Crispin Hull

ACT Labor leader Jon Stanhope has put a Bill of Rights on his party’s platform for the October election.

The policy document says, “Nowhere in any the Australian jurisdiction is there a simple, clear statement of a person’s rights, or a charter against which legislation can be judged as to whether it enhances or detracts from a person’s fundamental or inherent rights.

“Labor subscribes, however, to the view that certain rights – – human-rights – – are inherent: that is, they are the inalienable birthright of all human beings . . . They cannot be taken away.”

The policy laments that fundamental rights like religion, expression, assembly and association are not guaranteed by the Australian Constitution and can be overridden at any time.

Labor is proposing to begin with legislation setting out a charter of rights by which future legislation will be judged. This follows the Canadian approach and an approach supported by most people in favour of a Bill of Rights – – that only after some experience with such a charter at the legislative level, where it can easily be amended, would it be cemented into a Constitution by referendum.
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When The Canberra Times began publishing in 1926, the Australian Capital Territory had no representation in the federal parliament and had no elected local government of its own. It was a fiefdom ruled by a federal minister who was elected by a constituency far away and responsible to a federal government that was elected Australia-wide.

The Territory was a polity of federal public servants, for federal public servants and by federal public servants.

It was not long before things began at to change. Within a decade of the Canberra Times first publishing a Supreme Court had been established and so had an advisory council comprising a three of federal department heads, three elected members and a civic administrator.
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THE LATIN phrase habeas corpus means “”you should have the body”. For 800 years, habeas corpus has been part of the law we inherited from England.

In 1215 King John granted the right of habeas corpus to his subjects. It meant that a subject could not be imprisoned without due process of law. An imprisoned person could, by a writ of habeas corpus, be brought before a judicial officer who would inquire whether the imprisonment was justified.

So the general proposition that people should not be imprisoned without due process of law became part of the common law of Australia.
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A couple of letters to the editor this week complained about the high cost of third-party insurance. One wondered why premiums for mid-range sized motor bikes were so high. The other wondered why third-party insurance in the ACT was much higher than in other places like the Northern Territory and country NSW when the fatality rate on ACT roads was much lower.

The NRMA’s response was that intermediate-range motorcyclists are maiming and killing their pillion passengers at a greater rate. And in general in the ACT, those maimed and killed on the road tend to be a younger and earn higher salaries than those elsewhere. So when they make a claim for loss of earnings, the claim is higher. Moreover, the ACT has a generous system of compensation for motor-accident victims. It is a common law system under which the insurer of the driver at fault has to recompense all lost wages and lost earning capacity. Other places have caps

The NRMA’s message his clear. We all pay for the accidents on our roads. Unfortunately, all car owners pay equally even though we draw unequally.
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The Australian public was audience this week to a political roller-coaster ride. Early in the week, Labor was rejoicing in the victory of Claire Martin in the Northern Territory. She had led Labor to its first win in the territory in the 26 years since self government. Suddenly, however, Labor was on the back foot again after revelations that Opposition Leader Kim Beazley had exaggerated or misrepresented the way his daughter had been treated by a Perth public hospital. He also came under fire for using his family experience to score political points. The Coalition was having a field day. But the day was short lived. On Thursday, Labor had some damaging ammunition of its own with which to attack the Coalition. It revealed that the federal electorate council for the Queensland seat of Groom held by the Minister for Small Business, Ian Macfarlane, had not dealt correctly with its GST liability on a fund-raising dinner at which Treasurer Peter Costello was the guest speaker. At best, it was a misunderstanding of the GST rules. At worst, it was this scam to not pay the GST on the function while claiming a rebate for the GST input on it. Worse still, Mr McFarlane was aware of what had happened yet told Parliament that he was unaware of anything untoward. Mr Costello, too, is in trouble. He told Parliament that as guest speaker he was not responsible for the GST payable on the function. True, but the implication was that he knew nothing about it. Afterwards he issued a statement saying that someone troubled by the way the electorate council was handling the GST had complained to his office and that his office had told Mr McFarlane to ensure that the GST obligations were probably met.

The Beazley and GST incidents add further fuel to the general public disquiet about politicians. It seems they are willing to exaggerate, mislead and deny when ever they wish to make a political gain or avoid a political loss.

The only joy from the public’s point of view is that the politicians involved were exposed and will ultimately be made accountable to the public because of the way the institution of Parliament works. In these times of public cynicism about political processes, that point should not be forgotten. Perhaps the low esteem with which people hold politicians flows from the fact that their actions are so well scrutinised. The actions of people in other more esteemed professions go less noticed.
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The ACT Legislative Assembly has decided against holding a referendum on the question of whether there should be a safe injecting room for heroin users and at whether there should be a trial to provide registered heroin addicts with heroin in a controlled environment.

The referendum and its subject matter have caused a great deal of heated debate. Indeed, the debate has been so heated and so bipolar that whatever the result, few would have changed their view.

The ACT Liberal Party has been accused of floating the referendum as a smokescreen during the election which would distract voters from the main issues of economic management, health, education, and accountability for public spending. More likely, it disguises the deep divisions within the party on heroin with a united approach on a no-risk referendum — a no-risk strategy to be seen to be doing something while having to actually do nothing. A No vote would have resulted in giving the incoming government – – whether Liberal or Labour – – an excuse to do nothing. A Yes vote would have still been met with enough resistance on the four of the Assembly and from the federal government to still result in no action.
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Suggestions that the Federal Parliament should take action on the goings-on in the ACT territory usually draw cries of foul or interference. The latest is the question of Gungahlin Drive.

On its face, it seems like a simple case of providing a road for the people of Gungahlin to get expeditiously to the other parts of Canberra. So why should the Federal Parliament or the Federal Capital Authority get involved?
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The genetically modified food industry has received a double boost in the past week or so. A Royal Commission in New Zealand brought down findings more favourable to the GM food industry than had been expected and a survey in Australia showed more people are supporting GM technology.

The New Zealand Royal Commission is significant because it was the first thorough judicial inquiry in the world on GM technology. The commission did not advocate a laissez-faire approach, but did not advocate an outright ban on the technology as was expected. The commission said a ban on GM technology would have an adverse effect on farmers, consumers, and in medicine. In the case of medicine, the commission said that a ban would mean that existing medical uses, especially the use of GM insulin by diabetics, would have to cease. The commission also expressed concern that with a ban on GM food in New Zealand there would be an exodus of scientists and other skilled people and the economy would contract.

The New Zealand approach was quite different from that taken in Tasmania. In Tasmania, the Minister for Primary Industries, David Llewellyn, is supporting the extension of a 13-month moratorium on GM crops. In Tasmania GM crops are declared a noxious weed under the state’s quarantine powers. The Tasmanian approach seems to be one of promoting a clean, green island and trying to get international competitiveness that way. New Zealand, too, has an international image as a green clean place, but its Royal Commission has found that the benefits of a GM technology are likely to outweigh the benefit of promoting the nation as a GM-free zone.
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The Federal Government has had plenty of warning on the issue which is now causing such strife in the automotive industry.

About 300 workers of the TriStar steering and suspension company went on strike over the failure of the company to entertain negotiations over protecting employee entitlements during enterprise bargaining negotiations. The company supplies components to major manufacturers who have now stood down, or are about to stand down, 12,000 workers. It seems that that TriStar was the first company to be hit by a campaign by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union to set up a fund to protect employee entitlements.

The campaign arose after the failure last year of National Textiles, a company in which the Prime Minister’s brother, Stan Howard, was a key manager. About 300 employees stood to lose about $11 million in holiday, long service and other entitlements. However, the federal government bailed them out on a special-case basis. Since then, many other companies have failed, leaving employees in the lurch. Perhaps the largest was the case of OneTel in which 1400 employees were owed at total of $25 million.
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THE ACT needs to be careful. Tacit assumptions that we have the best educated, most caring society and are best able to deal with social questions of any jurisdiction in Australia are under threat.

The ACT still has a very low imprisonment rate compared to other states or territories, but if present trends continue that will not last much longer. Recent statistics put out by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Institute of Criminology reveal that the ACT is increasing its rate of jailing faster than all other jurisdictions and has among the worst jail rates for youth.

And, contrary to popular mythology, crime at rates are falling, not rising.
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