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Project SafeCom News and Updates 25 November 2005
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Project SafeCom
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Nov 24, 2005 17:13 PST
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Project SafeCom News and Updates 25 November 2005
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¤ - In this Edition - ¤
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1. "Save Van": Urgent message from Amnesty International
2. 'Take a Stand Barnaby' campaign
3. 233 permanent residents may have been deported since 2002
3a. Ad hoc freedom - not a way to run the Immigration Department
4. The Kiwi who went to Baxter
5. Permanent resident faces deportation
6. Vanstone to review Turkey deportation
7. Almost 300 given their marching orders
8. Deported man probably entitled to visa: lawyer
9. Sister pleads 'let my brother come home'
10. Deportee's only home a snowy road
11. Bring deported man home: Beazley
12. John Valder's Open Letter to John Howard
13. Anti-Terror Laws May Target Indigenous Dissent
14. Deaths In Custody Watch Committee faces closure
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-|| This is the Project SafeCom Newsletter - also published
-|| as the RAC-VIC Newsletter (Racvicnews) since July 2004 by agreement
-|| with RAC Victoria, which endorsed that their news service be
-|| managed by Project SafeCom. More information about us below.
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===========================================
1. "Save Van": Urgent message from Amnesty International
===========================================
Dear friends and supporters,
I am sending you this message today to ask for your continued and urgent
support to stop the brutal execution of Van Toung Nguyen.
Please SMS* "Save Van" to 1977 4539* with your Name, Suburb and State. We
will urgently send an appeal on your behalf to the Singapore Government to
stop the execution scheduled for December 2.
Over the past few weeks I have met with family, friends and supporters of
Van. I have been heartened by the extraordinary response of so many
Australians to try and stop this cruel act. We are not alone - we have been
joined by many tens of thousands from Mongolia to Israel to Sierra Leone to
the USA.
While there is life there is still hope.
Across the world governments are rejecting the death penalty. It is an
unfair, cruel and unusual punishment which is routinely abused and handed
out unfairly. Not only does it result in the loss of a life, but it also
brutalises relatives and communities. Amnesty International will continue
to campaign to end the death penalty until it is wiped off the books in all
countries.
We need as many concerned Australians as possible to SMS "Save Van" to 1977
4539* with their Name, Suburb and State before December 1
I urge you to forward this email to your friends and family.
In the coming days Amnesty International Australia will be holding events
to show our opposition to this cruel act and our support for Van's
family. I encourage you to join us and show your support.
Thank you again for your commitment to human rights.
Yours sincerely
Russell Thirgood
National President
Amnesty International Australia
*SMS is 55 cents to cover costs and GST. Premium service so not available
on all phone. Visit www.amnesty.org.au for more option to take action.
==========================
2. 'Take a Stand Barnaby' campaign
==========================
From lists
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 17:20:34 +0800
Message: 'Take a Stand Barnaby'
There is a new campaign active on the ACTU's Rights at Work website - "Take
a Stand Barnaby" We are urging people to sign the petition asking Senator
Joyce to vote no to Work Choices in the Senate next week.
The petition can be found here:
http://www.rightsatwork.com.au/campaigns/takeastand
Signatories are encouraged to add their own message to help persuade
Senator Joyce.
If you have a spare five minutes, please inform your colleagues of the
Petition and sign it yourselves. We're aiming to collect 10,000 signatures
by Friday.
Thank you,
Regards
Jessica Stanley
ACTU Web Campaigner
www.rightsatwork.com.au
Tel: (03) 9664 7332
==============================================
3. 233 permanent residents may have been deported since 2002
==============================================
Kerry Nettle - Australian Senate
Australian Greens Senator for NSW
24.11.05
Australian Greens Senator Kerry Nettle revealed today that Mr Jovicic's
tragic deportation is just the tip of the iceberg of another immigration
scandal, with up to 233 permanent residents being deported in the last
three years.
"Again the Minister for Immigration is acting without discretion or
compassion. The new DIMIA slogan 'People - Our Business' has a hollow ring
when confronted by the people's lives it has ruined," said Senator Nettle.
"Once again the Minister ignores injustice in her Department and then
refuses to take responsibility when it becomes a scandal. The Minister
should immediately arrange for Mr Jovicic's return."
In answer to a Question on Notice asked by Senator Nettle the Department of
Immigration revealed that in:
• 2002-03, a total of 115 permanent residents departed Australia;
• 2003-04, a total of 44 permanent residents departed Australia; and
• 2004-05, a total of 74 permanent residents departed Australia.
Departmental records indicate that most of these departures were removals
of unlawful non-citizens."
"There are permanent residents suffering in immigration detention in
Australia and there may be others suffering a similar fate to Mr Jovicic
overseas.
"I have met a man who has lived in Australia since he was six years old who
has been imprisoned in Villawood for almost three years awaiting
deportation to Turkey.
"These people have had contact with the criminal justice system, but most
learnt that behaviour in Australia. To dump them in another country, with
which they have no connection and don't speak the language, is cruel and
disproportionate punishment that the Minister should not be allowing to
happen. I asked Senator Vanstone in Parliament why she supports double
jeopardy for these people.
"Prior to 1999 the law stipulated that if you've been a resident for more
than ten years, you could not be deported. Now under section 501 of the
Migration Act, the Immigration Minister is ruining the lives of people like
Mr Jovicic on a regular basis.
Contact: Kristian Bolwell 0411 638 320
================================================
3a. Ad hoc freedom - not a way to run the Immigration Department
================================================
Greens Media
Senator Kerry Nettle
25.11.05
Australian Greens Senator Kerry Nettle today welcomed Minister Vanstone's
decision to grant Fatih Tuncok a bridging visa, but criticised her
administration of the Department which appears to be based on ad hoc, quick
fixes and only acting when embarrassed by adverse publicity.
"Once again it appears that Minister Vanstone is making policy on the run,
implementing a quick fix when the spotlight is turned on the
maladministration of her portfolio," said Senator Nettle.
"I've met 'Jockey' Tuncok at Villawood Detention Centre, and I know he will
be enormously relieved to be freed from almost three years in detention.
"The question should be asked why it took so long for the Minister to act
and why she has only acted when the story hits the papers.
"The Minister should revoke his deportation order, not just grant a Removal
Pending Bridging Visa, which implies she still intends to deport him or she
may have another Jovicic situation on her hands.
"In answer to a question I asked, the department revealed that 233
permanent residents have been deported in the last three years under
section 501 of the Migration Act. People should not be punished over and
over - it breaches the long established legal principle of double jeopardy.
"Rather than ad hoc fixes when the heat is on, the Minister should cease
detaining and deporting permanent residents under section 501. Prior to
1999 there was a common sense limit that permanent residents who had lived
here for over 10 years can not be deported."
Contact: Kristian Bolwell 0411 638 320
======================
4. The Kiwi who went to Baxter
======================
Project SafeCom website
27 October 2005
[....]
My partner and I had just completed our weekly shop at the local
supermarket. We returned home to drop off the groceries and take off again
to pick up her youngster from school. It was then back home for a family
fish and chip and video evening.
Two plain clothed policemen greeted me at the gate. They asked me to
accompany them. When I asked what this was in connection with they assured
me that we were just going up the road and back. I knew I had nothing more
to worry about than an overlooked traffic fine so, with curiosity and
without concern I complied.
Ten minutes later I was being held at the Maribynong Detention Centre.
[....]
http://www.safecom.org.au/baxter-kiwi.htm
=============================
5. Permanent resident faces deportation
=============================
ABC ONLINE NEWS
Friday, November 25, 2005. 1:20am (AEDT)
The case of a Melbourne man who was deported and is now destitute on the
streets of Belgrade has brought to light that of another man, due to be
deported to Turkey.
The Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone has asked for a detailed report on
Robert Jovicic, the Melbourne man who was deported to Serbia, a country
where he has no language skills or support network.
His family fears he will not survive unless he is allowed to return to
Australia.
And there is mounting concern over the practice of deporting permanent
residents to countries they know little about.
The ABC's Lateline has learnt of the case of Fatih Tuncok, who moved from
Turkey to Sydney at the age of six.
Since moving from Turkey, Mr Tuncok - now 39 - racked up a significant
criminal record, including a conviction for armed robbery.
He is now in Villawood Detention Centre, pending his deportation back to
Turkey.
Psychologist Paula Farrugia counsels Mr Tuncok; she says he will not cope
if he is deported.
"He has no formal qualifications to speak of," she said.
Like Mr Jovicic, Mr Tuncok has had his permanent residency cancelled under
section 501 of the Migration Act.
Under those provisions the Immigration Minister can deport permanent
residents who have been sentenced to significant jail terms.
The Greens say it has affected hundreds of people, many whom know no
country other than Australia.
In official documentation, the former immigration minister Phillip Ruddock
spelt out clear reasons why Mr Tuncok should be deported, including his
record for robbery and home invasion.
But it seems the publicity about Mr Jovicic is having an impact.
Senator Vanstone today called for a detailed report on his case.
Mr Jovicic's predicament has attracted widespread coverage, after Lateline
told of his deportation to Serbia, a country where he was not born, and
hardly speaks the language.
"I've explained to the embassy that if a man has not found a reason worth
dying for, he's not fit for living," he said.
"This is my reason, if I am considered Australian trash then I will rot on
Australian soil.
"I have indicated this to them - and I cannot survive here."
Mr Jovicic's brother, Dragan, faced similar treatment.
But he avoided deportation as he has children and is married.
His sister Susanna believes Mr Jovicic must return to Australia or he will
perish.
"If the Government doesn't do anything to get him home, he will die," she said.
"He hasn't got anywhere to stay or support himself."
Even though winter is yet to officially begin, it is already cold in Belgrade.
Mr Jovicic has only one night left in his hotel, paid for by the Australian
embassy.
He says his next booking is on the familiar steps of the Australian embassy.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200511/s1516426.htm
=============================
6. Vanstone to review Turkey deportation
=============================
news.com.au
From: AAP
November 25, 2005
IMMIGRATION Minister Amanda Vanstone will personally review the case of a
Sydney man awaiting deportation to Turkey after living in Australia for 33
years.
Senator Vanstone has become involved following an approach by the Turkish
ambassador.
Fatih Tuncok, 39, who arrived in Australia from Turkey when he was just six
years old, is being held in Sydney's Villawood detention centre after
having had his permanent residency cancelled by former immigration minister
Philip Ruddock because of a string of convictions for robberies.
A spokesman for Senator Vanstone said today Mr Tuncok had been granted a
bridging visa while character checks were made.
"This is a case that the Turkish ambassador has raised directly with the
minister and as a result she undertook to review the case personally," the
spokesman said.
"The minister has granted a removal pending bridging visa (RPBV) subject to
character checks which are yet to be finalised.
"The minister has asked the department, as with all RPBV holders, to
continue to review the case and provide her with advice on options for
resolution."
The spokesman said the immigration department would continue discussions
about the case with Turkish authorities.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17359570-29277,00.html
==============================
7. Almost 300 given their marching orders
==============================
The Age
By Meaghan Shaw
November 25, 2005
ALMOST 300 permanent residents have been removed from Australia in the past
five years for failing character tests.
Swinburne University researcher Glenn Nicholls calls it "the most sustained
and energetic action on deportation that there has been in Australia".
A stronger character and conduct test was introduced into the Migration Act
in 1999, broadening the power of the Immigration Department and the
immigration minister to cancel the visas of non-citizens.
Previously, residents sentenced to one-year prison terms were exempt from
deportation if they had lived in Australia for more than 10 years.
The new section, used recently to remove US activist Scott Parkin, was
designed to keep terrorists, murderers, drug traffickers, gun-runners and
money launderers from finding permanent sanctuary in Australia.
Since 2000-01, 293 people have been removed under this section, while only
18 criminals have been deported under the superseded section.
Sydney University constitutional law expert Mary Crock said citizenship had
a "fragile status" in Australia because it was not guaranteed under the
constitution.
ON THE LIST
• STEFAN NYSTROM Born in Sweden while mother on visit and came to Australia
aged 27 days. Never took out citizenship. Visa cancelled on character and
conduct grounds in August 2004 following serious criminal conviction. Case
could go to the High Court.
• JASON SHAW Born in Britain and came to Australia in 1974 aged 18 months.
Has two Australian children and a serious criminal record. High Court in
2003 said he was liable to be deported.
• GRAHAM TAYLOR Migrated from Britain in 1977, aged seven. Convicted of sex
offences against children. Placed in immigration detention twice after
release from prison pending deportation. Released on appeal to High Court,
which later overturned his compensation award, ruling he had been legally
detained.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/almost-300-given-their-marching-orders/2005/11/24/1132703316493.html
===================================
8. Deported man probably entitled to visa: lawyer
===================================
ABC ONLINE NEWS
Thursday, November 24, 2005. 5:00pm (AEDT)
A prominent immigration lawyer says the Immigration Department may have
ignored the residency rights of a man who was deported to Serbia Montenegro.
Robert Jovicic, who arrived in Australia as a two-year-old, had his
permanent residency revoked over burglary offences.
The 38-year-old is now effectively stateless in the Serbian capital, Belgrade.
Solicitor Michaela Byers says three of her clients in a similar situation
have now been released from detention.
"The law states that if you become absorbed into the Australian community
you cease to be an immigrant - so you are no longer a non-citizen, you are
treated the same as an Australian citizen," she said.
Ms Byers says deported people like Mr Jovicic should be contacted to see if
they had the right to stay.
"I'd be surprised if he's not entitled to an absorbed person's visa," she said.
Mr Jovicic's family is calling for the Federal Government to allow him to
return to Australia.
Minister for Immigration Senator Amanda Vanstone says she has asked for a
detailed report on the case.
But she says it is appropriate that people of bad character can be removed
from Australia.
Senator Vanstone says Mr Jovicic can apply for Serbian citizenship.
But his sister Susanna says Mr Jovicic is effectively Australian.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200511/s1516207.htm
================================
9. Sister pleads 'let my brother come home'
================================
The Age
By Jewel Topsfield, Canberra
November 25, 2005
SUSANNA Jovicic is petrified her Melbourne brother will freeze to death on
the steps of Australia's embassy in Serbia unless the Australian Government
relents and allows him to come home.
Despite living all but two years of his life in Australia, 38-year-old
Robert Jovicic was deported on character grounds to Serbia in June last
year after serving two years in prison for a string of burglaries committed
to feed a heroin habit.
Mr Jovicic's brother Dragan, who also served time in jail for burglary, was
allowed to stay in Melbourne, even though Ms Jovicic said he was also not
an Australian citizen.
Shortly after Robert Jovicic arrived in Serbia, the Serbian Government
refused to recognise him as a citizen, leaving the bereft, mentally ill man
— who had never been to Serbia before and barely spoke the language —
stateless and destitute. He is is unable to work or obtain medical
treatment or welfare services.
"I'm really concerned because I can hear in his voice he can't take any
more," Ms Jovicic said. "
"All along Robbie has been screaming about the injustice done — how many
times can someone pay for a crime? He has already served his sentence,
surely he doesn't deserve a life sentence on top of that?" Ms Jovicic said
her brother had attempted suicide several times. "He knows either he dies
under someone else's roof or in the street. If they won't bring him home he
might as well die as close to Australia as possible, which is the embassy."
Mr Jovicic, who was born in Paris, moved to Australia with his siblings and
Yugoslavian-born parents in 1968 when he was two. He never took out
Australian citizenship.
The two brothers became heroin addicts and recorded numerous convictions
between 1980 and 1998. In 2001 both were sentenced to a minimum of two
years' jail. Ms Jovicic said Robbie kicked his drug habit and became
someone whom the other prisoners looked up to. When released he moved to
Mitcham with his partner of 13 years, and began a new life working in a
fencing business."
But in October 2002, former immigration minister Philip Ruddock cancelled
Mr Jovicic's permanent visa on character grounds. He spent two months in
prison and four months in Maribyrnong detention centre, where he was
suicidal, before being deported.
Ms Jovicic said her brother had lost everything. His relationship ended
several months after he was deported and he survived only due to the
charity of people he met on the street.
She begged the Government to bring her brother home so he could receive the
medical and psychiatric treatment he needed.
A spokesman for the Immigration Department said the Serbian consulate in
NSW had issued a travel document allowing Mr Jovicic to return to Serbia.
But the Serbian Government later cancelled his citizenship registration
because it had been lodged by Mr Jovicic's father and not Mr Jovicic.
"The Serbian Government advised a mistake had been made and it had then
rectified the situation, cancelling Mr Jovicic's citizenship once he was
already in the country — and no longer Australia's responsibility," the
spokesman said. "People born overseas who are stateless do not have a right
to residence in, or citizenship of Australia."
The Opposition, Democrats and Greens criticised Mr Jovicic's deportation.
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said she had asked for a report on Mr
Jovicic's case before making a comment. However she said she had been
advised that Mr Jovicic could still apply for Serbian citizenship.
With ORIETTA GUERRERA
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/sister-pleads-let-my-brother-come-home/2005/11/24/1132703316487.html
============================
10. Deportee's only home a snowy road
============================
Sydney Morning Herald
By Ben Cubby and Mike Seccombe
November 25, 2005
Robert Jovicic, a Melbourne man deported to Serbia, has vowed to continue
his vigil in the freezing snow outside the Australian embassy in Belgrade
until he is allowed to return to his family.
"There is nothing else I can do," Mr Jovicic said yesterday from his hotel
room in Belgrade, which has been paid for by embassy staff until tomorrow
morning. The embassy has also arranged for medical help for Mr Jovicic, who
is ill.
"I will remain out front of the embassy until something happens. They have
sent me to a country I do not know. I have no status here. When [the day]
comes then I will have nowhere else to go. Maybe I will freeze."
Mr Jovicic, who has a string of burglary convictions, was deported on
character grounds last year, even though he had never been to Serbia. He
has spent all but two of his 38 years in Australia. He lived in France
until he was two. His father is Serbian.
The Minister for Immigration, Amanda Vanstone, said yesterday that she had
asked her department for a report on the case before making further comment.
Mr Jovicic had co-operated with his repatriation and had helped in
obtaining travel documents to Serbia. "I am advised that he can apply for
citizenship in Serbia and that, to date, he has not," Senator Vanstone said.
Mr Jovicic told the Herald he had repeatedly tried to apply for Serbian
citizenship, but had become intimidated and been unable to complete his
application.
His older sister, Susanna Jovicic, said her brother had been in a confused
state last year and had not been aware he was being deported when he was
dropped off at Belgrade Airport by Australian immigration officials.
"This guy isn't just some scumbag drug addict; this is a guy with a family
that loves him," Susanna Jovicic said.
"He's already served his time. He has been given a second sentence,
basically a life sentence. Nobody set a date, nobody's put a noose over his
head, but it's just as good as."
Mr Jovicic's family painted a picture of a deeply troubled man, whose
addiction to heroin had left him helpless in the face of Immigration
Department bureaucracy. At 15 he had been sent to a juvenile detention
centre over his involvement in a fight. His schooling was completed there,
and he became a heroin addict who financed his habit through petty crime.
In 1999 he was convicted, with his brother Dragan, and jailed for two years
for burglary and theft, with a non-parole period of nine months. The
sentence was later appealed against by the Victorian Director of Public
Prosecutions as inadequate.
The appeal court agreed the brothers were "professional burglars and career
criminals".
Mr Jovicic had 158 prior convictions, mainly for burglary and theft, from
10 court appearances between June 1984 and May 1995. In late August 2002
Robert Jovicic's residency was cancelled and he was subsequently deported.
Mr Jovicic's world has now narrowed to a bleak triangle in Belgrade,
consisting of his hotel, which he is set to leave tomorrow morning, the
front step of the Australian consulate, and a nearby medical centre, where
he has been meeting daily with a psychiatrist and been given with drugs to
calm him. "They've given me six kinds of medication," he said. "I wasn't
briefed on what they were. I don't know what they've got me taking."
He said he had spoken with staff at the Australian embassy who were
sympathetic to his plight but powerless to help. The Jovicic family's legal
adviser, Ross Waraker, said the embassy was searching for charities to take
him in.
In a similar case, a Sydney man who has lived in Australia for 33 years is
being deported to Turkey because of his long criminal record. ABC's
Lateline last night revealed that Fatih Tuncok, 39, who arrived from Turkey
when he was six, is in a detention centre after having had his permanent
residency cancelled by the former immigration minister Philip Ruddock.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/deportees-only-home-a-snowy-road/2005/11/24/1132703316789.html
============================
11. Bring deported man home: Beazley
============================
news.com.au
From: AAP
November 25, 2005
THE Federal Government needs to take responsibility for a Melbourne man it
deported to Serbia, Opposition Leader Kim Beazley said.
Robert Jovicic is stateless in Serbia's capital Belgrade after his
deportation from Australia in June 2004 because of a string of convictions
he had for burglaries.
Since then, he has been unrecognised by the Serbian government and forced
to live on the streets.
Mr Beazley said the Government had to own up to its responsibilities and
bring home Mr Jovicic, a drug addict who has lived in Australia since he
was two.
"You take responsibility of your own mess," Mr Beazley told Southern Cross
broadcasting today.
"It does no good around the globe to hand your responsibility to somebody
else. He is our responsibility. He has been in this country since the age
of two for God's sake."
Mr Jovicic may not be an Australian citizen but he deserved to be treated
with respect, Mr Beazley said.
"All his criminal activity and everything else have been things that are
the product of our system and his decisions within it," he said.
"You don't just go and dump him on the Serbs."
Asked if Mr Jovicic should be allowed back in the country, Mr Beazley said
"yes".
Mr Jovicic was deported to Serbia despite having never set foot in the
eastern European country.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17359559-29277,00.html
=================================
12. John Valder's Open Letter to John Howard
=================================
November 2005
Dear Mr Howard,
I have managed, with difficulty, to maintain my silence since last year's
election during which I was pleased to lead the quite successful Not Happy
John campaign in your own seat of Bennelong. I say successful because in
Bennelong (and also in Mr Ruddock's adjoining seat of Berowra) we actually
scored a swing of about 3% against you when in the rest of the country
there was a swing of about 3% TOWARDS the Government.
But I can maintain my silence no longer. Enough really is enough, Mr. Howard.
It is now more than two years since you dragged us into the war in Iraq for
no other reason, it now seems, than to be seen to be supporting George
Bush. In doing so you made Australia a party to an absolutely brutal and
totally illegitimate war. This war has has now killed tens, maybe hundreds
of thousands of Iraqi citizens. It has been an atrocity of the worst kind
from day one and still is three-and-a-half years later. Even worse, it was
instigated not by some meglomanic Third World leader but by three of the
world's supposedly most civilised nations, one of which was Australia, to
our everlasting shame.
While this awful war has been going on your Government has continued to
treat thousands of refugees, legal or otherwise, in the most cruel and
demeaning way, and at great cost to the mental health of most all of them.
Likewise, for three years now you have refused to press your friend George
Bush for any form of proper or humane justice to detainees in Guantanomo
Bay such as David Hicks. Such is your new-found sense of justice and your
much-vaunted "fair go for all Australians".
More recently you have been playing the old fear card trick for all it is
worth. First with your industrial relations policy, which has succeeded in
alarming almost the whole country, including your very own battlers. And
now you and your scary Attorney General are really putting the fear of God
into the wider public with your anti-terrorist proposals, which could deny
the most basic rights of justice and freedom to any one us unfortunate
enough to come within your sights.
It is probably fair to say that this week's highly publicised
anti-terrorist raids in Sydney and Melbourne might have been greeted with a
lot less cynicism in some quarters had you and your Government not steadily
lost the trust of so many of the public over the last few years.
What has happened to the Liberal Party principles you and Mr Ruddock used
to espouse so righteously 20 years ago when you were in Opposition and I
was Liberal Party President? Where are those fundamental principles of
personal freedoms and human rights? A "fair go" for everyone? And, perhaps
most seriously of all, the presumption of innocence until proved guilty?
Your total disregard for some years of David Hicks' human and civil rights
in Guantanamo Bay best encapsulates just how far you have strayed in recent
years from your own former guiding tenets.
Don't forget, Mr Howard, that if ever there is a terrorist attack in
Australia, it is you personally who must take the lion's share of the blame
for it as a result of your rushing to support George Bush in the Iraq war.
Remember how you flew in the very face of public opinion, as evidenced by
those huge street marches back in February 2003, and whose clear message
you just chose to ignore. What a monumental error of judgment that was for
Australia.
Had it not been for your rush to please George Bush, would there have been
any grounds for this week's raids and arrest? Would there have been any
need for all your frightening legislation? Would we be having to devote so
much of our resources to anti-terrorism and security?.
While you might now rightly be enjoying various eulogies about "Mr 57%" and
so on in newspapers and magazines, I hope you are also aware of just how
many Australians no longer just privately but now publicly are questioning
your honesty, integrity and motives. Words like cunning and sly are gaining
currency. These are the words not just of cranks or the politically
prejudiced, or even your dreaded "elitists". They include many respected
citizens such as retired and present judges and many former members of your
Liberal Party. Shades of the immediate pre-Iraq war days.
Now I acknowledge that all this is not just your fault. The Opposition also
has a great deal to answer for. As you would have to acknowledge, it is not
your own brilliance that has kept you in office so long, but rather the
fact that you have been lucky enough, in a sense, to have had virtually no
Oppposition for most of your ten years as Prime Minister. Had you had an
effective Opposition, you would not have been able to get away with so many
of your excesses. That may have been good even for you as well as for that
"national interest" you so regularly invoke. Instead we have an Opposition
that seems to become weaker by the day. The result is that you can, and
are, riding rough-shod over us all every day.
That may be great for you, Philip Ruddock, and some others (but not all) in
your Government. But it's awful for all we many Australians, regardless of
whether we vote Liberal, Labor or whatever, but who still believe in those
old-fashioned principles to which you yourself used to subscribe but have
since seemed to abandon in the pursuit, one can only say, of power. And we
all know that famous saying about power.
We are very fortunate to live in one of the world's most prosperous
countries, thanks these days largely to our iron ore, coal and so on. In
fairness you are entitled to some of the credit for helping to maintain
that prosperity. But the tragedy is that at the same time you have been
steadily turning our prosperous country into what many would say is now an
unnecessarily ugly country.
It may still not be too late, Mr. Howard, to turn the clock back a little.
Otherwise you might find your own place in history somewhat uglier than you
would like.
From margokingston.typepad.com/harry_version_2/ 2005/11/valder_resumes_.html
=====================================
13. Anti-Terror Laws May Target Indigenous Dissent
=====================================
MEDIA RELEASE
ANTaR Victoria
THURSDAY 24 NOVEMBER 24, 2005
ANTaR Victoria Fears Anti-Terror Laws May Target Indigenous Dissent at the
Games
ANTaR Victoria spokesperson Peter Lewis believes that the new anti-terror
laws may be used to target Indigenous protesters.
"As the Commonwealth Games approaches there is the real fear that
Indigenous protesters will be targeted by police. Section 23CA (4) (a) of
the new Criminal Code (Anti-terrorism Act) specifically refers to
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
Is the government readying itself for Indigenous human rights gatherings at
the Commonwealth Games in March? Why are Indigenous people mentioned
specifically in the law? We echo Indigenous leader, Michael Mansell's
concerns about what the new laws may mean for Indigenous dissenters," Mr.
Lewis said.
"While the reference to Indigenous 'persons of interest' in Section 23CA
(4) (a) is to ensure that they are taken to a judicial officer within two
hours of being taken to a "facility", the new federal law firstly suggests
that Indigenous protesters are in minds of legislators and secondly
overrides existing laws and processes which were put in place due to
recommendations from the Deaths in Custody Royal Commission. Previous laws
and processes which required police to initiate contact either with an
Aboriginal legal service or a friend whenever an Aboriginal person is taken
into custody will now be overridden in so called cases of sedition and
terrorism. Now no-one will be contacted unless the Indigenous detainee
specifically requests it".
"These laws are a danger to our democracy and create a climate of fear. The
government seems to believe that it can only protect our freedom by taking
it away! If Indigenous protesters are likely to be targeted we musk ask the
question, who will be next?"
Media contact: Peter Lewis on 0417 529 142
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14. Deaths In Custody Watch Committee faces closure
========================================
MEDIA RELEASE Friday 25th November 2005
DEATHS IN CUSTODY WATCH COMMITTEE FACING ITS OWN DEMISE
Media Contact: Khristo Newall - 040 895 1375
The Deaths In Custody Watch Committee (DICWC) of Western Australia may be
forced to close its service within weeks following notification by the
Department of the Federal Attorney General, Philip Ruddock, that its
funding will be cut at the end of this year.
As the last surviving branch of the DICWC, this decision will bring an end
to the existence of the Watch Committees around Australia for good.
The decision to cut its funding comes despite many of the issues and
recommendations made by the Royal Commission Into Aboriginal Deaths In
Custody remaining outstanding.
“Deaths in custody are still happening at the unacceptable rate of nearly
one a month just in WA, with over 40 percent of these being suicide. These
are tragic and largely preventable deaths and this is an issue which
demands attention and action, not a shutting down of services. We wish to
express our great disappointment with the Federal Government both for this
decision, and their wider failures on many human rights issues,” said
Khristo Newall, Manager of DICWC.
The formation of the DICWC was one of the recommendations of the Royal
Commission. It has been the responsibility of the DICWC to advocate and
work for the effective implementation of the recommendations made by the
Royal Commission - one of the longest and most expensive Royal Commissions
in Australian history. The demise of the WA branch of the DICWC means that
there will be no independent agencies specifically dedicated to ensuring
that the inquiry’s findings will be monitored and implemented.
Progress has been made on a number of issues arising from the inquiry and
some useful reforms both within police procedures and within the prison
system have occurred. However, in Western Australia, the number of deaths
in custody has not fallen and neither has the over-representation of
Aboriginal people in prisons.
“One of the key issues identified as needing urgent attention by the Royal
Commission was the high proportion of Aboriginal people in prison, yet 14
years later, the ratio in WA prisons is higher than ever,” Mr Newall said.
The Deaths In Custody Watch Committee has worked tirelessly with those in
prison, their families and communities, and with a range of other groups to
achieve some genuine and positive reforms.
“We acknowledge the positive steps taken by various governments and their
departments on some of these matters over the years. However, the
fundamental underlying issues remain unresolved and have been ignored or
seen as too difficult by successive governments. Now despite the obvious
need for work such as ours to continue we are told to shut down.
“We now call on the State Government and the wider community in WA to
demonstrate their support of our work, to work more effectively to address
the outstanding issues raised by the Royal Commission, and especially to
prevent the further tragic loss of lives in custody,” said Mr Newall.
- END -
Media Contact: Khristo Newall 040 895 1375
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Royal Commission Into Aboriginal Deaths In Custody began in 1987, and
continued until the release of it's final report in 1991. It followed a
spate of violent and untimely deaths in custody, such as that of the 16
year old boy John Pat in a police cell in Roebourne WA after a fight with
five off duty police officers in 1983. There were 339 recommendations made
by the Commissioners, many dealing with the custodial issues leading to
harm or death, but a large number also addressing wider societal and
cultural issues, most of which still remain as issues and challenges faced
today.
The DICWC in WA was set up by a Coalition of concerned parties in 1993.
This included various Church bodies and representatives, unions, lawyers,
politicians, Aboriginal organisations, other NGO's, family members related
to people who had died in custody, as well as other prominent individuals
such as Judge Hal Jackson; the late Jack Davis; and the late Sir Ronald
Wilson.
It's specific aim is to monitor and work to ensure the effective
implementation of the Royal Commission Into Aboriginal Deaths In Custody,
and during the nineties it was largely successful in keeping these issues
on the agenda, and in helping to realise some specific reforms within the
Police Department, the Justice system, and most importantly some change in
the culture and attitudes within these systems.
While the Royal Commission was a national inquiry, it recommended Deaths In
Custody Watch Commitees be set up in each state. The DICWC of WA then has
focussed and worked almost exclusively on WA issues, especially given that
this state has some of the worst statistics in regard to these issues. WA
continues to incarcerate people at a rate far higher than any other state,
and in particular has a huge over-representation of Aboriginal prisoners,
with the result that they make up just over forty percent of deaths in
custody.
While funding came from ATSIC for several years, with its demise the
funding reverted to the Federal Attorney General, who has now refused to
fund this agency beyond this year. Despite this, it is clear that we work
almost solely on these issues within WA, and the State government should
bear some responsibility. This Gallop Government has made some positive
steps in custodial reform, in particular setting up of the Office of the
Inspector of Custodial Services. We applaud this and work closely with the
Inspector and other agencies. However, it is clear that we have a strong
history of grass-roots connections with prisoners, their families and
communities. This has given us the ability to provide a unique support and
advocacy service, which will be lost if further funding is not made
available. We are making approaches to the WA Government, and in light of
the newly released Mahoney Report would hope that some funding would be
granted to see this service continue its valuable work.
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