Within the last week, I’ve been to three different events in Brisbane relating to a possible Charter or Bill of Rights.
On Monday night of this week, Geoffrey Robertson QC, gave an address at Lourdes Hill College, organised by Riverbend Books. This one was attended by around 600 people, which was a very high turnout, especially given this one cost $12 a head to get into. He also spoke the day before at Brisbane’s Ideas Festival, which I heard was also very well attended.
A few days earlier, Prof George Williams, hosted by the Queensland Anti-Discrimination Commission, gave a daytime speech on the benefits of putting stronger rights in law, which had about 50 people present. Prof Williams played a key role in the lead up to Victoria adopting a Charter of Rights.
The other event involved Fr Frank Brennan and the rest of his consultation committee, who came through town last week. Unlike the two other events I’ve just mentioned, these forums are about giving the public an opportunity to have a say and to explain the consultation process, rather than promoting the case for or against a Bill Rights. The Committee held two public forums in Brisbane, each with about 200 people present. To their credit, this consultation committee is visiting many different regional areas away from the capital cities. In Queensland they will be holding community forums in places such as Mt Isa, Palm Island, Thursday Island, Weipa, Horn Island, Charleville, Atherton, Townsville, Caloundra and Yarrabah.
As I’ve long believed a Bill of Rights would be beneficial for all Australians, it’s no surprise that I found the arguments put forward at these events in support of a Charter of Rights very strong – although I’d have to say that while Geoffrey Robertson is a very articulate and engaging speaker, he probably went a bit too much into the humorous asides and not enough into the depth of the arguments for my liking. Still, he has just published a book on the topic, so in a short time frame it’s probably better to engage people emotionally with the topic. They can always read the book for the more in-depth arguments.
What I found of most interest at these events has been the numbers of people coming along and what seems to be a strong public interest in helping to promote the reasons why a Bill or Charter of Rights would be so beneficial.
Despite the extraordinarily high popularity of Kevin Rudd and his government at the moment, I still wonder how much interest they will have in putting forward comprehensive rights legislation, given the inevitable scare campaign that will be run against it by the ‘Liberal’ Party and others. Trying to navigate rights legislation through the current Senate in such a context could be very tricky.
Which does mean that the strength of public support for such a move will be crucial. If there is only lukewarm or narrowly based public support, it will make the federal government that much more reluctant to proceed.
Of course, there is also the potential to convince more state governments to follow the lead of Victoria and the ACT in this area. It is something the newly elected Queensland government could easily put forward now.
However, that seems a long way away at the moment, given the interest they have shown this week in copying the law and order overkill the New South Wales government has been pushing in their efforts to appear to be doing something about motorcycle gang violence. It’s hardly the most auspicious debut for the state’s brand new Attorney-General, Cameron Dick, to have some of his first policy utterances to be proposing laws such as this. Terry O’Gorman, the Queensland Council of Civil Liberties stalwart, is quite right in comparing them to some of the draconian laws of the Bjelke-Petersen era. Queensland has a recent history which shows such powers get abused. Such laws will not only trample over the basic right of freedom of association, they are also unlikely to work in reducing crime.
If people in bikie gangs are engaged in criminal activity, then they should be charged with those crimes.
4 Comments
I wish that someone would show an interest in human rights, rather than showing an interest in reducing crime at the expense of human rights. Is it worth it?
One has to assume, from the bleatings of the stinking masses, that the way to make sure not to get a Charter of Rights, is to make sure that the only presentation the government makes about it, is in terms of the further disintegration of Human Rights as begun by Howard and his band of frilly knicker wearers, and continued by KRudd on the basis that “we now have a good level of control over the masses, why change?”
I don’t expect much in the way of ovbvious intelligence from the average Aussie Plonker and I must confess to be rarely disappointed in that view, however, why is it that the average Australian has no idea of what he actually doesn’t have, vis a vis a charter of rights?
Is it because they/we are too stupid to ask questions (as I firmly believe), or is there another more sinister reason, premised on Government Information Management?
I will watch the development of this with interest, though it is doubtful any of the aforementioned moronic electors will bother to make a comment here, since it is essentially out of their reach once words appear with more than 6 letters.
I wouldn’t look to Victoria’s charter for inspiration. While it certainly has many noble sentiments and the rights and responsibilities are well described, the available outs for Government are many.
I notice Andrew you do not mention South Australia which proudly already has such laws in place. What worries me is that informed opinion says that they will not work. What worries me further is the amount of control the state government sees fit to give itself without evidence to support this. A little scary. To be honest at the moment I would rather trust bikies than politicians. Those that I know aren’t such bad blokes..!