JUSTICE KIRBY: JUDICIAL ACTIVISM

Activist judges are alert and aware of common decency. They can make governments accountable for breaches of human right standards. Over the past week at the University of Exeter, High Court Justice Michael Kirby has delivered a series of tongue-lashings to his critics, those "bully boys (and girls)" who believe activist judges undermine the democratic deal and dare to say so.

Kirby's insight is decent, last week Justice Kirby threw at the Federal Government's barrister, the Solicitor-General David Bennett QC, in a ground-breaking case heard in the High Court, testing for the first time Australia's Mandatory Immigration Detention Scheme.

Australia's highest court finally rebels against the outlandish efforts of the Howard fascist government.

Fortunately, Kirby is delivering knowledge to his critics for the sake of humanity. He told his English audience that critics of judicial activism "are contemptuous of fundamental human rights and jealous of any source of power apart from their own". They "hate it when judges express the law in terms of legal principles to protect minorities, the weak and the vulnerable".

Contemptuously those bullies who criticise judicial activism are feeding their greed and lining their filthy pockets all the time. These vultures are all too willing to side with fascist governments regardless of human rights.

Dictators like John Howard and his cronies have lost sight of human rights standards.

Howard has undermined the parliamentary process and the rule of law. Politicians and (corporate club critics) who grasp at the notion of "human rights". Critics who lie, bend the truth and deceive us all, a result that is politically motivated and makes them feel good but bears little relation to democracy and justice for all in the struggle of life.

A STRUGGLE ON TWO FRONTS: PRISONS & IMPERIALIST WAR

On guard to protect liberty from evil minded rulers, thoughtful? You bet. Judges who use their role to encourage human rights (and therefore promote liberty) have reminded us of their job description. Of course, judges have to make choices when they interpret vague laws.

Undoubtedly, the common law legitimately moves in small, incremental ways. The benefit is that when you give them a platform judges take a deep, intricacy Kirbyeinsight mile to tell you what is in their soul. They travel down roads they have a right being on, using as their road map their own vast personal experience and knowledge.

Guantanamo escape may be justified: Kirby

For example, inside Kirby's Guide to Law-Making you will probably find a long chapter on "human rights" followed by an even fatter chapter on international law, because, as Kirby said in an interview in April: "(International law) will make us more creative." And then there is the chapter on protecting "minorities, the weak and the vulnerable" where phrases like "community values" and "social justice" will equal any references to the rule of law.

Why? Because the rule of law is guided by community values and social justice. So for all those critical bullies (Un-Australian's) that think they're not in the same boat. Think again! In other words the Un-Australian's don't see themselves as 'equal', that's why judges speak out above their critics.

As one judge on a bench of seven, Kirby's activist forays make human rights a reality opposed to fascist governments and corporate media who just don't care. But don't you worry, because they'll get by without their rabbit pie.

In NSW, unfair dismissal laws stop unscrupulous employers who try to pay employees below award rates by using independent contractor arrangements. Think garage sweatshops and overworked, underpaid migrant workers.

The Un-Australian newspaper said, "You soon had senior executives claiming unfair dismissal, using the same laws to secure $14 million option packages and has been extended to corporate executives who are neither weak nor vulnerable."

Are senior executives equal regardless of their status? Should corporate media journalists place barriers before equality and the law, for their hip pocket nerve endings? How would they react if it were their job on the line? Was this argument by the Un-Australian newspaper, just a sleazy way of undermining judicial activism? A payback? Or simply a way to undermine unfair dismissal laws as being useless and invalid?

An alleged expert Sydney lawyer John Colvin put on a pedestal by the Un-Australian newspaper to back up their story, who is in employment law said, "he has seen the IRC become the rich boys' legal playground."

He has written about the "lucky executives in NSW" who can apply to the IRC to "set aside negotiated contracts of employment even when they provide for lengthy notice periods, termination payouts, share schemes and bonuses.

"An employee will always call a termination "unfair" but why do IRC judges so often agree? Because they can. "Fairness," says Colvin, "is a bit like beauty, which can reside in the eye of the beholder." NSW politicians made it easy for them by drafting vague laws, leading the judges out into the wilderness and abandoning them, as former High Court judge Hayden Starke said once."

"Laws can translate into expensive litigation. Employers will pay a premium to avoid those costs. That jacks up the costs of employment and that, in turn, acts as a disincentive to business to set up headquarters in NSW."

But do unfair dismissal laws act as a deterrent to keep away bad business practice in NSW. If the answer is yes then perhaps it serves the greater good Mr Colvin?

The IRC has claimed jurisdiction over all sorts of commercial contracts far removed from the original intention of parliament. Fortunately, the state's highest court is [allegedly], objective and impartial.

Overturning a decision of the IRC, the president of the NSW Court of Appeal, Keith Mason, recently delivered a scathing critique of the IRC: "Like the Chief Justice, I am profoundly troubled by the march of the commission's jurisdiction into the heartland of commercial contracts."

On it went. "The matter is also troubling," said Mason, "because it must frankly be stated that the members of the commission do not generally have the experience of the judges of the Equity Division in such matters and because ... the commission lacks the ongoing assistance of appellate and other supervision by the Court of Appeal or the High Court in such matters." Translation: An interventionist court out of control and out of its depth. That about sums up what's right about having a balance with judges.

What would Kirby make of this latest criticism from judges of the NSW Court of Appeal?

You are entitled to your opinion!

By No Rabbit Pie 27 November 03

THE FOX: They'll get by without their rabbit pie so run rabbit, run rabbit, run run, run!

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Valuing children now!

Partial ban on smacking condones other physical punishment, says experts!

NSW legislation banning parents from hitting their children above the neck in effect condones physical punishment, a child abuse conference will hear today.

The 2001 legislation specified where a child could legally be hit, which only perpetuates the view that physical punishment is normal and a parent's right, Bernadette Saunders, of the Child Abuse and Family Violence Research Unit at Monash University, says.

No-Smacking Day for Children in NSW

US research shows that physical punishment is ineffective in shaping children's behaviour and could cause long-term psychological harm, she says.

"The legislation may actually have the reverse effect than it intended, it in effect reinforced parents' right to hit children," Ms Saunders said yesterday.

"What it actually says is it's OK to hit your children from the shoulders down, as long it doesn't cause harm lasting more than a short, undefined period of time.

"Children are the only people in our society who can legally be hit. In some states common law exists as a defence to a charge of assault if a parent hits a child in the name of discipline."

The fact is though "could cause long-term psychological harm" should be re stated to "will cause long-term psychological harm". Just the inference of smacking as a way for parents to solve a problem teaches those children who were smacked a bad lesson.

This lesson from the person who loves them sends a message that "smacking solves problems". It could deliver another message that "short-term results are obtained by threats and smacking" the governments "wrap over the knuckles" syndrome. But the end result can be fatal. Just ask Justice Alastair Nicholson of the Family Court "Smacking a child ought be seen as assault" He said.

There is one clear and unequivocal message that violence including domestic violence is caused by the very classically conditioned idea that threats and violence "smacking" somehow solves problems. When a persons resources are low like in a crisis situation and people become frustrated, then it becomes second nature to rely on the social skills you have learned, to try and solve your own main problem.

National No Smacking day will help people become aware of the numerous ways of problem solving that don't include threats or violence and this is not a new idea.

First International No-Smacking Day for Tasmania - The Child Friendly State Launched April 30th 2003.

The rest of Australia could help solve the crime of violence by planting the seed of non-violence. Better awareness about other ways of problem solving! This means long term results, less violence, less prisons and it also means more money in the education bin.

Ms Saunders will present the paper, titled Physical Punishment: The Thoughts, Feelings and Words of Australian Children, at the Ninth Australasian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, which began at Darling Harbour yesterday.

When the punishment is the crime and planting the seed

About 1000 child protection professionals and 60 children from Australia and overseas will attend the four-day conference.

In her opening speech the Community Services Minister, Carmel Tebbutt, will tell the conference there has been a "massive increase" in the number of reports of child abuse in the past five years, which she attributes to a rise in inequality across the population, as well as an increase in mandatory reporting.

A spokeswoman for Ms Tebbutt said yesterday that there had been a 436 per cent increase in "reports of concern" to the Department of Community Services.

Ms Saunders said Australia's attitudes on the physical punishment of children, banned in Sweden in 1976, were slowly changing, with the use of implements such as a belt, wooden spoon or garden hose becoming less common.

"There's probably less tolerance of severe physical punishment and the use of implements . . . however there is still a tolerance of smacking children and that'll only change with education and increased parental support," she said.

Research by the Australian Childhood Foundation showed 75 per cent of parents thought it was acceptable to sometimes smack a naughty child, but 95 per cent disagreed with the use of implements, she said.

Charles Dickens said, "Life is a secret and you haven't got the key."

But There Are Keys

26 November 03

Related:

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Australian of the Year Fiona Stanley has described the results of a groundbreaking study into child development as frightening.

WHEN THE PUNISHMENT IS THE CRIME AND PLANTING THE SEED In New South Wales today if you get into trouble with the law you have little or no defence. Unless you're wealthy enough to get yourself a lawyer and even then the odds you will escape justice are minimal because of the infrastructure and resource of the government opposed to your Legal Aid Status. I am not saying Legal Aid cannot help you but I am saying they have become overworked and under resourced.

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A national report on child protection in the Northern Territory has blasted the system, saying it has abandoned the most impoverished children and families in Australia.

ATSIC call to smack kids?
The ATSIC commissioner said the high levels of regulation was not unlike the attention focused on Aboriginal families that led to the creation of a Stolen Generation of Aboriginal people. Mr Hill said he did not condone violence and admitted he did not smack his own children, but he stressed he wanted the issue of child discipline debated among Aboriginal people and community leaders.

No-Smacking Day for Children in NSW
Patmalar Ambikapathy the Children's Commissioner, HOBART Tasmania spoke to Gregory Kable a caseworker at Justice Action at the Controlling Crime Conference at Redfern in Sydney yesterday and we both realised how parallel our ideas about crime prevention were.

Judge renews child detainee release call
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Graffiti: What they see is what you get
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Ruddock to challenge Family Court ruling
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Men told to change role but what for?
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Parents on the inside leave children on the edge
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States to cooperate on school curriculums but social skills don't rate? State and territory education ministers say Federal Education Minister Brendan Nelson's heavy-handed threats to school funding will not assist their ambitious initiative to develop consistent school curriculum’s in key subjects.[?]

Family Law: Shared parenting arrangements
My children were four and two years of age and it's been fourteen years since I seen my children who are now adults. I don't know where they are because the government fragmented us by order of the Family Court of Australia, which should be called, the Anti-Family Court of Australia. Big yawn!!!

School Curriculum needs balance? Life Skills and Academic Skills go hand in hand man Colin you need to be the students friends not their judge. Only when you can invite the students into the decision making process will you get an obligation by them to change their behaviour, because you Colin could lead by example and not by power.

Australian fathers under terrorist attack-by its Politicians
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NSW education professor warns further commitment needed
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Parents call for feedback on social skills
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Alcohol is just the beginning
People who start using alcohol by their mid teens are more than twice as likely as others to experiment with different drugs and to become dependent on drugs a major Australian study has found.

The punishment: Is the 'crime'
The punishment is the crime according to retired chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia Justice Alistair Nicholson. "Smacking a child ought to be seen as assault".

RESTORING TRUE JUSTICE:
Australian prisons are fast becoming the new asylums of the third millennium. The prison industry is booming, while Australia spends far less on mental health services than similar countries.

The Seed
Respect, you only get out what you have put in. What about Life Skills, Communication and Conflict Resolution. Evolution, perhaps some children and adults miss the whole or part of the course. I did, and so how surprised do you think I was when I realised my parents missed the course as well. Things like Compromise, Win Win, Empathy, and Love. Invisible energy and other skills like public speaking, how to Relate, Assuming, Blaming, Forgiveness, Freedom and Discrimination. This is how I learned respect. If you don't know what it is then how do you relate?

The Law According to Gregory Wayne Kable
I was sharply separated from both my children aged just 4 years and two years and sent to prison for the manslaughter of my wife. I cared for my children when my wife worked and I believe that I still had a responsibility to them even after the crisis situation and tragedy. I wanted to reassure them now and find out how they were doing.

Lawyers differ on Guantanamo deal

The lawyers for the two Australian men being held, [tortured in solitary confinement], at Guantanamo Bay have had different reactions to the, [war criminal], Federal Government's agreement with the, [war criminal], United States over procedures for any 'military trials'.

Adelaide man David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib from Sydney have been held without charge for almost two years, under suspicion of links with Al Qaeda, [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East.]

[War criminal], Attorney-General Philip Ruddock has told Parliament that if convicted by a military tribunal, the pair will not face the death penalty and will serve any sentences in Australia.

They will also be able to meet with their lawyers face-to-face and have phone contact with their families.

Mr Habib's lawyer, Stephen Hopper, is pleased with the latest terms.

"The Australian Government has guaranteed some further concessions that had not been there in the first place," he said.

But Mr Hicks's lawyer, Stephen Kenny, is not so impressed.

"I think these are very minor concessions to give it a veneer of a just process. The Attorney-General is simply repeating things essentially that have already been agreed," he added. "The fact that even at the end of the trial, the matter goes to [US] President [George W] Bush for his final determination anyway. So this is tinkering at the edges of what is a very serious issue."

Mr Kenny says his client is still in limbo and the only new information is that he can one day meet Hicks in person.

By Just Us 26 November 03

Related:

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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.

Supporters doubt PM's efforts to release Habib, Hicks
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Red Cross Criticizes Indefinite Detention in Guantanamo Bay
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Australia: Crean backs war criminals
The Federal Labor leader, Simon Crean, has tried to head off planned protests by some opposition MPs when the US President addresses Parliament next week.

Bush's Vanished Prisoner
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Guantanamo Bay treatment: Limbo
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Australia: Justice for Hicks & Habib
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Pilger said White House knew Saddam was no threat
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Terry Hicks Odyssey for Justice for his Imprisoned Son
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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.

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.

Australia backs CIA Reichstag, Downer's propaganda
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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.

Development problems hit 1 in 4 kids: study

Australian of the Year Fiona Stanley has described the results of a groundbreaking study into child development as frightening.

The study of five-year-olds in Perth has found more than one-quarter could have social, intellectual or behavioural problems in later life.

For what is believed to be the first time in Australia, about 4,500 children were surveyed on social skills, literacy, physical health, maths, bahaviour and communication ability.

Professor Stanley says the figures are frightening because the children surveyed are typical of those in any Australian city.

The Early Development Index is an assessment of social, emotional, intellectual and physical capacities at age five. The study found 26 per cent of the children were vulnerable in at least one area and 13 per cent were considered to be at risk.

Professor Stanley said the community and governments need to act now to prevent a great deal of problems in the future.

"I don't think there is anything more important in Australia at the moment, as I have kept on saying this year," she said.

"These environments that impact on early child development are the things that are driving all these negative outcomes five, 10 and 15 years down the track."

Professor Stanley says it is alarming so many children have been identified as being at serious risk later in life.

"I don't think it is just a parental issue, although there are quite a few things that parents can do," she said.

"It does fall on local governments, on state governments and even on the Federal Government, to look at the kinds of family-enabling policies, family-enabling environments and to give parents support."

She says the findings would be similar anywhere in Australia.

"If you translated this across the country it would probably marry very closely with the kinds of children and the kinds of risk profiles that they had," Professor Stanley said.

"So I don't think this is going to be any different than many of the inner-city populations that you'd see across Australia."

She says many factors are making life difficult for new parents and in turn, their children.

"You can't tell people not to divorce but ... broken families are a very negative thing," she said. "Increasing and stressful hours of work are actually very negative for family functioning, an increased violence in the community, an increased violence within the home."

By At Risk Children 26 November 03

WHEN THE PUNISHMENT IS THE CRIME AND PLANTING THE SEED In New South Wales today if you get into trouble with the law you have little or no defence. Unless you're wealthy enough to get yourself a lawyer and even then the odds you will escape justice are minimal because of the infrastructure and resource of the government opposed to your Legal Aid Status. I am not saying Legal Aid cannot help you but I am saying they have become overworked and under resourced.

Zero Tolerance for Families
A three-strikes plan, which uses the threat of fines and jail to (force) parents to meet their parental obligations after divorce, could be introduced under a draft proposal from the parliamentary committee charged with reviewing the Family Law Act.

Fatherless Society "80-20 rule Vs 50-50 rule" family law
A Federal Parliamentary inquiry has heard that more children will grow up without fathers unless changes are made to family law. The committee is considering whether separated parents should share equal custody of their children.

80-20 Family Court rule irrational: Martian
A Martian came down from Mars and he noticed that children were the products of a father and a mother. When the family split up the children were still the products of a father and a mother.

Australia to tackle child abuse and rescue impoverished children?
A national report on child protection in the Northern Territory has blasted the system, saying it has abandoned the most impoverished children and families in Australia.

ATSIC call to smack kids?
The ATSIC commissioner said the high levels of regulation was not unlike the attention focused on Aboriginal families that led to the creation of a Stolen Generation of Aboriginal people. Mr Hill said he did not condone violence and admitted he did not smack his own children, but he stressed he wanted the issue of child discipline debated among Aboriginal people and community leaders.

No-Smacking Day for Children in NSW
Patmalar Ambikapathy the Children's Commissioner, HOBART Tasmania spoke to Gregory Kable a caseworker at Justice Action at the Controlling Crime Conference at Redfern in Sydney yesterday and we both realised how parallel our ideas about crime prevention were.

Judge renews child detainee release call
A Family Court judge, for a second time, has appealed to Immigration Minister, war criminal, Philip Ruddock to address the issue of children in detention.

Partnership to tackle Aboriginal children's health issues
Australian of the Year Professor Fiona Stanley has called for a sense of urgency in tackling the serious health problems facing Aboriginal children.

Graffiti: What they see is what you get
Father David Equal, a community leader has described the graffiti as the response to neglect by Australia's leaders, and the mainstream media, who have discriminated against people, recently.

Ruddock to challenge Family Court ruling
Ruddock said it is unfortunate the Full Court of the Family Court made the decision. He said a successful High Court challenge could see the children returned to detention.

Men told to change role but what for?
Fathers must take an equal role in parenting before their marriages end in divorce if changes to child custody laws are going to work, Pru Goward said yesterday.

Parents on the inside leave children on the edge
They have been dubbed the forgotten generation - the innocent casualties of their parents' crimes. New research shows that in 2001 14,500 NSW children had a parent in jail. And 60,000 NSW children under 16 have experienced the incarceration of a parent, more than half enduring the trauma of separation before they turn five.

States to cooperate on school curriculums but social skills don't rate? State and territory education ministers say Federal Education Minister Brendan Nelson's heavy-handed threats to school funding will not assist their ambitious initiative to develop consistent school curriculum’s in key subjects.[?]

Family Law: Shared parenting arrangements
My children were four and two years of age and it's been fourteen years since I seen my children who are now adults. I don't know where they are because the government fragmented us by order of the Family Court of Australia, which should be called, the Anti-Family Court of Australia. Big yawn!!!

School Curriculum needs balance? Life Skills and Academic Skills go hand in hand man Colin you need to be the students friends not their judge. Only when you can invite the students into the decision making process will you get an obligation by them to change their behaviour, because you Colin could lead by example and not by power.

Australian fathers under terrorist attack-by its Politicians
Ruthless terrorists tactics are used by the state deny devoted fathers their children, and place vulnerable children at risk when they are denied their fathers protection. Five hundred thousand Australian children are denied contact with their father usually resulting from orders of the state by the Family and other Courts.

When is Michael Richardson going to remove the offending Family Court affidavit from the NSW Parliament website? Criminal: Hills district MP Michael Richardson. When is he going to remove these uncorroborated lies and family court pleadings on the confidential Family Court affidavit from the NSW Parliament website?

NSW education professor warns further commitment needed
The author of a report on the New South Wales education system has urged the major political parties to do more for education in the election campaign.

Fiona Stanley, the children's crusader
It is all about prevention. As Fiona Stanley sees it, with one in five Australian teenagers experiencing significant mental health problems, there are just not enough treatment services to cope with the demand.

Parents call for feedback on social skills
Parents are calling for the same level of feedback on their children's social development as on their academic progress, according to a national survey.

Call to update suicide prevention strategy: study
A four-year study of suicides by people under the age of 18 in New South Wales, has found little difference between rates of suicide in rural and regional areas and cities.

Alcohol is just the beginning
People who start using alcohol by their mid teens are more than twice as likely as others to experiment with different drugs and to become dependent on drugs a major Australian study has found.

The punishment: Is the 'crime'
The punishment is the crime according to retired chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia Justice Alistair Nicholson. "Smacking a child ought to be seen as assault".

RESTORING TRUE JUSTICE:
Australian prisons are fast becoming the new asylums of the third millennium. The prison industry is booming, while Australia spends far less on mental health services than similar countries.

The Seed
Respect, you only get out what you have put in. What about Life Skills, Communication and Conflict Resolution. Evolution, perhaps some children and adults miss the whole or part of the course. I did, and so how surprised do you think I was when I realised my parents missed the course as well. Things like Compromise, Win Win, Empathy, and Love. Invisible energy and other skills like public speaking, how to Relate, Assuming, Blaming, Forgiveness, Freedom and Discrimination. This is how I learned respect. If you don't know what it is then how do you relate?

The Law According to Gregory Wayne Kable
I was sharply separated from both my children aged just 4 years and two years and sent to prison for the manslaughter of my wife. I cared for my children when my wife worked and I believe that I still had a responsibility to them even after the crisis situation and tragedy. I wanted to reassure them now and find out how they were doing.

Zero Tolerance for Families

Three-strikes and you're out of the family?

A three-strikes plan, which uses the threat of fines and jail to (force) parents to meet their parental obligations after divorce, could be introduced under a draft proposal from the parliamentary committee charged with reviewing the Family Law Act.

Non-custodial parents mainly fathers? Who for example fail to pick up their children at the time dictated by Family Court orders would face "reasonable but minimum financial penalties" the first and second time they breach conditions? If the parent breaches the conditions for a third time and shows a "pattern of deliberate defiance", then all access rights could be withdrawn.

But why mainly fathers? Is father a dirty word in 2003? Could that be discriminatory considering 80-20 Family Court rule that's 20 per cent access for fathers and 80 per cent access for mothers. So I suppose fathers are more likely to breach the arrangements that are typically unfairly made in the first place.

How does zero tolerance work when families are based on trial and error? You tell me. I'll tell you. Then we'll both know. I guess you don't have to be a rocket scientist to get on the parliamentary committee charged with reviewing the Family Law Act.

The parent could also face imprisonment if consistently continuing to breach court orders.

GKCNN has been told the fines are intended as a "wrap over the knuckles" to encourage the parent to correct their behaviour. The same "wrap over the knuckles" force and threats used by our government to get short term results which helps the community accept, quite wrongly, that "wrapping people over the knuckles" is a way to get things done. Which it is not!

How about inviting people into the decision making process and finding out more information about those involved. How about asking how parents can help, therefore getting and obligation from the parents to help, because they may have come up with a solution, taking into account their circumstances.

All too hard for the government, they'd rather find a violent solution that gives them short-term results but a long-term disaster coupled with the inflation of it.

It's okay though, because the fundamental group unit of society (the family) and the taxpayers will pay for it won't they?

GKCNN understands the recommendation is contained in a draft report distributed to members of the Family and Community Affairs Committee for their comment yesterday. The final report is due by the end of the year.

The draft report also is understood to recommend giving grandparents for the first time special status in custody hearings a proposal that could make it easier for them to gain custody of their grandchildren.

In addition, parents would have to include grandparents when developing their parenting plans, and to develop a range of strategies to ensure they are part of the mediation process.

The three-strike recommendation flows from a series of hearings where children have told of the disappointment of waiting for parents who never arrive. While the Family Court can fine parents who fail to meet their responsibilities; it is understood that the committee members believe they do not use their powers enough.

In other words the stick is not big enough, long enough and hard enough like a prison sentence or a fine?

Other recommendations being considered include requiring all separating couples to lodge parenting plans with a new tribunal.

The tribunal could include a child psychologist, a mediator and a family law expert. This effectively would mean that custody disputes would be removed from the Family Court and dealt with by a tribunal.

Family Court Chief Justice Alastair Nicholson has attacked this proposal, describing it as unconstitutional and impractical.

Not just that but lazy and general. Not particularly suitable for a families individual needs but more suitable for a bunch of victim industry graziers looking for a feed. Like lawyer's psychologists and mediators.

You need these people with a formula that incites violence and you also need to jail those who don't agree three times. Short answer! Lazy corporate greed opposed to a better community response.

The Prime Minister asked the Family and Community Affairs Committee to investigate a range of highly emotive issues, including automatic 50-50-child custody after divorce, when he announced the inquiry in June.

Frustrations over child custody and support consistently rank among the most common complaints raised with government backbenchers.

By No Human Error 25 Nov 03

Related:

Fatherless Society "80-20 rule Vs 50-50 rule" family law
A Federal Parliamentary inquiry has heard that more children will grow up without fathers unless changes are made to family law. The committee is considering whether separated parents should share equal custody of their children.

80-20 Family Court rule irrational: Martian
A Martian came down from Mars and he noticed that children were the products of a father and a mother. When the family split up the children were still the products of a father and a mother.

Australia to tackle child abuse and rescue impoverished children?
A national report on child protection in the Northern Territory has blasted the system, saying it has abandoned the most impoverished children and families in Australia.

ATSIC call to smack kids?
The ATSIC commissioner said the high levels of regulation was not unlike the attention focused on Aboriginal families that led to the creation of a Stolen Generation of Aboriginal people. Mr Hill said he did not condone violence and admitted he did not smack his own children, but he stressed he wanted the issue of child discipline debated among Aboriginal people and community leaders.

No-Smacking Day for Children in NSW
Patmalar Ambikapathy the Children's Commissioner, HOBART Tasmania spoke to Gregory Kable a caseworker at Justice Action at the Controlling Crime Conference at Redfern in Sydney yesterday and we both realised how parallel our ideas about crime prevention were.

Judge renews child detainee release call
A Family Court judge, for a second time, has appealed to Immigration Minister, war criminal, Philip Ruddock to address the issue of children in detention.

Partnership to tackle Aboriginal children's health issues
Australian of the Year Professor Fiona Stanley has called for a sense of urgency in tackling the serious health problems facing Aboriginal children.

Graffiti: What they see is what you get
Father David Equal, a community leader has described the graffiti as the response to neglect by Australia's leaders, and the mainstream media, who have discriminated against people, recently.

Ruddock to challenge Family Court ruling
Ruddock said it is unfortunate the Full Court of the Family Court made the decision. He said a successful High Court challenge could see the children returned to detention.

Men told to change role but what for?
Fathers must take an equal role in parenting before their marriages end in divorce if changes to child custody laws are going to work, Pru Goward said yesterday.

Parents on the inside leave children on the edge
They have been dubbed the forgotten generation - the innocent casualties of their parents' crimes. New research shows that in 2001 14,500 NSW children had a parent in jail. And 60,000 NSW children under 16 have experienced the incarceration of a parent, more than half enduring the trauma of separation before they turn five.

States to cooperate on school curriculums but social skills don't rate? State and territory education ministers say Federal Education Minister Brendan Nelson's heavy-handed threats to school funding will not assist their ambitious initiative to develop consistent school curriculum’s in key subjects.[?]

Family Law: Shared parenting arrangements
My children were four and two years of age and it's been fourteen years since I seen my children who are now adults. I don't know where they are because the government fragmented us by order of the Family Court of Australia, which should be called, the Anti-Family Court of Australia. Big yawn!!!

School Curriculum needs balance? Life Skills and Academic Skills go hand in hand man Colin you need to be the students friends not their judge. Only when you can invite the students into the decision making process will you get an obligation by them to change their behaviour, because you Colin could lead by example and not by power.

Australian fathers under terrorist attack-by its Politicians
Ruthless terrorists tactics are used by the state deny devoted fathers their children, and place vulnerable children at risk when they are denied their fathers protection. Five hundred thousand Australian children are denied contact with their father usually resulting from orders of the state by the Family and other Courts.

When is Michael Richardson going to remove the offending Family Court affidavit from the NSW Parliament website? Criminal: Hills district MP Michael Richardson. When is he going to remove these uncorroborated lies and family court pleadings on the confidential Family Court affidavit from the NSW Parliament website?

NSW education professor warns further commitment needed
The author of a report on the New South Wales education system has urged the major political parties to do more for education in the election campaign.

Fiona Stanley, the children's crusader
It is all about prevention. As Fiona Stanley sees it, with one in five Australian teenagers experiencing significant mental health problems, there are just not enough treatment services to cope with the demand.

Parents call for feedback on social skills
Parents are calling for the same level of feedback on their children's social development as on their academic progress, according to a national survey.

Call to update suicide prevention strategy: study
A four-year study of suicides by people under the age of 18 in New South Wales, has found little difference between rates of suicide in rural and regional areas and cities.

Alcohol is just the beginning
People who start using alcohol by their mid teens are more than twice as likely as others to experiment with different drugs and to become dependent on drugs a major Australian study has found.

The punishment: Is the 'crime'
The punishment is the crime according to retired chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia Justice Alistair Nicholson. "Smacking a child ought to be seen as assault".

RESTORING TRUE JUSTICE:
Australian prisons are fast becoming the new asylums of the third millennium. The prison industry is booming, while Australia spends far less on mental health services than similar countries.

The Seed
Respect, you only get out what you have put in. What about Life Skills, Communication and Conflict Resolution. Evolution, perhaps some children and adults miss the whole or part of the course. I did, and so how surprised do you think I was when I realised my parents missed the course as well. Things like Compromise, Win Win, Empathy, and Love. Invisible energy and other skills like public speaking, how to Relate, Assuming, Blaming, Forgiveness, Freedom and Discrimination. This is how I learned respect. If you don't know what it is then how do you relate?

The Law According to Gregory Wayne Kable
I was sharply separated from both my children aged just 4 years and two years and sent to prison for the manslaughter of my wife. I cared for my children when my wife worked and I believe that I still had a responsibility to them even after the crisis situation and tragedy. I wanted to reassure them now and find out how they were doing.

Howard Govt: Absolute vacuum on Compassion, Reality and Justice

The Northern Territory's Labor Senator, Trish Crossin, says the Federal Government showed no compassion for asylum seekers when it excised Melville Island from Australia's migration zone earlier this month.

The Labor Party yesterday voted down the Government's excision regulations after a motion was moved by the Democrats in the Senate.

Senator Crossin says the 14 Turks should have been brought onshore to be processed.

"This Government is yet to explain to the Darwin community why it has spent $7.4 million building a processing centre in Darwin when we have 14 Turks arrive only 20 kilometres off our shore," she said.

"Instead of towing that boat to Indonesia they could've brought those people onshore, housed them at the processing centre and dealt with the issue there."

The Darwin Refugee Action Network has welcomed the Senate overturning the excision regulation.

The network's Michael Hodson says the Labor Party should have stepped in earlier.

"It seems that on November 7 when the Labor Party had a chance to vote the regulation down at that stage they were playing it safe and allowed the Government in fact to carry out its action in removing a boatload of asylum seekers from Australian waters," he said.

"The action today to disallow the regulation, I guess, is fairly meaningless in regards to those 14 people whereas on Friday November 7 it may have had some direct impact on what happened."

By Brian Deegan 25 November 03

THE VOTER: Put your left foot forward and Vote 1 The Greens for Absolute Compassion, Reality and Justice.

Related:

Refugee policy, here is a new project: Burnside
The idea is to have thousands of Australian citizens writing to federal parliamentarians asking very simple, but hard, questions about the key aspects of refugee policy. I have devised a letter writing kit for this purpose. I attach a copy. It contains instructions which, are, I hope, fairly clear.

New A-G Ruddock has no regard for the independence of courts
As immigration Minister Ruddock's respect fell short of human rights when he tried to stop appeals introducing the Pacific Solution which means if an illegal immigrant is picked up in Australian waters by our navey they are sent elsewhere for processing. If their application for asylum is rejected they can be deported without legal appeal in Australia.

Judge renews child detainee release call
A Family Court judge, for a second time, has appealed to Immigration Minister, Philip Ruddock to address the issue of children in detention.

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.]

Ruddock to challenge Family Court ruling
Ruddock said it is unfortunate the Full Court of the Family Court made the decision. He said a successful High Court challenge could see the children returned to detention.

Children in Baxter Detention Centre: Tell me a fable...
Opponents vow to fight yesterday's Family Court ruling against the release of five children from South Australia's Baxter detention centre has strengthened the resolve of groups fighting the Federal Government's policy of detaining child asylum seekers.

Where did you say you reside Mr Carr?
New South Wales Premier Bob Carr says a protest outside Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock's Sydney home should have been called off for moral reasons. Mr Carr says people who want to protest against the Federal Government's immigration policies should do it in Sydney's CBD, not outside Mr Ruddock's home.

Three protesters tricked outside Ruddock's house
Protest organisers have been critical of police actions at a pro-refugee rally near Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock's Sydney home.

Australia: Child detention, tell me a fable...
Democrat's leader Andrew Bartlett wants all children in immigration detention centres released, in the wake of the Family Court refusal to put a stay on one of its landmark rulings.

Amnesty calls for release of children from detention centres
Human rights group Amnesty International is pressuring the Federal Government to immediately release children from detention centres in the wake of the latest report on detainee children.

Child detainees 'living in a nightmare', report finds
A report being released today documents disturbing evidence about mental health for children in detention centres. The report is a joint work by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, NSW University and NSW psychiatrists.

Demonstrators prepared for Baxter protest
Thousands of demonstrators will converged at Port Augusta in preparation for this weekend's expected protest at the Baxter detention centre.

Who cares wins? Those who inflict or those who endure?

When occupation means war then who cares wins? Not those who can inflict the most, but those who can endure the most, I would have thought.

This sounds like a job for the man of 'steal', war criminal John Howard. Can he ask the war criminal, what's his name? George W Bush, to get the hell out of Iraq?

The aid agency Care Australia has pulled its foreign staff out of Iraq and suspended its operations following a rocket grenade attack on its offices at the weekend.

Nobody was injured in the attack and the office sustained only minor damage.

All six foreign staff, four of them Australians, left Iraq over the weekend and 70 local staff have been told not to come to work until the security situation in reviewed.

Care Australia joins a growing list of non-government organisations, the United Nations and the International Red Cross in pulling out of Iraq as the security situation continues to deteriorate.

Three rocket-propelled grenades were fired at the building at about midnight local time on Friday, one hitting a tree and the other two causing some minor damage.

A spokesman for Care Australia said once the security situation was reviewed, the office may re-open with local staff after the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The Federal Opposition says it is appalled by an attack on the offices of Care Australia in Iraq. It has also received a death threat from a group calling itself Iraqi Resistance.

The Federal Opposition doesn't say it's time to get out of Iraq just that it's not fair.

Labor's Foreign Affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd says he understands the decision by Care to withdraw its foreign employees from Iraq.

"Care Australia, like the Red Cross, like the United Nations, are there as humanitarian agencies," he said.

"They're there to patch up the wounded and the sick, and to help those Iraqi people in despair as a result of the Iraq war.

"It is appalling when organisations like Care are targeted for direct military attack."

[But Care Australia wouldn't be there if the Coalition of the Killing did not pre-emptively attack Iraq.]

By Jim Sali Bin Foreign Affairs Editor in Baghdad 25 November 03

THE DOG: The aid agencies are there to patch up the wounded and the sick, after they were made wounded and sick by the Coalition of the Killing. But they are not there patching up the dead are they? Hence the resistance to occupation and genocide of the Iraqi people. So if there were no occupation then they wouldn't need to be there. So I guess it comes down to Who Cares Wins? Or does it?

Related:

Coalition of the Killing's alliance against law 'the wrong way'
Australia and Britain [and the Coalition of the Killing], could have agreed that the [resource], wars on Afghanistan, Iraq, and liberty, the proliferation of Security Housing Units, and Detention Centres, can be addressed unilaterally - a trend in the US that is feared all over the world - but must be faced collectively.

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.

Police surround protesters outside US Embassy
Thousands of protesters have marched to the Lodge to protest against [war criminal], US President George W Bush's visit. The protesters had rallied outside Parliament House, booing when the president arrived this morning and chanting "go home Bush you war criminal".

Police violent towards peaceful protesters
A protest march in Canberra involving more than 1,000 people has been violated, with some protesters breaking through an unlawful police barricade outside the United States Embassy.

Police cracked up about war criminal protest march
The protesters are about 100 metres from the entrance of Parliament House behind barriers and a long line of police officers. Busloads of protesters from Sydney are still on their way to the site.

Forty Labor MPs sign protest letter to Bush over Iraq
More than 40 Senators and Federal Labor MPs have signed an open letter to [war criminal], US President George W Bush, saying the war against Iraq set a dangerous precedent for the world.

50,000 protesters to turn out for anti-Bush protest
Protesters are expecting a 50,000-strong crowd to rally against issues such as the illegal and degrading, Iraq war and the treatment of prisoners, some renditioned and tortured, at Gunatanamo Bay in Cuba.

David Burchell: Paradox of anti-Americanism
[War criminal] President George W. Bush's trip to our shores today has focused attention on a striking fact - the apparently irresistible rise in hostility among many Australians towards the US.

Sydney Social Forum Oct 24-26
The war on Iraq has signalled an intensifying permanent war on the world's poor, adding more open unilateral military aggression to existing neo-liberal offensives conducted through organisations like the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and World Trade Organisation.

Refugee policy, here is a new project: Burnside
The idea is to have thousands of Australian citizens writing to federal parliamentarians asking very simple, but hard, questions about the key aspects of refugee policy. I have devised a letter writing kit for this purpose. I attach a copy. It contains instructions which, are, I hope, fairly clear.

Habib's wife to join Greens protest during Bush visit
The wife of an Australian man imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay has urged the Prime Minister to seek her husband's release when the war criminal, United States President visits Australia this week.

Pilger said White House knew Saddam was no threat
Australian investigative journalist John Pilger says he has evidence the war against Iraq was based on a lie which could cost George W Bush and Tony Blair their jobs and bring Prime Minister John Howard down with them.

Illegal and degrading war crimes: Society on the New World Order (OWN)! While Australia and the US are very distinctive societies war criminal, Prime Minister John Howard and war criminal, President George Bush share core values.

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.]

PM despot diversity shallow and cunning sales pitch
War criminal, Prime Minister, John Howard, says planned visits by the United States and Chinese presidents demonstrate the diversity of Australia's relationships.

US Deputy Sheriff dismisses Indonesian comment that US king of terrorists Deputy Sheriff to the US Prime Minister John Howard says he does not agree with comments by the Indonesian Vice-President Hamzah Haz that the real terrorist is the United States for attacking Iraq.

Americans given deficit of Carr's spin?
Bob Carr joined Richard Butler and other corporate and political leaders to discuss how the rest of the world views the US as well as the superpower's role in the world. [Brain-dead and totalitarian!!]

Beattie starts spreading the news in old New York!
Beattie must think he's king of the hill or top of the heap? This is not a democracy this is blatant war enthusiasm whipped up to ensure that Australia goes to war at the next available opportunity.

When the towns criers rang the bell!
THEY scaled the walls of the Sydney Opera House, sent a strong message to the people of Australia, with their "No War" message and reinforced the will of the people.

Australian way of life now threatened by State Terror
Defence [war criminal] Minister Robert Hill says plans to place about 1,000 army reservists on counter-terrorism duties [? scapegoat duties] do not mean there is a specific threat to Australia.

PM man of steel? Or killer and a thief?
Is JOHN Howard a killer and a thief or a man of steel after he dropped bombs on innocent civilians in order to fix the problem in Iraq for trade agreements with the US? Thousands of children are now dieing of disease.

Thousands march for peace! But does that mean no war?
THOUSANDS of people took to the streets around the country yesterday to march against the war in Iraq and for world peace.

The Empire Strikes Back: Sydney anti-war rally
School children in uniforms, groups of young men and older protesters have gathered on one side of Town Hall while at least 200 police have gathered around the area.

Human shield describes 'sickening' scenes
An Australian 'human shield' who has fled Iraq into neighbouring Jordan has described the sight of bombed out buildings and distraught Iraqis as "sickening".

US disturbed over 'biased' reporting in Arab media! But the US lies to the world! How could anyone describe pre-emptive strikes on a sovereign nation, occupation, genocide, torture, and human rights abuse by the Coalition of the Killing in a positive light?

Coalition force 'surprised' by stiff resistance for food aid
About 4,000-5,000 allied forces have launched what they vowed would be an all-out blitz. "We're going straight through that city," a US Marine officer, who asked not to be named, said. "It will be a Hail Mary with guns ablazing."

Australians don't support US military action: poll
The second Australia-wide poll since the war began has found most Australians disapprove of the United States using military force to depose Saddam Hussein.

Explosions rock Baghdad, jets overhead Iraq
BAGHDAD, March 20 [Rooters] A handful of explosions rocked Baghdad at dawn today as jets roared overhead, Iraqi anti-aircraft batteries opened up and air raid sirens sounded.

AUSTRALIA AT WAR! Moment of death...
"The opening stages of the disarmament of the Iraqi regime [? resource war on Iraq regime] have begun ," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer [should have] said minutes after the strikes. He said Bush would speak at 2.15pm (AEDT).

Hit the road Jack and don't you come back No War, Jack Straw, No War, No War! LONDON: Nick Buxton, organising the protest outside Mr Straw's house, said: "We got the message across that the war is going to have a very huge humanitarian impact and people are angry about this war."

Moment of death 'HoWARd'
JOHN Howard lost the war for public opinion as Australia braces to invade Iraq by the end of the week. With nationwide anti-war protests, and Labor scrapping 30 years of bipartisanship on sending troops overseas, the Coalition has failed all Australians.

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.

PM lost in space! Pre-emptive Strikes & Star Wars Defence!!
War criminal PM backs missile defence investigation but he is not on his own. Bob Carr dubbed Darth Vader after draconian laws were introduced in NSW following John Howard's threats to strike first and ask questions later.

Doom gloom and 'Boom' Downer shakes the room?
"Optimism is better and so is 'constructive feedback' because using constructive feedback means that the negatives also have a role in the construction of a nation. In short we have all the time in world to solve problems properly and that is what our leaders should be focusing on when they decide to inform all Australians. Hey what's the rush?" He said.

Hypocrisy not Democracy? No Blood for Oil!
Howard has refused to back down on the threat of war despite hundreds of thousands of Australians rallying against it. The question is why?

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.

U.S. AMBASSADOR WARNED TO STOP MEDDLING:
The Australian Federal Opposition and Labor Party Leader, Simon Crean, has again warned the U.S. ambassador to stop meddling in Australian politics.

War: Part one The human cost
On the road to Basra, ITV was filming wild dogs as they tore at the corpses of the Iraqi dead. Every few seconds a ravenous beast would rip off a decaying arm and make off with it over the desert in front of us, dead fingers trailing through the sand, the remains of the burned military sleeve flapping in the wind. "Just for the record,'' the cameraman said to me. Of course. Because ITV would never show such footage.

Mandela speaks out against Bush, Blair
Former South African leader Nelson Mandela has lashed out at US President George W Bush's stance on Iraq, saying the US leader has no foresight, and cannot think properly.

All the way with (LPK) Love Peace and Kindness: Dalai Lama
Communication is a two way street. Threats and punishment solve nothing and serve none. In fact it is against the law in most countries to threaten or punish a person.

Hill defends decision to attack Iraq: Step by step?
FEDERAL Defence [War] Minister [Sinister] Robert Hill has defended the government's decision to send troops [ send militia] to the Persian Gulf [ to attack Iraq] in readiness for any [pre-emptive strike that would cause a] conflict with Iraq.

Pleas for peace ring the globe
Anti-war demonstrators turned out in their hundreds of thousands around the world on Saturday to protest against United States military preparations for an invasion of Iraq.

Not too late for Iraq peace, Blix says
But we all know that's rubbish now. The Coalition of the Killing were not seeking WMD in Iraq, they were there for their resource wars. So who gave the 'UN' and Blix the wrong information back then? War criminals!

George Bush's other poodle
John Howard, Australia's PM, is the mouse that roars for America, whipping his country into war fever and paranoia about terrorism within.

US prepares for trade talks with Australia but it's not worth it!
The office of the United States Trade Representative has started formally preparing its negotiating position for the first round of talks on a free trade agreement between Australia and the US.

First strike and you're out!
The ideology of a super loser? John Howard shocks the nation again. A nation who cannot believe Howard's stupidity following his [complicity in the CIA's false flag operation, the Bali bombing.]

UN charter doesn't reflect new self-defence needs: Hill?
The Defence [War] Minister, Robert Hill, says the United Nations' charter needs to be changed to help countries defend themselves against potential threats. [?] [Pre-emptive strikes on soveriegn nation states like Iraq and Afghanistan?]

About Protesting &: Corporate media, Ben English and Rachel Morris who spell their names in capitals? Yes too right! Ordinary people some protesting against the occupation, murder and genocide of hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children. And you call yourselves reporters? You should hang your head in shame and go get jobs defending those poor innocent people. Shame on you!!!

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.]

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.

Peter Beattie nominated as Australian of the year: Howard

From left to right, war criminal, John Howard, Pauline Hanson Hunter, QLD Premier Peter Beattie, Crocodile Hunter, Steve Erwin, and framed backpacker murderer, Bradley John Murdoch.

Parody: Australian Prime Minister, war criminal, John Howard has nominated Peter Beattie, Pauline Hanson Hunter, on the road to becoming Australian of the Year.

Premier of Queensland Peter Beattie has nominated Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter, as on the road to becoming Australian of the Year.

Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, should have nominated, Bradley John Murdoch, the Hunted as on the road to becoming Australian of the Year.

Bradley Murdoch the man alleged to have murdered English tourist Peter Falconio who has been acquitted of rape and abduction charges in the South Australian District Court.

Those charges which were a set up in a preliminary sense to have Murdoch give a DNA sample in the Falconio trial and now allegedly has produced evidence in the Falconio trial.

Steve Irwin should have said, Murdoch has been set up for the tourist dollar and deserves to be Australian of the year. I've got plenty and I don't need the publicity.

Tourist dollar drives set-up for crime

The man alleged to have murdered English tourist Peter Falconio has been acquitted of rape and abduction charges in the South Australian District Court. Bradley John Murdoch, 45, was charged with two counts of rape, two counts of false imprisonment and two counts of indecent assault after an alleged incident in South Australia's Riverland in August last year.

The man who is world famous for wrestling giant crocs and saying "crikey" may hope, Murdoch will represent the Tourist Dollar in the quest to become the Australian of the Year.

Murdoch is an Aussie icon, falsely imprisoned and a tourism ambassador taking the brunt for the Australian tourist dollar and the capitalists who believe that people can be sacrificed at any cost in relation to maintaining tourist confidence in Australia.

Irwin should have chosen him last night to represent Australian tourism next year.

Murdoch would say it would be a great honour but he'd rather be free in the war on liberty.

This would be a huge honour for myself and for tourism, and you know what? Who would have thought that I could have a chance at winning something so incredibly honourable.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie would thank John Howard but there are better people out there than rich capitalists who sacrifice people's lives for politics or the tourist dollar.

As Irwin would say by 'crikey' this is a good decision.

Other achievers to carry the Australian flag include Pauline Hanson Political Prisoner of the year and Indigenous educator Pearl Duncan, who was named the Queenslands Senior Australian of the Year, and North Queensland medical student Alice Chang is Queensland's Young Australian of the Year.

Two local hero awards went to Cherbourg State School principal Chris Sarra and Chinese community leader Eddie Liu.

By Crikey and Crocodile Prison Reporters 21 November 03

Related:

Should Pauline Hanson have gone to gaol in the first place?: Carmen Lawrence My answer was generic rather than specific to her case - that I could not see the benefit of jailing people for non-violent crimes; that in such cases we would all be better served if the focus was on reparation rather than retribution, rehabilitation rather than revenge."

Coalition of the Killing's alliance against law 'the wrong way'
Australia and Britain [and the Coalition of the Killing], could have agreed that the [resource], wars on Afghanistan, Iraq, and liberty, the proliferation of Security Housing Units, and Detention Centres, can be addressed unilaterally - a trend in the US that is feared all over the world - but must be faced collectively.

Tourist dollar drives set-up for crime
The man alleged to have murdered English tourist Peter Falconio has been acquitted of rape and abduction charges in the South Australian District Court. Bradley John Murdoch, 45, was charged with two counts of rape, two counts of false imprisonment and two counts of indecent assault after an alleged incident in South Australia's Riverland in August last year.

Beattie starts spreading the news in old New York!
Beattie must think he's king of the hill or top of the heap? This is not a democracy this is blatant war enthusiasm whipped up to ensure that Australia goes to war at the next available opportunity.