Listen To Your Elders

Why is it that we now have a prime minister and an attorney general that have abandoned the right to a fair trial before being found guilty of a legal infringement.

I was stunned when I heard these two senior politicians state that we couldn’t do anything for David Hicks because he is technically not guilty of any crime and therefore cannot be tried and found guilty here in Australia, his own country.

We know, because of the US High Court decision that the holding of Hicks is illegal, that he cannot be tried in the US and found guilty of any legal infringement. We also know that he hasn’t committed any international legal crime so he cannot be tried in an international court. However, he can be tried in a Kangaroo court set up by that champion of freedom and civil rights, George Bush. Bush like Ruddock, has already stated that, even if Hicks is not found guilty against all odds, he will still not be released, so the whole exercise is a travesty of justice.

I feel ashamed that we have allowed this to happen to fellow citizen!

Not only have we allowed it to happen, we even have people and talk-back announcers condemning Hick and this is before he has even been charged. What a way to defend our freedom, I’m sure that it isn’t what the Anzacs fought for!

This must be a sick joke, to talk about understanding the Australian values of Mateship, Justice, Equality, Right to Work etc. when it is obvious that this Howard government doesn’t understand the meaning of any of these values.

The latest industrial relations legislation ensures that mateship is second to financial gain, justice depends on whether you are the boss or a worker, and the right to work depends on signing away all the benefits and rights obtained by my, and earlier, generations.

I can’t understand how it is that we Australians, that are supposed to be so sceptical of politicians, will accept all the jingoistic nationalism put out by this government and don’t question how it actually is destroying all the features that we are rightly proud of, i.e. our laid back easy going friendly acceptance of others.

I would remind you that a mastery of the English language and an ability to give the favoured answers to loaded questions does not guarantee good citizens. Many of our citizens originate from other countries and even after many years here are still not proficient in the English language; however, a great many of them have contributed to our country’s success and many have fought for this country, good citizenship depends on performance - not talk or an ability to pass exams!