The Dead Roo

 Whoops! - the picket was previously advertised as “next Wednesday” which is incorrect.  The date 29/8 is correct. - sorry.
 Please pass this link to friends and networks in Brisbane.
There will be a picket on Wednesday, the 29 August 2007 at 9.00 am. outside the Brisbane Magistrate’s Court, 240 Roma St. Brisbane to demand reform of […]

There are only a few hours left to send your thoughts to the public inquiry (yeah, announced today, report required by Monday) on the Howard NT Land-Grab in response to the Anderson/Wild report on child abuse in NT Aboriginal Communities. No time. Gotta rush.
Send a note to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee […]

Seven people in a room and you’re the only one jumping up and down at the injustice of it all. That’s a Justice Kirby moment!
The high court has ruled that the control order imposed on Jack Thomas is indeed constitutional. But:
in a dissenting judgement, Justice Kirby said the counter-terrorism laws applied to the case were […]

In Queensland, any one of us can have our rights of freedom of movement and association taken off us for a period of 6 months at a tribunal hearing where we or our representative are not present. There is no capacity to appeal or object to this and not even the Attorney General can demand […]

See also Dead Roo April 12 2007 Laughing at the disabled 
 This article is longer than what some in the blogosphere would consider “normal”.  However it is about a significant issue that has gained much publicity because of the suspension without  pay of two academics from the Queensland University of Technology for publically criticising the university.   […]

The work for an Oz Human Rights Act continues at www.humanrightsact.com.au.  The draft act is well put together (is ready for a "First Reading") and has some pretty good backers, including former Senator Susan Ryan and former PM Mal Fraser.  They’ll be needing help soon, so I urge Dead Roo readers (apart from the rabid […]

In the light of the incarceration of Dr. Haneef there are many commentators lamenting the end of some of the basic principles of our legal system such as the presumption of innocence and the separation of powers. I write the following from within the ranks of this commentariate.
In Queensland however there is another refraction […]

“The kidnapping of Brenton Gregory”  
LINK
This  video on You-tube is of an incident at the Doomadgee Aboriginal community in North Queensland. It indicates a clear lack of respect by police for Aboriginal residents of the community. As the video shows the police just marched into a private home and grabbed someone, not bothering to state their […]

There have been two very disturbing developments in Australian totalitarianism lately. One is the federal government’s overruling of a Brisbane Magistrate’s who allowed Dr. Haneef, the doctor accused of a connection to the recent bombings in the U.K. to be released into the community on bail. The magistrate’s bail ruling referred specifically to essential principles […]

After the hoo-hah about the citizenship went down, the Citizenship Testing bill has been sent to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, and you are able to make comments. You’d better
be quick, because (again) the window for submissions is tiny. (Sent to committee 2007-06-13, advertised later, closes 2007-07-06).
You can get details about the bill […]

For all his blathering on about "western values", Howard’s Australia would not pass the "national citizen test" for Europe, the home of "western values".
I was just going through bits of the EU treaties relating to the establishment of a EU constitution, (see a map, and the preamble on values).  My guess is Howard would hate […]

crosspost
The Australian Democrats are planning to introduce a private members bill (the Peace and Non-Violence Commission Act 2007).  In many ways this is more far-reaching and significant than their attempt to get the Cluster Munitions (Prohibition) Bill 2006 through - a bill unfortunately rejected, despite the many submissions in its favor.
The reason this bill is […]

The Commonwealth AusCheck Bill, theoretically for transport security, had little public scrutiny, and can mean you need an ID card and background check to walk into a Commonwealth Office or use the phone.

The Audit Office proves Centrelink is hopeless at managing projects, with implications for their ability to manage AccessCard correctly.

This post covers the dangers of the management of the AccessCard (hitting parliament) in Feb, and makes recommendations for limiting the risks. Warning: long explanations of associated regulations.