Lex Australia

Lex Australia

 

Came across an old post at Gavin Putland’s Leges Dubiae blog which coincides with what we tried to say way back when Haneef was the name on everyone’s lips.

Given the change of government and all, it seems timely to question this preposterous example of the legislative legacy of the Howard years.

It wasn’t so much about the guilt or innocence of Haneef, or the appalling mismanagement of the case by the Federal Police under the even more appallingly incompetent and bloody Mick Keelty. It was that the law under which Haneef was arrested and charged was stupid, or, as Putland puts it, “dubious”. Haneef is not a citizen of Australia and the act for which he was charged (giving his Sim Card to someone “with reckless disregard” for whether that person was a terrorist) was carried out in another country.

The whole idea is ludicrous. Putland says:

” Although the Statute of Westminster gave the Australian Parliament the power to make laws with “extra-territorial operation”, it has always been understood that such operation would affect only Australian citizens. By charging Haneef, Australia is now asserting the power to make laws binding on non-Australians outside Australia.”

As Alex Downer would have said, “That’s pwepostewous!” (God, don’t we miss him already?)

The problem even goes further.

This is what Haneef was charged with:

” intentionally providing resources to a terrorist organisation consisting of persons including Sabeel Ahmed and Kafeel Ahmed, his cousins, being reckless as to whether the organisation was a terrorist organisation”

This pre-empts British law, since the British have never charged either Ahmed brother with being a member of a “terrorist organisation”, and such an assertion, had it even been made, has never been tested in a court whether British or Australian. (Indeed, it was not even legally established or legally asserted at the time that the incident was a “terrorist act”.) Nevertheless, the Australian Federal Police, by making the charge under the extra-territorial powers of the you beaut Ruddock/Keelty legislation, arrogated the pre-eminence of Australian law over British law. That is just plain dumb.

The Lex Romana was intended (we appear to recall from long ago) to simplify and organise all the laws for all people under Rome’s sway. It is said to be Rome’s most important, lasting and unique gift to the world.

But now if Australia can make laws for the whole of the rest of the world – not just , Australians, Australia and its territories – and if every other nation, therefore, can also, with equal justification, make laws for everyone in the world, then we have a little more confusion than was intended by the codification of Roman law.

Saudi Arabia, for example, could take Australia’s example and under its extraterritorial powers impose Sharia law on non-Saudis living in Australia (i.e. most of us). It could then apply for extradition to Saudi Arabia of anyone it had reason to believe had committed adultery, say, so that they could be stoned to death – or perhaps just the women, in Sharia’s very civilised and enlightened way.

Yes, it sounds like a joke but it’s not. The law is a joke. But this joke of a law was seriously applied to Mohamed Haneef and threatened to send him to prison in Australia for fifteen very serious years.

And you know, the terrible irony is that the law was written (so hastily and so abominably poorly) with only one purpose in mind – the re-election of the Howard government…….

Oops!

The law is even worse and more stupid than this and you can read more of what we said in July. And here is a distillation of the relevant sections of the law under which Haneef was charged.

In a nutshell, the law means that:

if anyone, whether Australian or not, anywhere in the world, sells, shares, or gives any thing or any service, to anyone anywhere in the world, and they do not take reasonable and verifiable steps to assure themselves that the person to whom they provide the thing or service is not [or could not at some indeterminate time in the future be deemed to be] a terrorist or part of a terrorist organisation and they do not take reasonable steps to assure themselves that the person (or organisation) could not use it or plan to use it in any way as part of a terrorist act then they may be found guilty of the same crime that Haneef was charged with and spend fifteen years in prison.

So of course it’s ridiculous. But it’s no joke.

And it is still Australian law.

Mouldy Media Pop-Tart

Mouldy Media Pop-Tart

 

 

Just a question:

Why do we have to keep putting up with fatuous, mouldy, media pop-tart, Gerard Henderson, spouting all over the place?

This pompous irrelevance who ludicrously has laid claim to being in the political centre, whose prognostications and insights have proved so utterly wrong for so long – why do they keep trundling him out? Is it just because his is the number they have on speed-dial? There he was again tonight on Lateline.

Why?

If the ABC wants really accurate, insightful, expert commentary why don’t they talk to Possum, Mumble, the Pollbludger, Simon Jackman and Bryan at OzPolitics?

These guys along with the ABC’s own Antony Green were the most interesting, most expert and most accurate commentators on the campaign and the polling.

So when can we hope to see the end of the influence of the appalling Albrechtsen and the other Howard political appointees on the ABC Board? When will they put Henderson out to the right-wing pasture where he belongs?

Just asking…

Hi …

Hi …

Hi!

 

 

Hi Hi!

 

 (gulp)

Hi hi ho!

(gulp)

Hip! Hip! Hooray!

The national result, the result in Bennelong and the role the Greens played in getting Labor over the line are a clear enough repudiation of Howard’s political ideology.

Thanks to Possum, to the Pollbludger, to Ozpolitics, to Mumble and to Simon Jackman.

But especially thanks to Possum (whose site now sports the baseball bat) for helping to keep us sane through the scary last days.

So we’d just like to say to our old mate and penpal, Bob Correll:

We’re sorry, Bob that you’ll have to deal with the fact that it was largely your own hard work, in DEWR and as Deputy Secretary in DIC, that was responsible for so much of the swing against the government.

I’m sure you’ll be more than aware of just what effective and efficient services are provided to people in search of employment – as we expect you shortly to be – by CentreLink and the Job Network Members you helped to set up. (Perhaps you could show your mate Mick Keelty how to get there.)

So vale, Bob, old mate.

Such Is Life

Such Is Life

“Unemployed at last!”

 

 We think this is the best Australian novel ever written. Yes, we know there are many contenders and perhaps The Tree of Man comes a close second.

But to us, at least, Such Is Life by “Tom Collins” (Joseph Furphy), published in 1903, is the best literary expression of enduring Australian values and character.

The colour and variety of the characters; Furphy’s obvious affection for the people who sparsely, but so vibrantly, populate the bush; the good-humoured, fatalistic, attitude to the daily struggle; the disrespect for authority (now on the brink of extinction); the sense of the Australian bush which is not so much read as absorbed from the pages; the hilariously laconic humour; and the story-telling genius of the author; all of this would be enough.

But most of all we like Furphy’s own description of the book:

‘temper, democratic;
bias, offensively Australian’.

In fact this is so perfect that we want it for our own motto. Indeed, why not for Australia’s motto?

 

 

The 1956 dustjacket says:

” Such Is Life cannot be described: it has to be read. And when it has been read it will be read again for the pleasure that its human greatness and its subtle craftsmanship give.

 

“First published in 1903, this book is an Australian classic whose stature has grown with the years, whose intricacies and strength have been the subject of endless discussions and literary essays. ‘Tom Collins’ (who was Joseph Furphy) is widely held to be the greatest and most individual of Australian writers – partly, perhaps, because his ideals are those which all true democrats most resolutely cherish.

 

… in stressing its Australian core we must not forget that it is also unique in English literature. The author’s genius soars above accepted rules and forms, creating in rare and beautiful language a work that is all of life as he knew it.

 

“No less great as a man than as a writer, Tom Collins wrote with the complete sincerity of one whose independence of mind and essential honesty made him discard all forms of sham. Wit, shrewd observation and delicious humour are blended in this richly entertaining book to give an illuminating picture of humanity and of Australia.”

What makes this novel so relevant today? In the light of Tony Abbott’s “excellent” advice about WorkChoices’ protections, it’s the first line of Such Is Life:

Unemployed at last!

Passionate Indifference

Passionate Indifference

Indonesian war crime 

 

” N SW Deputy Coroner, Dorelle Pinch, this week found that the newsmen known as the Balibo Five were deliberately killed by Indonesian forces 32 years ago to cover up the Indonesian invasion of East Timor.

 

She has recommended that the Federal Attorney-General consider prosecuting those responsible, including military commander turned politician Yunus Yosfiah.

Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock says any information referred to him by the coroner will be passed on to the Australian Federal Police and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

 

Mr Ruddock says it is not his role to assess whether any offence has been committed, as the AFP are responsible for war crimes investigations and the DPP is responsible for prosecuting anyone charged.

Quite. And you would be entitled to expect that since it doesn’t have to do with secretly imprisoning Australians or incarcerating refugees the Nâzgul would have difficulty whipping himself into a frenzy of indifference about war crimes and injustice.

So why not do the obvious thing and palm the whole thing off onto the Indonesians’ friend, the notoriously inept Keelty and a DPP with a track record of getting the big questions wrong?

Luckily, the A-G will be toast (qua A-G) by Sunday and hopefully the Commissioner will do the decent thing and follow his masters into political oblivion.

Howard made the standard Howard-weasel-words flick-off: “I want to study what the coroner has said. I take what he [sic] said seriously. It was a tragic event and we will treat the coroner’s report seriously as it should be and if there’s anything we need to do, we will do it.”

And who would be deciding whether there was anything he needed to do? Why, he him very self! Standard plausible deniability. “Of course I didn’t lie. I said we would do anything we needed to, and we have determined there was nothing we needed to do, so we didn’t.”

Downer helped by explaining how it would be all too hard.

Rudd has been slightly more positive – “those responsible should be held to account” – but still leaving it up to someone else.

Then there’s the Indonesians. “Just because we love the death penalty and call it part of our “positive laws”, doesn’t mean we like killing people…oh, except Australians. Oh, and the Timorese. Oh, and the West Papuans.”

Hopefully we won’t leave it all to the corruption, ignorance, racism, bigotry and brutality of the Indonesian glitterati – its politicians, military, police, judiciary and religious leaders.

Trust Me…I’m From the Feds…

Trust Me…I’m From the Feds…

 

Wha..!? I woun’t not of never of dun nuffink so bad like wot you say!

 

Federal agent Bruce Pegg, who interviewed Mr Ul-Haque in prison, told NSW Supreme Court judge Michael Adams he had done nothing improper by questioning Mr Ul-Haque without a caution.

” Why didn’t you caution him when you were going to ask him questions which were capable of exposing him to a criminal charge?” Justice Adams asked him.

 

“There was no intention in my mind of using that conversation in any proceedings against Mr Ul-Haque,” Agent Pegg said.

 

Justice Adams: “It would rather depend on what he told you, wouldn’t it?”

Thank christ for judges like Adams.

Supposedly Ul-Haque declined the kind offer to wear a wire to attempt to incriminate another person. He had an opinion about that, he told an AFP officer, who allegedly said:

“Well you know what they say about opinions: opinions are like arseholes; everyone’s got one.”

And you know what they say about arseholes: Mick Keelty’s got thousands of them. That’s how he shits on Australia. 

Justice Adams said ASIO officers

“committed the criminal offences of false imprisonment and kidnapping.”

When do they go to prison?

Have they been arrested and charged yet?
Where are they being detained?
Are they being pursued and prosecuted by the AFP with the same vigour and determination that it showed against…oh, I don’t know…Mohamed Haneef, say?