshiper of profit, war monger, great leader of the Australians'.

This year in non-white Australia we have recently seen preventable child illness rise yet again. More black deaths from custodial abuse and two riots in black communities.

Governments are talking about introducing curfews, not just for blacks but whites too, that is young white drivers and kids in country towns where lack of services leads to behavioural problems.

What kind of government imprisons young children, places curfews on its citizens dissolves basic services and promotes aggressive invasions of other nations?

No prizes for guessing the right answer.

While govt & media put all efforts into punishment, hate, vilification etc, databases of offenders mean nothing whilst the govt neglects & abuses children in care.

By Tony York 14 December 04

2nd Renaissance -35 "All The Way With The USA" [261]

* "Australia's treatment of refugees in detention centres was the harshest in the world, federal human rights commissioner Sev Ozdowski said today. Dr Ozdowski said the billion dollar system removed basic liberties from refugees, resulting in levels of despair unseen in detention camps elsewhere. 'It (Australia's system) is the harshest - the harshest mainly form the point of view of the length (of detention),' he told seminar guests at Monash University. 'I've never seen the level of despair (in camps anywhere) that I've seen in Australia.'

He said the longest a child had been held in detention in Australia was five years, five months. By April this year, 50 children had been detained for more than two years. Dr Ozdowski ... said the social implications of indefinite detention were shattering. Family life disintegrated, people became suicidal and he had seen children as young as 10 with signs of self-harm. He quoted from one detainee who said "it's 16 months since my detention. My life has been taken away from me ... I've become a useless person who wishes for death every day." ...

Dr Ozdowski, who was once himself a Polish refugee, also said the government's system of temporary protection visas (TPVs) was "ill conceived" "I personally believe that the TPV system is a disaster and we'll be paying for it for a long time." ... He said the biggest human rights abuses had occurred during riots at the centres. "(It happened) where basically control was lost and gas was used and physical force was used." he said. "You just don't keep people imprisoned for a long time with no good reason."

Senator Vanstone issued a statement saying Australia was 'one of the great immigration success stories.' 'We have a generous, robust and ordered immigration system.' she said. (The Age, October 10, 2003)

* "The Commonwealth Ombudsman's office has confirmed it has received several complaints from detainees, particularly those put into detention centres with pre-existing medical conditions, claiming they have been denied treatment. ... One case being investigated by the Ombudsman involves a 37-year-old Lebanese man, Samir Abbas, who suffers from a heart condition known as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. He was put into Villawood in February after overstaying his visa. His lawyer, Stephen Hopper, says Mr Abbas has been refused permission to have a heart operation which doctors say would control his recurring heart palpitations. Mr Abbas has offered to pay for the operation. It is claimed Mr Abbas suffered an 'episode' with his heart on Friday, but despite repeated requests to be taken to hospital, Villawood guards refused to act until his lawyer went to the ABC [media]. After media broadcasts, he was taken by ambulance to Bankstown hospital and kept overnight. Villawood management was rebuked by the deputy state coroner last month over the death of a Thai prostitute in September 2001. Villawood medical staff had refused to take her to hospital." (Sydney Morning Herald, May 16, 2003)

* "The Government has been hiding the real reasons why a private company lost the contract to run six immigration detention centres. ... Also covering up the poor performance is the Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (Dima), which is acting in the commercial interests of [...]

BRW has discovered a serious contractual breach relating to [...] and its handling of an escape that the department is keeping secret. Despite the seriousness of the breach - and the amount of about [AU]$90 million in taxpayer's money paid to the company for each year of the contract - the Federal Government refuses to disclose details about why a default notice was served on [...]. The disclosure of Dima's default notice adds to continuing revelations about [...'s] poor operating performance at the six centres. It also brings into question the Government's claim that [...] lost the contract to manage the detention centres because of poor value for money rather than poor performance.

After a lengthy freedom-of-information request that began in May 2002, BRW has established that the department secretary, Bill Farmer, or his agent, issued a default notice to [...] under the contract. ... As a sign of the seriousness of the breach, Dima is not letting BRW see the document because of the harm it would do to [...]. The assistant secretary of unauthorised arrivals and detention services, Jim Williams, wrote to BRW on September 5: "I believe that there is a real risk that disclosure of the document would cause unreasonable harm to [...'s] business reputation and potentially prejudice its ability to perform competitively in its industry." (Business Review Weekly, September 26, 2003)

Mr Williams need not have worried about [...'s] business fortunes though, the company that replaced it in 2002 as the contractor for Australian immigration detention centres is now the subject of a conditional takeover offer by a renamed and rebadged [...]. If the truth were known, he probably had more reason to be worried about the safety of his family or his personal reputation and career. He was dealing with the biggest, toughest and most highly connected corrections corporation in the whole American Military Industrial Complex (AMIC). Those 'Good-ol'-Boys' don't muck around, and few Australian bureaucrats have ever had to deal with anything like [...] before. They are putty in its hands.

By Lothar 2003

Related:

DOCS fails in its duty of care
ELEANOR HALL: A shocking report has revealed that the agency responsible for protecting children in New South Wales is partly to blame for the death of more than 50 children it knew to be at risk.

Afghan children lose High Court battle against detention
Lawyers have lost their constitutional challenge to the detention of four children at a South Australian immigration centre. Four siblings from Afghanistan, aged between seven and 15, have been in detention since they arrived in Australia in 2001.

Apologise to children abused in care: report
A Senate report on children placed in institutional care has called for the Federal Government to apologise to those who were harmed by their experience.

Gillard stirs Liberal leadership pot
Mr Costello yesterday said that the Federal Government should aim to get all children out of immigration detention and he suggested there should be an increase in immigration levels.

Here is a new project
1. Do you believe it is right to imprison innocent children?
2. Do you believe it is right to imprison innocent women?
3. Do you believe it is right to imprison innocent people?

Compo claims could follow child detention, group warns
A refugee group has predicted a string of compensation claims, after the Human Rights Commission found numerous and repeated breaches of the UN convention on the rights of the child in immigration detention.

Child detention breaches UN convention: human rights report
A leaked final draft report by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) is calling for urgent changes to Australia's immigration detention laws.

Report recommends freeing child detainees
The Human Rights Commission has found that some children held in Australia's immigration detention centres have been exposed to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.

No more children for Baxter, pleads SA
The South Australian Government is urging the Commonwealth not to shift any more children into the Baxter detention centre in the state's north.

Nauru staff 'fear children are next'
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone says women and children are sitting in on a hunger strike at the Nauru detention centre, but are not participating.

Australian Govt human rights record 'worsening'
Community groups have given the Federal Government five out of ten for its record on human rights this year. Mr Purcell said the Government was also marked down because of the policy of holding children in immigration detention centres.

Detention centre maggots
A Greens' MP has slammed claims that South Australia's Baxter Detention Centre detainees are putting maggots into their own food.

DOCS fails in its duty of care

ELEANOR HALL: A shocking report has revealed that the agency responsible for protecting children in New South Wales is partly to blame for the death of more than 50 children it knew to be at risk.

The report by the state's ombudsman has found that in the space of just one year, 53 children died in suspicious circumstances of abuse or neglect, despite being amongst the 103 children that staff at the Department of Community Services had been notified about.

In one case, a 3-year-old boy died after his mother left him in the care of two men known to police as sex offenders. Before the toddler died, DOCS had been repeatedly alerted about suspected abuse, as Toni Hassan reports.

TONI HASSAN: The report, highly critical of DOCS, will curl even the most hardened ears.

Ombudsman Bruce Barbour admits he was shocked.

BRUCE BARBOUR: The system isn't working as well as it needs to, and in my view it's unacceptable when matters are being notified to DOCS, that we have poor decision making around who gets help and who doesn't get help.

TONI HASSAN: Among the cases exposing the glaring failures of the New South Wales system involves a 3-year-old boy and his 6-year-old sister, who were left my their mother in a one-bedroom flat with known sex offenders.

The boy was sexually abused, suffered anal and rectal injuries and died a few days later. One of his attackers had attempted to revive him using live electrical wires. One of the paedophiles videotaped himself raping the boy's sister.

The ABC's been told by a source in the Department that the 6-year-old girl is not in foster care, but today is still in the care of her mother, despite the mother's history of poor parenting. DOCS was notified of problems with the family seven times before the 3-year-old died. He was not removed from his mother for longer than one night.

This morning, Community Services Minister, Carmel Tebbutt, was keen to not to blame DOCS staff, but instead called for lessons to be learnt. She stressed that DOCS can only ever be a safety net and that in the end child protection was the responsibility of the whole community.

CARMEL TEBBUTT: Clearly, in individual cases, you'll have judgement calls made that will not necessarily be the right judgement calls. Overall, I think the philosophy of the Department is what we need to do is to get in early, to try and support families before problems become too entrenched, too difficult, but we also need to be able to effectively pick those families that no matter what sort of support you provide, they will not keep their children safe.

And they're the families that we need to be able to better predict, betterÉ and then be able to remove their children and convince the courts that that's the right course of action. And we're doing a lot of work on that front, but I have to say there's no simple, easy answer.

TONI HASSAN: DOCS gets 170,000 notifications of children at risk each year. The ombudsman acknowledges that DOCS cannot investigate every one, but says it can be more working more affectively to discern the cases that are most urgent. Working closer with other child protection agencies would be a good start.

The Minister says Government will take on board the recommendations of the report, the first report such report into reviewable deaths over one year. In this instance, from December 2002 to December 2003.

Carmel Tebbutt says DOCS has a new five-year child protection plan which includes boosting caseworker numbers.

The New South Wales Opposition says it's all spin, and believes the report demonstrates very little has changed in the Department.

Those are the views, also, of a former children's court magistrate, Barbara Holborow.

BARBARA HOLBOROW: And it's all duck-shoving, it really is. They're going to make excuses. It goes without saying there aren't enough DOCS workers. Babies are dying. I get letters from all over New South Wales saying please help us, DOCS won't.

TONI HASSAN: The state's peak children's welfare agency in New South Wales is pleased reforms are underway, but says a lot more needs to be done to speed up results.

The head of the Association of Children's Welfare Agencies is Nigel Spence.

NIGEL SPENCE: There's been a lot of emphasis on mandatory reporting and recognising risk factors for children. And that's been fairly successful, but what hasn't been nearly as successful is ensuring that the follow-through then happens once the child has been identified as having some risk.

So, the great majority of children would be far better, even in struggling family situations, if children can remain at home with their own parents.

At the same time, there are some very, very tough decisions that have to be made, where children are in serious danger and DOCS and other relevant departments have to act swiftly and get the kids out.

ELEANOR HALL: Nigel Spence, Chief Executive of the Association of Children's Welfare Agencies in New South Wales, speaking to Toni Hassan.

By Toni Hassan posted 13 December 04

Related:

Child porn investigation hits school morale
The Primary Principals Association says the ongoing investigation into child pornography in Victoria is having an impact on morale in the state's school system.

Dr Louise Porter on protecting children
"When I say that rewards and punishments have limited success what I mean is at the most they can only ever teach children to do as they're told and I think that's a very dangerous thing to do for children.

Rockspiders: Police, Teachers, Childcare Owners, and Uncle Pervy!
Police have indicated there will be hundreds more arrests as part of Australia's largest ever crackdown on child pornography even though it is some of the police themselves? Authorities have so far charged more than 190 people with a total of 2000 offences and seized more than two million pornographic images.

Criminal's DNA filed under relative's name

The New South Wales Opposition is calling for an investigation into claims that police have entered DNA data for serious offenders under incorrect names.

The New South Wales ombudsman has carried out an audit of DNA samples taken from more than 100 serious offenders and found errors in a number of cases.

The discrepancies are between records held by police and those held by a laboratory contracted to maintain the state's DNA database.

In one case, information was entered under the name of an offender's relative.

Opposition police spokesman Peter Debnam says the matter must be investigated.

"DNA is so important in police work, so important in law enforcement, [that] we've got to make sure the processes and recording are absolutely perfect," he said.

New South Wales Police Minister John Watkins has defended the methods police use to record DNA data.

Mr Watkins says an internal audit is under way following the report.

"We've already changed procedures to deal with some of those recommendations and the ombudsman's other recommendations are being considered by an inter-departmental working group chaired by the Attorney-General," he said.

Mr Watkins says some of the errors occurred because of bad handwriting and some prisoners using false names.

Another ombudsman's report is due to be released next year?

Can't wait?

What happened to THE INNOCENCE PANEL?

By DNA posted 15 November 04

Related:

DNA fingerprinting 'no longer foolproof'...
The genetic profiles held by police for criminal investigations are not sophisticated enough to prevent false identifications, according to the father of DNA fingerprinting.

Military lawyers await probe on DNA tampering
The Army's Criminal Investigation Command said nearly 500 forensic test results from all services dating back 10 years are under review after one of its examiners allegedly faked results. About 119 of those cases pertain to the Navy and Marine Corps.

Expert baffled by Falconio evidence DNA contamination
NT: The director of the Northern Territory's forensic science unit has told a Darwin court he does not know how his DNA contaminated a key piece of evidence in the Peter Falconio murder trial. [lost trial? After all he wasn't found?]

Corrupt police planting DNA evidence at crime scenes
Others have raised concerns about corrupt police planting DNA evidence at crime scenes.

The ABC for good or evil?
He had a suspect that he wanted to find guilty based on the chances of a spouse killing a spouse which were greater in anycase, at least more likely than that of a stranger.

First Grabs To Control Our DNA
A small company in Australia has been subjected to gross denials of rights after DNA database technology was stolen from it's company. This one year saga has spawned them to form a new approach to projects of importance to all people.

Worries over DNA and racial profiling
UK: Black men are four times more likely than White men to be on the national DNA database and there is growing concern about racial profiling in criminal investigations.

Lab's Errors Force Review of 150 Virginia DNA Cases
US: WASHINGTON, - A sharply critical independent audit found that Virginia's nationally recognized central crime laboratory had botched DNA tests in a leading capital murder case. The findings prompted Gov. Mark Warner to order a review of the lab's handling of testing in 150 other cases as well.

Witch-hunt targets scientists
QLD: SCIENTISTS at the John Tonge Centre are being threatened with jail in the wake of a government hunt for the source of leaks highlighting serious problems in the forensic laboratories.

Fresh swipe at DNA labs
Scientist Kris Bentley, whose departure yesterday follows that of forensic biologist Deanna Belzer after concerns about "inaccurate" DNA results and unvalidated equipment, issued a scathing resignation letter leaked to The Courier-Mail.

DNA leads 'CSI' cold-case squad to first arrest?
Frozen case? I don't really know what to say about them until they come up with their case. They say it involves DNA evidence but that's the only stuff we know.

Criminal's DNA filed under relative's name
The New South Wales Opposition is calling for an investigation into claims that police have entered DNA data for serious offenders under incorrect names.

DNA Evidence of Bipartisanship
Last week the U.S. Congress passed the Justice for All Act, which includes provisions of the Innocence Protection Act. As of this posting, the legislation has not yet been signed by President Bush. Attached is an analysis of the legislation prepared by the Justice Project.

DNA fingerprinting 'no longer foolproof'...
The genetic profiles held by police for criminal investigations are not sophisticated enough to prevent false identifications, according to the father of DNA fingerprinting.

THE BUTLER DIDN'T DO IT!
PROFESSOR BARRY BOETTCHER: Now, there should be a law enacted within Queensland so that when cases come up like this they can be brought to attention and if an appropriate authority such as a judge of your Supreme Court considers that it merits further inquiry, an inquiry be ordered.

'Rape' officer clears his name
UK: A former policeman has been cleared of rape after protesting his innocence for 15 years. Judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh ruled that Brian Kelly, 47, had suffered a miscarriage of justice over crucial DNA evidence.

New unit investigates unsolved deaths?
A new police unit has been established to investigate more than 360 unsolved deaths in New South Wales, with many of the deaths dating back more than 30 years.

Death Penalty Forensics?
In proposing a new death penalty for Massachusetts last month, Governor Mitt Romney offered firm assurance that no innocent people would be executed: Convictions, he said, will be based on science.

Prisoner's bid for review denied
Prisoner Roger Cheney has lost a Supreme Court action to have a judicial review of his 1993 convictions an 30-year jail sentence. Justice Shaw said he was concerned about the prisoner's claim that DNA evidence held by the police could prove his innocence. Although Cheney had requested the results of the DNA tests, he had been denied access to the forensic analysis.

QLD Prisoners DNA Bid THE curious case of Queensland's "cat lady" murder is set to test the state's legal authorities again, with the man convicted of the killing asking the Attorney-General to take the unprecedented step of releasing blood samples for DNA retesting.

Database clears up crimes?
NSW Police Minister John Watkins said at the launch of a Sydney conference of international forensic experts meeting to mark 100 years of fingerprinting in NSW. He said the collection of DNA from prisoners and suspects in NSW during the past two years had led to more than 5,400 matches on the forensic database.

A Question of Innocence
Katrina Bolton: The promise of DNA freeing the innocent as well as convicting the guilty has been repeated by politicians across Australia, usually while DNA laws are being expanded. The promise was made as a national DNA database, ‘Crimtrac’ was created, and it was made as NSW introduced legislation giving unprecedented powers to take DNA samples from prisoners, by force if necessary.

Mouse Trap Game? Tried Until Guilty!
Two New South Wales Labor MPs have strongly criticised the Carr Government's proposed abolition of the 800 year old double jeopardy rule, which stops people being tried a second time for the same crime. The left-wing MPs have branded the reforms as dishonest and unjust in a formal submission to the Attorney-General's department.

Weak Carr Government suspends Innocence Panel
It's a callous disregard for justice! The panel takes applications from convicted prisoners for DNA evidence to be analysed a move that may help in a future court appeal.

JUST BEAT IT! Govt lauds crime-solving technology?
The New South Wales Government says advances in crime solving technology are helping the progress of hundreds of police investigations.

DNA yours or mine?
Now they have isolated two genes that they say tells you if you're more likely to be depressed. What does that mean? It could mean that you should stay in jail because you are more likely than not to continue your offending behaviour according to a Department of Corrective Services Forensic Psychiatrist.

DNA testing causes debate in murder case
The use of voluntary DNA testing in the investigation of a murder case in New South Wales has been applauded by victim support groups who are ill informed about the process said Justice Action's spokesperson Gregory Kable.

Abolition of double jeopardy law a political stunt: NSW Opp
Why draconian laws? What about the re-trial by media that goes along with it? Twice shy?

ARE YOU INNOCENT?
The NSW government has finally appointed somebody (Justice John Nader) to head up its Innocence Panel and has produced leaflets and forms for people convicted of serious crimes (eg murder) to apply for DNA testing if they believe it may help prove their innocence. You can get the info by phoning 1300 881 717 or writing to the panel at GPO Box 45 Sydney NSW 2001.

Prisoners can prove innocence for $20
Les Kennedy Daily Telegraph reported today that" Prisoners who believe that DNA will prove they were wrongly convicted will have the chance to prove their innocence for a mere $20 administration fee. The move comes 20 months after NSW inmates were asked to provide DNA for comparison with a databank of DNA from unsolved crime scenes for possible convictions.

DNA = Do Not Assume - DNA Controversies!
The national DNA database of all known offenders proposed by Prime Minister Tony Blair could mean that innocent people will be accused of crimes they did not commit.

Murder charge first for DNA data bank link, but not the same as solving the murder As long as the the prisoners DNA wasn't planted at the crime scene. It is one thing to force prisoners to hand over their DNA and another thing to exploit it.

DNA - A Shadow of Doubt
One case points to misinterpretation of evidence that helped put a man behind bars. The other shows just how easy it is to plant falsely incriminating DNA evidence. As our forensic techniques become ever more sensitive, so the possibility of abuse continues to grow.

Draconian Scapegoat laws: Every Breath You Take?

Draconian scapegoat laws for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East.

Commonwealth Ombudsman calls for accountable terror laws?

Every breath you take and every move you make, every bond you break, every step you take. I'll be watching you?

Commonwealth ombudsman John McMillan expects there will be a need for better accountability as terrorism, [? draconian scapegoat], laws are bolstered across Australia.

Every single day and every word you say, every game you play, I'll be watching you?

Professor McMillan says while state and federal police cooperate in national security, there is less certainty about whether the state or commonwealth ombudsman should handle complaints about law enforcement.

Professor McMillan was speaking at an Administrative Law Conference in Hobart.

Oh, can't you see, you belong to me? How my poor heart aches, with every step you take. Every move you make, every vow you break, every smile you fake, every claim you stake. I'll be watching you?

He says although new anti-terrorism legislation preserves the role of the ombudsman, there are still gaps.

[But it's not anti-terrorism legislation unless you lock up the government for war crimes. What kind of professor are you?]

McMillan: Where there are jurisdictional divisions, there can easily be jurisdictional gaps and confusion and I think we need now to sit back and reflect on whether the national accountability mechanisms are as efficient, harmonised and coordinated as the law enforcement systems to which they apply," he said.

Since you've gone. I've been lost without a trace. I dream at night, I can only see your face. I look around but it's you I can't replace. I feel so cold and I long for your embrace. I keep crying baby, baby please....

RALPH: THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT DOESN'T KNOW WHAT ACCOUNTABLE IS! CALL THE OMBUDSMAN'S BLUFF! HE'S NOT THE OMBUDSMAN HE'S THE GOVERNMENT'S INSURANCE POLICY!

By the time the ombudsperson deals with your complaint you'll be defeated and War criminal's John Howard and Philip Ruddock will be on a pension at taxpayers expense.

That is unless they are taken to the Hague for their war crimes against humanity first.

What we really require is despot laws for Howard and his cronies. People in this country that are morally bankrupt should not be in a position of power. And people like McMillan who cover up for them are no better than they are.

There is a gap all right between the dog box...And the end of the leash...around the ombudsman's neck.

But the greatest gap is between the citizens, Ombudsman's powers, and the draconian legislation.

The only way to have accountable terrorism laws is to repeal them. Or defeat them on appeal to the High Court, which may strike out the legislation somewhere down the track.

Those people directly effected need to take out a civil damages claim against the government but you may need a 'lawyer with the will' and a heap of money for that.

Is the Ombudsman going to do that? I don't think so!

In the late '80's Sting recorded a new version of the song known as "Every Bomb You Make" which was played out over the closing credits of the UK satirical TV show "Spitting Image". The rewritten lyrics were:

Every bomb you make, every job you take, every heart you break, every Irish wake. I'll be watching you. Every wall you build, every one you've killed, every grave you've filled, all the blood you've spilled. I'll be watching you.

Oh, can't you see, you belong to me?

By Gregory Kable & Sting 2 July 04

Labor seizes on Cosgrove's Iraq comments

Federal Opposition leader Mark Latham says recent comments by the head of Australia's Defence Forces bolster Labor's case to bring troops, [militants], home from Iraq by Christmas.

GIVE A DOG A BONE?

When the Ombudsman investigates police in most States and Territories of Australia they set about asking the police to investigate themselves to see if there is any validity to a complaint.

Summary of 'Ombudsmen's Jurisdiction in Prisons'

* Ombudsman's main power comes from publicity it generates and possibility of reporting to Parliament.

Victorian Ombudsman's power boosted

The Victorian Government has reacted strongly to continuing allegations of police corruption, with the Premier announcing a big boost to the State Ombudsman's power and resources.

Related:

Draconian Laws: NSW Police Minister earns community wrath
In the Supreme Court yesterday, Justice Greg James formally dismissed an appeal against the bail granted to 34-year-old Lakemba man Belal Khazal.

Relatives put up house deed to bail Khazal
The New South Wales Supreme Court has formally continued the bail of an innocent man, after his wife's parents offered their house as surety.

Up there Khasal: 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.

Muslim communities isolated and vulnerable: report
A national report looking at the extent of prejudice against Arab and Muslim Australians has highlighted the fear, isolation and vulnerability it says many people in those communities are feeling.

Labor to back new draconian scapegoat laws?
The [alleged], federal opposition will support changes to the nation's terrorism, [? draconian scapegoat], laws, which the Government is expected to introduce to Parliament today.

Muslim communities isolated and vulnerable: report
A national report looking at the extent of prejudice against Arab and Muslim Australians has highlighted the fear, isolation and vulnerability it says many people in those communities are feeling.

Scapegoat bail laws pass NSW Parliament
New laws to make it difficult for people charged with terrorism offences, [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], to get bail have been whisked through the New South Wales Parliament after only being introduced earlier today.

Hatzsistergos defends speedy draconian laws
The New South Wales Government has been accused of "ramming" through a bill designed to make it much tougher for people to get bail if they are accused of terrorism-related offences, [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East.]

Moroney moves to appeal Khazal bail decision
The federal government created the draconian laws, based on their resource war's in the Middle East and numerous, call to arms, false flag operations around the world. Then the government fear-mongered the general public about it, by using their media power, and then the federal government came up with their own solutions, about how to fix the problems, they themselves have created, for their own reasons. Now we have reduced, oversight, standards at law and reduced rules of evidence etc. Now Moroney wants to take away bail which proves the obvious.

New laws to stop bail for scapegoats
The New South Wales Attorney-General has rushed new laws into State Parliament to make it difficult for people charged with terrorism offences, [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], to get bail.

What's the Rush? Non parole period for scapegoats
[Problem, Reaction, Solution. Firstly, the ASIO provocateur creates the problem, (approaches Jack Roche and asks...Can you take pictures of the Israel Embassy?) then (Roach thinks he's found a friend that also hates Israel) and then (ASIO set him up as the patsie), and then the Government gets a response from the corporate media and the general public about what to do about it. Then Ruddock finds the solution.]

Khazal: A stitch in time saves nine?
Lakemba man Belal Khazaal, 34, was granted bail yesterday after appearing in Sydney's Central Local Court charged with activities related to terrorism. [Another Scapegoat for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East.]

Channel Nine Judge finds Saleh Jamal Guilty?
Why would a man carry out a shooting attack on a police station in Sydney's south-western suburbs? Because police wouldn't give him a licence? Because police owed him money?

UNDERWORLD IN AUSTRALIA: JACK ROCHE
Australian guilty of embassy plot? Roche had earlier claimed he was innocent.

Ruddock moves to give police access to emails
Police could get access to stored voicemails; emails and SMS messages under a Bill introduced to federal Parliament today. [War criminal], Attorney-General Philip Ruddock says police have had trouble getting access to stored messages because of the laws preventing them intercepting phone calls.

Australia: Innocent man granted bail
Innocent man Izhar Ul Haque was granted bail today by the NSW Supreme Court. Justice Peter Hidden granted the 21-year-old Sydney medical student $200,000 bail.

Greens call on Mark Latham to commit to ending Howard's abusive policies Greens Senator Kerry Nettle has called on Mark Latham to commit to abolishing the human rights abusing policies of the, [war criminal], Howard government if they win the next election.

Amnesty report criticises Aust, US
Amnesty International has accused Australia of using national security to justify the erosion of human rights and says the United States has proved "bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle" in its fight against terrorism and invasion of Iraq.

Message of Solidarity: Greens
No where is the problem more evident then in the High Risk Management Unit in Goulburn Jail. Like the "super-max" units in the United States the HRMU uses unsubstantiated claims of "risks" to justify what is often the unjustifiable - the segregation and isolation of human beings.

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'
Are the West Animals? You bet! Don't be fooled by corporate propaganda invading our personal lives telling us stories about the politics of fear without looking at the way they are behaving first.

Protest Against the Incarceration of Izhar Ul Haque
Izhar is one of the new victims of Australia's draconian civil liberties deprivation laws. He has been accused of visiting a group that was not proscribed until ten months after Izhar's alleged visit.

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.

Terror force has chip on its shoulder?
Ron Woodham the prisons bum boy commissioner creates the problem (Noble Cause Corruption for Bob Carr) by framing a prisoner, then seeks a reaction from the community for the false flag operation, then finds the solution that the government wanted to implement in the first place.

QLD Politician (Community Safety?) Amendment Bill 2004
NEW LAWS: A picture of the [false flag] Madrid killer bombings was used to introduce a terror Bill so that we are so fearful we will accept it as being appropriate behaviour by the authorities and law enforcement. [So where is our protection against a corrupt government and complicit corporate media organisations?]

Govt rejects ul-Haque's family 'political scapegoat' claims
The Federal Government has rejected as unfounded, claims that it is making a political scapegoat out of a Sydney man arrested on terrorism charges.

Dictatorship under the crimes Act?
[War criminal], Attorney General Phillip Ruddock said yesterday under the Crimes Act Izhar Ul Haque committed a crime. But the real crime was preventing a 21-year-old young man decide for himself what is wrong and what is right. What a disgrace! Under the heading, further education.

SMH: Standing up for liberties?
When a federal Labor Opposition indicates it is prepared to agree to future government legislation even before its detailed content is known, alarm bells should ring.

Keelty foresees more terrorism
Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Mick Keelty, [guilty], says terrorist groups, [scapegoats and patsies for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], will continue to find new ways to threaten countries.

Daily Telegraph rolled-over for Howard's war games
Given the source appears to be the Daily Terror this time, the next thing you'll be told is that Brigitte intended to have lunch with Bin Laden on the lawn at Parliament House Canberra, probably written in the Un-Australian next week after the war games.

Should Howard be detained indefinitely?
Australian mock, convicted terrorist and, [war criminal], John Howard is seriously considering appealing the precise time limit on detaining terrorist suspects,[scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East.]

Counter-terrorism-fear-mongering, propaganda exercise to test several states For the first time, Australia is about to test its ability to respond to terrorism threats and acts, [fear-mongering, propaganda for the Coalition of the Killing's resource wars in the Middle East], in several states simultaneously.

'FACTOPHOBIA' HOWARD, BLAIR AND BUSH
Well think about this! Australia's intelligence agencies, [fear mongering, propaganda agencies], look set to receive a substantial funding boost in this year's Federal Budget, with the Prime Minister saying it is an obvious step to take.

HoWARd, where's your head at?
Australians is living on the edge! Seems each time the bombs go off overseas for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East Australians are living on the edge.

Australia: National Insecurity Anthem
Australians all let us give voice. For we are free no more. We've lost the right to liberty. In Uncle Howard's war. From high school kids. To journalists. You'll be in custody. If someone you know, give ASIO. A little insecurity.

Howard gov't and media talks up terror
First it was the Lucas Height nuclear reactor Willie Brigitte was alleged to have been planing to blow up. ASIO alleged to have found some type of map as evidence late last year.

Australian corporate media? Brigitte allegations?
A plot to attack the Lucas Heights Nuclear Reactor and blow up the Daily Telegraph Newspaper building is alleged to have been the reason Willie Brigitte was deported back to France. Believe it or not?

Brigitte release 'imminent for lack of evidence': lawyer
Lawyers for deported terror suspect, [scapegoat for the Coalition of the Killings resource war in the Middle East], Willie Brigitte expect he may be released shortly by French authorities due to a lack of evidence.

Dying to get to the Opera? Or the Hospital?
There is to be increased funding for security at the Sydney Opera House while people are dying trying to get into a hospital bed. In NSW you have more chance of being shot in the street so the priority should be hospitals not Opera Houses.

Absence of faith in the Australian Gov't
A Sydney-based former baggage handler and his brother have been found guilty in Lebanon's 'military court' of helping to fund a terrorist network linked to Al Qaeda.

Did 'Jihad Jack' train at GI boot camp?
Parody: Jack Thomas, the Melbourne man allegedly linked to, [US demon], al-Qa'ida, [keywords: links, plots, cells, training camps, boot camps, terrorists, jihad, al-Qa'ida], through a friend of a friend of a friend, who had known about al-Qa'ida being investigated by police.

Man on first terror charge not first alleged terrorist
Zak Mallah of Condell Park was arrested overnight when federal and NSW police slipped on a banana skin into a western Sydney reserve and then raided his home.

Big Bang Theory, ASIO
The most significant threat to Australia is Prime Minister John Howard. Howard has lied to the Australian people constantly. Slaughtered the international rule of law by preventive strikes on Iraq, rigorously changed laws to deter asylum seekers, locked up children of asylum seekers, and undermined the political process by jailing Pauline Hanson, political prisoner of the year.

Sydney man terrorised by the NSW Police Force
Senior New South Wales police say s charges have been laid against a man in Sydney. Police say a 20-year-old has been charged with committing an action in preparation for a terrorist attack.

ASIO bill expected to pass Senate
The war criminal, Federal Attorney-General has defended proposed new ASIO, [an Australian terrorist organisation], powers which would limit the media's ability to report on terrorist investigations, [scapegoat investigations.]

Australian Corruption: Absence in Absentia
Two Sydney brothers illegally sentenced in Lebanon to 10 years' hard labour could cancel extradition, despite the fascist dictator John Howard declaring Australia is ready to extradite them.

Lawyer said Govt made Brigitte a scapegoat
The lawyer for French terrorism suspect, [scapegoat for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], Willie Brigitte says his client was not planning an attack in Australia.

Brigitte planned to blow up the Daily Terror
In bright red letters with an X marks the spot it appeared to be right under Campbell Reid's office.

Meet Melanie Brown the Sydney woman who married the Daily Terror? Meet Melanie Brown, the Sydney woman who wed Willie Brigitte -- the tourist, [and now scapegoat for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], accused of helping mastermind a terrorist attack in Australia, according to ASIO [an Australian government terrorist organisation], and the DAILY TERROR.

Daily Telegraph: Wife had a key role in war
Brigitte's wife it had been alleged by the Daily Terror, [and obviously the Australian government], to have been earmarked for bigger things in the war against terror, [The Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], which is also a war on liberty here at home.

How the Daily Telegraph seduced an Aussie public!
GKCNN can today reveal details of the brazen attempt by another dangerous terrorist newspaper. The Daily Telegraph blends into the Australian community and targets an impressionable public. Along side other corporate media organisations like the Un-Australian Newspaper, used by the Howard Government for propaganda purposes.

An Un-Australian News Pill pushes polls after raising fears
The Un-Australian newspaper is now pushing its own news poll agenda after raising terror fears for the last fortnight. Questions are being asked this morning about what stake the newspaper has in the Australian Government's fear campaign?

ASIO: No responsibility!
Blick: "Because these searches are carried out with the cooperation of police forces, both AFP [Australian Federal Police] and state police, it's not always entirely clear which members of the team ... are those supposed to have done the things which people complain about," he said.

A STRUGGLE ON TWO FRONTS: PRISONS & IMPERIALIST WAR
After a war waged by the U.S. military against Vietnam which took the lives of more than 3 million Vietnamese people and more than 58,000 GIs, the U.S. finally withdrew in 1975. It had suffered its first official major military defeat by a united people struggle led by the Vietnamese, along with a mass U.S. anti-war movement.

Australian fascist laws ready as scapegoat talks
ASIO [state terrorists], could use its special draconian powers for the first time in coming days as security forces [state terrorists] step up their investigation of French terror suspect [scapegoat], Willie Brigitte.

Fascist wants more power for ASIO
[War criminal] Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock wants to strengthen Australia's terrorism laws, [scapegoat laws], to make it easier for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) [state terrorists] to hold and question suspects [scapegoats and patsies], without any evidence for three years and ban organisations.

THE DAILY TERROR and ASIO in Fairyland!
ASIO agents [how could anyone believe them?] and analysts from the NSW Police counter terrorism [counter scapegoat] co-ordination command [Noble Cause Corruption Unit], are reviewing a list of names deported Brigitte gave them as his contacts in Australia.

Mahathir offers to go out with a bang
"Report the truth even if it is bad. Don't be a spin doctor, don't distort news, don't have your own agenda," he said.Dr Mahathir has claimed repeatedly that his remark at an Islamic summit in mid-October that Jews rule the world was taken out of context.

US to keep military ties with Indonesia
But America, East Timor, Bali, and Australian complicity have something in common with the 'Indonesian armed forces' and the fallout was the TNI's East Timor's massacre in 1999 and the CIA's false flag, call to arms Bali bombing in 2002, believe it or not.

The Daily Propaganda: Bali bombings could have been worse?
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner, Mick Keelty, says the bombs that killed 88 Australians in Bali could have done a lot more damage if they had been built differently.

NSW Terrorist Minister leads the way
New South Wales is hosting a two-day conference of state and territory prisons ministers on how to detain terrorists [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East.]

Australia: Hamas support group investigations
The Australian Federal Police and ASIO [state terrorists] are believed to be investigating support groups in Australia, specifically support groups operating out of Western Australia.

Signs of the Times: Aggressive Scepticism
If anyone has known a schizophrenic then you may also know that it is because of some sound or picture that invaded their thoughts which sent them mad. So possibly, any invasion of my time with self, a time to integrate past experiences could send someone mad. However if there is no interference with our own thoughts and ideas we sometimes choose to write down our conclusions and share our ideas with others socially.

Civil Liabilities: Howard's diversity? I had a dream?
The war criminal, Prime Minister, John Howard, who only yesterday was claiming he was showing diversity has stepped up pressure on the states to support plans to increase the war criminal, Federal Attorney-General's powers to ban terrorist organisations, [scapegoats and patsies for the Coalition of the Killing's illegal and degrading resource wars in the Middle East.]

Keep the bastards honest: Publicity keeps an eye on ethics?
The Australian Federal Police commissioner says investigations into terrorist links [scapegoat and patsy links] to Australia are being made more difficult by public debate about the progress of inquiries.

Howard, Ellison, Williams, Australian terrorists, Muslim bashing! Brothers sacrificed! [War criminal], Attorney-General Daryl Williams said the Australian Federal Police and ASIO, [Australian state-terrorists], had been in contact with Lebanese authorities over the Khazal brothers. "The Australian authorities are well aware of the fact that a warrant was issued for the arrest of Mr Khazal and his brother in June," [war criminal], Williams said yesterday.

Qantas handler handcuffed to al-Qa'ida
War criminal, Attorney-General Daryl Williams who? Daryl Williams who? Oh you mean that Daryl Williams, would you believe him? You say he what? Confirmed last night the Government was aware of claims that Sydney man Bilal Khazal and Melbourne cleric Sheikh Mohammed Omran were linked to an al-Qa'ida detainee known as Abu Dahdah.

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 [Walls] 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.

Former Qantas worker denies Al Qaeda link
Four Corners [Walls] has [allegedly] cited a CIA document alleging Bilal Khazal was not only an Al Qaeda operative but was planning attacks on US interests in Venezuela and the Philippines, but Mr Khazal has denied the claims.

Woman linked to Four Corners worked at Sydney Airport: JI
Parody: New airport security concerns have been raised by reports that a woman believed by JI to be associated with Four Corners worked as a baggage handler at Sydney's international terminal.

Evidence emerges of proposed Four Corners base in Bali
Parody: More evidence has emerged that the ABC terrorist network believed to have been behind the propaganda in Australia has tried to set up a long-term base in Bali.

Australian Terror cell here long before Bali
The Australian terrorist Captain Cook infiltrated Australia years before the Bali bombings in which 202 people perished. Aboriginal people attempted to remember Captain Cook not as a founding father but as a harbinger of dispossession and death, a sign of white amnesia. Another anniversary year-used to mark two hundred years since Cook had journeyed along the east coast of Australia and, for some people, discovered a continent.

NSW police confirm don't use the phone to talk about terrorism!
The New South Wales Police Service has confirmed it is using phone taps and other forms of electronic surveillance to monitor suspected terrorist activity [ ? To monitor potential scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's illegal and degrading resource wars in the Middle East.]

Australia: Terrorising you in secret
Suspected terrorists [scapegoats and patsies for the Coalition of the Killing's resource wars in the Middle East] will be tried in secret under new laws to be introduced by the Federal Government.

NSW Police Force may get 'special powers'
Civil libertarians are questioning the need for further anti-terrorism laws, which will be announced in the New South Wales Parliament on Tuesday.

Evidence that Howard was complicit in CIA, false flag, call to arms, Bali bombings War criminal John Howard was complicit in the call to arms - false flag operation - Bali bombings - instigated by the CIA - and the Coalition of the Killing - to bolster support - and quell dissent for their illegal and degrading resource wars in the Middle East.

War criminal Howard high-jacks HRCA to 'legitimise killing'
The Human Rights Council of Australia (HRCA) says it fears Prime Minister John Howard's comments in support of the execution of [CIA operative] Osama bin Laden show his eagerness to overturn three decades of national opposition to the death penalty.

State terror units caused the terror!
The level of suspicion and surveillance created by the [US false flag operation and call to arms] Bali bombings, created by [ the Coalition of the Killing and Australian's complicity to go to war on Iraq] means that all Australian's suffer the loss of their human rights, civil rights and their democratic rights, as well as those Australian's who lost their life in Bali.

Al-Qa'ida or poor people without hope?
Anyone contemplating war without a UN sanction is nothing more than a common criminal and not acting in accordance with the law. Isn't Richardson the head of ASIO? A law enforcement agency? Al-Qa'ida is a Coalition of the Killing demon made up by the CIA. These people are just scapegoats, patsies, and peasants."

Red paper classes Australia as terrorist suspects
Australia's old foreign policy red paper says Australians have become targets because their own government is being run by war criminals that are complicit in state terror, torture, murder, occupation and genocide.

Australia backs CIA Reichstag, Downer's propaganda
The Foreign Affairs Minister says the latest message from Osama bin Laden is worrying. [Just plain rubbish!]

UK Reid, Blair and the reichstag London threat!
The nature of the [alleged] terrorist threat to London is on the scale of the [USA false flag] September 11 attacks in the United States, the chairman of Britain's governing Labour Party said.

Bin Laden calls? CIA blind man's bluff!
A [US propaganda, fear-mongering] taped message purportedly from Osama bin Laden has warned Arab nations against supporting a war against Iraq but has branded Saddam Hussein an infidel.

Middle Eastern: Specific Legislation
"If there is a target person the police would have powers in relation to that type of person," Mr Costa said. Asked what he meant by "type of person", Mr Costa said: "The example that's been given is if there's a description of somebody, an identikit photograph released by Interpol or other agencies ... these powers may well be exercised on that type of person."

Howard defends terror alert
Prime Minister John Howard says the Federal Government would not have issued a terror alert if it had not come from a credible source. (America?) Speaking for the first time since the Government revealed the warning, Mr Howard says he wants people to be more careful, but not to stop living. [As long as they don't go dancing in Bali? And sure we'll all be depressed for as long as John Howard and Bob Carr say so.]

Carr backs Fed Govt's terror alert
New South Wales Premier Bob Carr has defended the Federal Government's decision to issue a warning to Australians about a possible terrorist attack in Australia.

NSW Police Force may get 'special powers'
Civil libertarians are questioning the need for further anti-terrorism laws, which will be announced in the New South Wales Parliament on Tuesday.

When Johnny comes marching home again: 'hoorah hoorah'
Posted on the Resistance web page Bronwyn Powell, an organiser of the youth-led mobilisation told Green Left weekly that "in the face of attacks on civil liberties, it is unfortunate that some union officials have felt they need to submit. It could set a negative precedent for upholding the hard-won right to demonstrate in the street."

Give peace a chance
PIERS AKERMAN DT 28 Nov 02: JUSTICE John Dowd should be removed from the bench. His crime? Stupidity. In a breath-taking display of hand-wringing sanctimonious morality, Dowd has condemned the State and Federal Governments' anti-terrorism measures, claiming they erode rights and give encouragement to oppressive regimes.

The scavengers of terror
The NSW Government is to introduce increased police powers bill. Legislation giving New South Wales police special powers to deal with an emergency terrorist situation [emergency scapegoat situation] will be introduced into the New South Wales Parliament today.