As the government threatens to strip Australians of citizenship, no-one knows what that really means, because the rights and responsibilities are nowhere defined.
Making new laws driven by terrorism is dangerous, nowhere more so than in defining exactly what it means to be an Australian citizen…which has never been fully spelled out. The community needs to take a more active role than usual in making sure citizens drive this debate, rather than leaving it solely to the political class. As the federal parliament becomes increasingly rancorous, there is some hope for the future in cross-bench moves for sensible consensus on death penalty campaigning, opposing bad trade deals and the rule of law in Australia.
Also in this issue…
- Parke moves to reintroduce liberties and rights principles to Parliament
- Border Force clamps down further on refugee news
- Budget does the jiggery-pokery-spookery
- Justice Minister boast means more drugs coming into Australia
- Bali 9: why no AFP promotion for the right man?
- Holy See sees the light on TPP tyranny oppressing the poor
- Lawyers call for review of DPP decisions
- Let’s investigate the Top End of Town
- Canada frees boy locked up, aged 15, in Guantanamo Bay
- Belgians want to stop Facebook tracking
- China makes its judges responsible, for life, for cases they hear
- NZ about to launch miscarriages of justice project, NZPIP