A Minister with a track record of not respecting democratically-enacted law has spat in the face of the judiciary by locking up, by his own bureaucratic decision, a man freed on bail earlier the same day by a magistrate. Zimbabwe? A Middle Eastern dictat…
So the standard of service the AFP provide to the people of the ACT under the policing purchasing agreement is yet again under question.
This time forensics or the lack thereof (CT, Magistrate slams delay in forensic analysis, pg3 28 May 07).
Is th…
Accusations of “conflict of interest” abound whatever party is in power, not least because of the difficulties raised by the business interests of the spouse of the member of parliament.
The editor-at-large of The Canberra Times, Jack Waterford, in his…
Accountability should go hand-in-hand with power, says Australia’s Ombudsman and acting Integrity Commissioner John McMillan. But laws alone are not enough to ensure governments are accountable, he says in a keynote address: values
Read the keynote add…
The imagery of war, coupled with rhetoric rampant, can lead presidents and prime ministers down back alleys of democracy, where reality dims with the darkness. Allan Hall analyses current ‘wars’, the rule of law and David Hicks’ situation in this excelle…
The police who rule over Australia’s national capital operate to their own laws in a closed, secretive manner, Dr Kristine Klugman says. They claim they are immune from the ACT Human Rights ACT and the Public Disclosure ACT, and they refuse to be respons…
Government bureaucrats are boosting ‘smart’ card technology while being economical with the truth, CLA says in wide-ranging ID card media release. The national ID card debate is too important: they must correct wrong impressions left with the Parliamenta…
CLA President Dr Kristine Klugman has slammed proposed changes to Freedom of Information laws in the ACT to further restrict the public’s right to know what its government is up to. Governments, Labor and Liberal, throughout Australia were abusing FOI, a…
Each Australia Day, CLA suggests initiatives to make Australia work better. In 2007, we propose recouping Immigration bonuses paid wrongly to senior staff who deported Australians, ending the practice of the Customs Service censoring books (which is not…
Read this rundown by Sydney Morning Herald columnist Richard Ackland on what concerns civil libertarians.
If you can’t get through to the SMH site, you can read it here.
