Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Crystallnacht - Oz style

Goebbels was found of accusing Jewish people of abusing their children. In 1938 Hitler authorised the SS to destroy Jewish property and confiscate their businesses. The same thing is happening today to Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory and the Labour opposition is craven in it's acceptance of legislation that goes against nearly every fundamental human right.

Under the new legislation introduced today child abuse and something called 'aboriginal violence'(defined as an offence that carries a penalty of greater than 3 years) are now to be dealt with by the Australian Crimes Commission with the same rules as apply to organized crime and terrorrism. They seem to think that the only child abuse that occurs is 'organised'.
Anyone accused of any of these crimes will lose the right to silence and be subject to the various special rules that apply for these other crimes. Anyone who knows anything about child abuse will recognise the futility of such a draconian approach. A close reading reveals that child abuse includes 'neglect' now considered part of the purview of the ACC! Then we have this new category of crime - 'Aboriginal violence' -the only redeeeming virtue of this is that the High Court will chuck it out. In the mean time anyone who violently resists arrest will go down for a very long time indeed. Anyone who throws a spear will lose the right to silence.

Oh yes, then there's the changes to the land rights act - which has been suspended as has the Racial Discrimination Act and any laws regarding Racial Discrimination enacted by the Northern Territory Government, indeed any laws of the Northern Territoy government are superseded. The purpose of these suspensions? To enable the Commonwsealth to take control of town camps and to offer them as freehold land after five years. To remove any restriction on non- community people from using any 'common space' on an aboriginal reserve. To offer 99 year leases ostensibly to Aboriginal owners but in fact to any whitefella who can persuade a land council, or even the minister that s/he has a legitimate interest - after all there are lots of traditional owners with the wherwithal to buy their own homes.Not!

Meanwhile the same government has scrapped CDEP and killed off the social services that were being provided on the cheap by this organisation. it has killed off ICTV, the indigenous television production company that had come to serve a critical role in health and positive messages in communities. And now we have the new welfare reforms which I haven't thad time to read yet because I've been making futile calls to ALP Senators pleading that they show some moral fiber on this issue. I start chemotherapy tommorrow and I can do no more. God Help Australia!

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