The NEXT coming Oz election thread!

Finally (as if you haven't had enough! :wink:). a message to Oz GetUP members, about our involvement in Iraq, from former Liberal prime minister, Malcom Fraser. (whose seen the light! ):

Dear GetUp Members,

The situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate with more loss of lives, with even more hardship to Iraqi civilians.

The serious divisions within Iraq, unleashed by the war itself, have not been reduced. The Iraqi government has made no significant steps towards reconciliation and accommodation between the warring parties.

This is a situation that cannot be controlled by military force. The troop surge, such as it was, failed. There were over half a million Americans in Vietnam. They failed. With only a fraction of that number in Iraq it should be no surprise that continued reliance on military means is not succeeding.

More and more Americans are coming to accept that withdrawal must take place. Senior and highly respected Republican Senators are deserting President Bush on this issue. The original objectives are almost entirely forgotten. There is no talk of Iraq establishing a benign, American style democracy that will spread to the rest of the Middle East.

Our withdrawal must be carefully planned, as a precipitous withdrawal in a week or a month would add to the chaos. And as the Baker-Hamilton Committee reported to Congress, all regional players, including Iran and Syria, must be drawn into discussions before we leave. Diplomacy now offers the only chance of a withdrawal accompanied by relative calm and peace.

One of the things we should say to the Americans, quite simply, is that if the United States is not prepared to involve itself in high level diplomacy concerning Iraq and other Middle East questions, our forces will be withdrawn before Christmas.

I encourage you to support GetUp's campaign for a change in policy. Add your voice below to the thousands who have spoken already. If enough speak, the Government has to listen.

https://www.getup.org.au/campaign/OurOwnPlanForIraq

Malcolm Fraser AC CH
Former Prime Minister of Australia

~

Malcolm done found the lord.

Howard gives a rock solid guarantee that no Australian worker will be worse off under his "work choices" laws.
Here is his promise :- (Its a 40 second clip)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMS6vJwuKEs

Yes, isn't that good?

Could you imagine, something like 30 years ago, that such a radical transformation could be possible? He's now (far) further left than either JH or KR!

Malcolm, my hero! :wink:

And this:

A new biography of Prime Minister John Howard proves the federal government knew its Work Choices laws would leave some workers worse off, Labor says.

The book, John Winston Howard:The Biography by academics Wayne Errington and Peter van Onselen says cabinet members who approved the introduction of the laws in 2005 knew some workers would be disadvantaged. "Even the final product raised concerns around the table that too many workers would be worse off, despite ministers ideologically supporting the legislation," an extract from the biography published in Fairfax newspapers today said. .....

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/government-knew-laws-could-hurt-says-labor/2007/07/21/1184560086809.html

Haneef:

Legal chiefs hit out on terror case
Nick McKenzie, Paul Austin and Leonie Wood
July 21, 2007/the AGE

A GROWING chorus of prominent Australians in legal, political and religious circles has condemned the treatment of terror suspect Mohamed Haneef, calling on the Government to review its use of terror and immigration laws to detain him.

Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls told The Age yesterday it appeared the Federal Government had ignored vital legal principles in forcing Haneef's detention via immigration law.

Former Victorian Court of Appeal judge, Stephen Charles, QC, and former governor-general Bill Hayden also hit out at the treatment of Haneef, saying it showed blatant disregard for the role of the courts.

As criticism of the handling of Haneef's case intensified, sources last night confirmed that a crucial piece of evidence presented in a Brisbane court in the case against him was wrong.

They confirmed that Haneef's mobile phone SIM card was not found in a burning vehicle at Glasgow Airport, contrary to evidence cited by a Crown prosecutor last Saturday.

Instead, Haneef's SIM card was found at a house in Liverpool, hundreds of kilometres away, when his cousin Sabeel Ahmed was arrested eight hours after the Glasgow attack. Ahmed has been charged with withholding information about a terrorist act.

A source close to the British investigation into the attempted bombings said the Australian Federal Police were considered a laughing stock by Britain's Metropolitan Police, for allowing "such a major cock-up" to happen. "This is very embarrassing for them," he said. ... <cont>

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/terror-case-outrage-escalates/2007/07/20/1184560043650.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

Today's AGE editorial:

Haneef and democracy are both in detention
July 21, 2007

As the gap between natural justice and political expediency continues to widen, public confidence is beginning to erode.

OF ALL the coverage about the plight of Mohamed Haneef, the Indian-born doctor granted bail by a Brisbane magistrate on Monday only to be held in detention after his visa was revoked on the same day by Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews, one image stands out as the most telling, eloquent and moving. This is Wednesday's photograph of Haneef, crouching in the back of a van driving him from the Brisbane watchhouse to a local correctional centre. Barefoot, dressed in what seems to be a prison-issue tracksuit, Haneef looks cornered and cowed by his unyielding confines. A cruel trick of perspective contributes its own irony by making the solid brass padlock in the foreground dwarf the faceless figure in the background.

The harshness of this metallic, almost clangorous, image embodies the very wretchedness of Haneef's transitory situation: a man in the van caught between the presumption of innocence and the perception of guilt; between freedom and captivity. It is also an allegory of an unprecedented democratic quandary: a country caught between natural justice and what increasingly appears to be political expediency. Disturbingly, as this newspaper reports today, that gap is widening.

On Tuesday, The Age called for Mr Andrews to supply a detailed explanation of why he usurped the courts in such a way.Since then, the arguments have only intensified, and distinctly not in the Government's favour. Within the law there have been disputations of the ethics, legalities and methodology of Mr Andrews' actions, and, at the time, what he knew as distinct from what the magistrate knew. Then Haneef's legal team leaked documented evidence including the 52-page document used by Mr Andrews in justifying his decision to revoke the visa, and a transcript of the entire interview between their client and federal police. Yesterday, the SIM card was played: reports suggest that Haneef's card was found not, as alleged by the prosecution, in the vehicle that smashed into Glasgow Airport on June 30, but eight hours later, when police made an arrest near Liverpool. If this is verified, it could dissolve Haneef's link to the Glasgow attack and weaken the Government's reasons for keeping him in detention.

The cumulative result has been to cast doubt not only on the strength of the case against Haneef, which has yet to be determined by proper judicial means, but also on the motives of the Government, which appear more opportunistic and cynical by the day. On Tuesday Attorney-General Philip Ruddock indicated the anti-terrorism laws could be amended to ensure suspects are not granted bail. Where is the justice in that?

Haneef, who languishes in his cell, pending an appeal hearing in the Federal Court on August 8, is officially described as a "terrorist prisoner". It should be remembered that he has only been charged, not tried or convicted. In reality, Haneef may be in detention, but so, too, is Australia's democratic system. The independence of the judiciary remains affected by what still has to be seen as government intervention.

Public confidence must be restored quickly and decisively. At stake is something that defines our way of life.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/editorial/haneef-and-democracy-are-both-in-detention/2007/07/20/1184560037176.html

As for the cartoonists, they appear to be fixated on Costello's quotes from that book.:

I've been intrigued by published extracts from the book suggesting that Janette has been JH's closest political adviser throughout his political career. In fact, it sounds almost as though Janette's been running the country! (That woman has a lot to answer for! :wink:) Anyway, check out this interesting letter from today's Age. Fascinating!:

Janette's days of anger, sulking

JANETTE Howard could barely tolerate the wives of Labor government ministers during the Hawke and Keating years when her husband was opposition leader. As one of those wives, I clearly recall her angry, sulky behaviour at social gatherings. She was not a woman who looked us Labor wives in the eye.

According to a soon-to-be-released book about Howard, she has now outed herself as a woman who admits that reneging on a commitment is part of the power play. Leaping onto a table to declare "next stop the Lodge", she wonderfully displays the lust for power and privilege that was denied her in those opposition days. No wonder she was peeved.

After 30 years of living off the public purse and 11 years at Kirribilli to be near the children, she certainly has had her money's worth from taxpayers. We are all curious to see now whether the prime ministerial lifestyle has mellowed her enough to be able to hand the keys to Therese Rein rather than hurling them in the harbour.

Dorothy Button, Hampton (Mrs Button was the wife of Senator John Button, minister for industry, technology and commerce in the Hawke government)

http://www.theage.com.au/letters/index.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2

In other words, she's just a worthless right-wing piece of ****, the same as her husband.

Very delicately put, Wilso!

FREE TRADE
Not only are Aussie workers at the mercy of companies that are owned and controlled by overseas interests, but they all so have to contend with bonzai's "FREE TRADE" agenda. It's high time this "Free Trade" bulldust was replaced with "Fair Trade" and some attempt made to buy back the farm. Australian workers and Australian industry should be the first priority of any Prime Minister of the country. How come it seems to be this Prime Ministers last priority ? Your time's up john.

780 American jobs (with loss of overtime payments) saved at the expense of 600 Australian jobs.

Makes you feel like your country is being sold out from under your feet

Eaten by Singapore
Stephen Mayne
July 22, 2007

WHEN shareholders in Perth-based energy utility Alinta Ltd gather to vote on the $15 billion carve-up of the company on August 13, few of them will realise the remarkable historical event they will trigger.

In accepting $4.5 billion of cash from Singapore Power for a suite of Australian electricity and gas distribution assets, Alinta shareholders will lift the total value of Australian business assets controlled by the Singapore Government to almost $30 billion.

This will exceed the value of commercial assets owned by our own Federal Government, which is surely an unprecedented situation for any First World country. How can a foreign power own more of Australia than our own government?

http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/eaten-by-singapore/2007/07/21/1184560106866.html

But it is being sold out from under our feet!
A very sobering article by Stepen Mayne (of Crikey! fame). Well worth a read.

Over-the-top & mischievous reporting of the Haneef case today. I can't believe that this sequence of reports actually happened! :

This was what I found in my morning paper at the crack of dawn:


Government play to jettison Haneef, end backlash
July 22, 2007/the AGE

THE Howard Government is planning to deport detained terror suspect Mohamed Haneef to contain the political fallout from a case that insiders fear is becoming farcical.

By withdrawing the Criminal Justice Certificate that he issued last week, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock can ensure Haneef is deported immediately. ....... <cont>

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/government-play-to-jettison-haneef/2007/07/21/1184560109126.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1


Not much later, this hit the radio news:


Haneef focus switches to photos
Paula Doneman
July 22, 2007 12:00am/Sunday Mail

POLICE are investigating whether detained doctor Mohamed Haneef was part of a planned terrorist attack on a landmark building at the Gold Coast.

Australian Federal Police are examining images of the building and its foundations found among documents and photographs seized in a police raid on the doctor's Southport unit three weeks ago.

The AFP inquiry is looking at documents referring to destroying structures discovered in the raid, law enforcement sources said.

The investigation also is examining information seized in the raid which indicated the Gold Coast doctor planned to leave Australia the day before or after September 11 - the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York.

It is understood in his second interview with the AFP last Saturday, Haneef was questioned about photographs of him and his family taken in Queensland and overseas.

Haneef, a registrar at the Gold Coast Hospital since September last year, explained that the images were only tourist shots. Investigators consider some of the photos seized are not ordinary holiday photos.

The AFP investigation is also looking at information that Haneef was one of a group of doctors who had been familiarising themselves with the operation of planes at a Queensland premises. ... <cont>

http://www.news.com.au/sundaymail/story/0,23739,22111034-952,00.html


Followed by this:


Haneef's lawyer angry over new leaks
Posted Sun Jul 22, 2007 9:13am AEST

.....Haneef's lawyer Peter Russo says he knew nothing about the allegations until last night, when he was contacted by a reporter.

The AFP (Australian Federal Police) will not confirm whether its officers found photographs of a prominent Gold Coast landmark and documents relating to the destroying of structures, while searching Haneef's unit.

Mr Russo says having the allegations surface in this manner is wrong.

"The police had the opportunity to put it before the magistrate, the police had the opportunity to charge a different charge," he said.

"The police had the opportunity to put it out in relation to the immigration issue on both occasions it hasn't happened, but we have to go and read it in the Sunday Mail."

Mr Russo says it smacks of desperation.

"The problem with it is no one wants to claim it, but I'm more concerned about the sinister tone of how the info has come out," he said.

"A link to a tall building and a link to September 11 can only do one thing in the public arena, and that's create fear." ..<cont>

http://www.abc.com.au/news/stories/2007/07/22/1984806.htm


Finally, after letting hours go by without comment the Australian Federal Police commissioner said:

Haneef plot reports untrue: Keelty
Posted 4 hours 55 minutes ago
Updated 3 hours 28 minutes ago

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty says accused Gold Coast terrorism supporter Mohamed Haneef is not being investigated in relation to an attack on the tourist strip.

......The AFP this morning refused to confirm or deny whether its officers found photographs of a prominent Gold Coast building and documents relating to the destroying of structures while searching Haneef's unit. ...<cont>

http://www.abc.com.au/news/stories/2007/07/22/1984954.htm

...
'Farcical'

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie says the case is becoming farcical.

"I have to say I was quite angry when I read the story this morning sourced from the Federal Police," he said.

"I turn on the ABC and the Federal Police are refusing to confirm whether the story is true or not.

"For heaven's sake, this is starting to look like the keystone cops, to be frank, and I think Queenslanders are entitled to know.

"People have got a right to know - this is not some game. If there is seriously some sort of threat, then let's see the photos, let's release them.

"The lawyer's said that they've never heard this before. I just think we are being treated like mugs and I don't think that's good enough."...

http://www.abc.com.au/news/stories/2007/07/22/1984954.htm

It's more than farcical. It's outrageous. I can't believe that this actually happened! Surely someone will be held accountable?

The NSW premier has supported Peter Beattie's criticisms of the mishandling of the Haneef case, but it's interesting that the federal ALP appears to have no opinion at all on what's occurred. Very disappointing.