Who needs the presumption of innocence when you can have guilt by association?
I have been quite appalled by the Australian Labor Party's cowardly stance with respect to the Mohamed Haneef case in particular, and the question of Australia's draconian anti-terror laws in general.
Nothing that has been published, including the 142 page transcript of Haneef's first interview with police, lends any weight to the charge that this man is a terrorist who represents a danger to the Australian people. Yet his economic life has been destroyed and his liberty denied.
On the other hand, we are witnessing a government who is asserting its right to deny natural justice to whom ever it pleases in the name of political expediency. And worse, we have an Opposition which gladly connives with the government in the name of denying them a wedge issue.
These acts by our political leaders, not the passing of a SIM between family members in the dim-dark past, are a dire threat to Australia's democratic values.
Make no mistake. A firm wedge has been placed. It is a wedge between the political mainstream and questions of principle and natural justice.
Through its actions, the Australian Labor Party has placed itself firmly on the wrong side of the wedge.
It does not deserve and will not receive my preference in the forth coming national election.
posted by Jon Seymour at 23:14
3 Comments:
Yes, Haneef's treatment has been really quite appalling. As one of the commentators said, "if you give a terrorist a cup of coffee, does that make you an accessory?"
The Labor party doesn't want to be seen to be soft on terrorists, even potential terrorists who just gave their cousin a SIM card.
The abuses of the Coalition are many, and this latest travesty is yet another. Amazingly, they seem to be gaining lost ground in the polls.
Perhaps you should vote Democrat this time. Although assigning a second preference will be problematic unless you know if any of the independent candidates are good (but then you may well vote #1 for the independent, and put Democrats as #2).
Jon, you should add a posting date to the comments. Showing the posting time sans date is pretty useless.
I think the choice is fairly easy, as it has been for the last 10 years or so: The Greens.
This is one reason why.
I see no point swapping a Liberal tyrant for a Labor tyrant, so I won't be voting for them in the House Of Representatives. Not that, in my seat, it makes much difference anyway.
I may still give Labor my Senate preferences (after The Greens) because I think their cynicism can be relied upon to cause the Government grief should they and The Greens hold the balance of power in the next parliamentary term.
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