G’day. Maybe it’s because I’m still flu-affected or bolstered by positive energy from people who’ve read my book, but I’m letting the latest ins and outs of the political plays wash over me at the moment. Standard chess moves on the standard board reported in the standard way don’t interest me as much as what real people are doing to help take back Australia. Today, Webdiarists who’ve had a read of Not Happy John! relate their direct actions. We’ve got a direct action section on thenothappyjohn website now, so from now on please send your stands for democracy over there. (If you really want to participate in the dirt debate, have a look at Mungo’s column in the Byron Bay Echo at Time for a reciprocal look at Howard. The rules appear to have changed dramatically since Howard got to the top in politics. I wonder why.)
But first, how’s this for a great example of how closed our society is compared to America’s, which has a plethora of websites along the same lines as this new Australian effort, johnhowardlies. Here’s AAP’s report:
CANBERRA, July 15 AAP – The federal government has asked the Australian Electoral Commission to investigate a website called johnhowardlies.
Special Minister of State Eric Abetz called on the Labor Party to disassociate itself from the website which is run by an anonymous group.
The site has been publishing what it claims are lies told by Prime Minister John Howard and what it says are the facts about Mr Howard’s lies.
Senator Abetz said he had asked the electoral commission to investigate if the site breached a section of the Commonwealth Electoral Act which requires electoral material to be authorised.
“If this website does breach the Act, the offender could face a fine of up to $5,000,” he said in a statement.
Senator Abetz expressed concern that a Labor Party email newsletter referred voters to the website.
He said Opposition Leader Mark Latham should ensure the ALP disassociated itself from the site.
“It is the height of hypocrisy for Mr Latham to sob about anonymous claims, and then give full official Labor Party support to a site which is dedicated to anonymous claims,” Senator Abetz said.
“Mr Latham should take immediate steps to prevent any further promotion or publication of this site pending a full investigation by the AEC.”
The conveners of johnhowardlies.com recently told AAP in an email that no-one involved in creating the site was a member of a political party.
Late this morning, a notice advised the website “is currently being revamped and is temporarily unavailable.” (Also see Labor under scrutiny for ‘lies’ website.)
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Simon Jarman in Melbourne
You may recall I met you at your book launch in Melbourne (with my ‘destructo’ 3 year old) the other week, where I talked to you about my campaign concept “Liars for Howard”. Since then I’ve been doing some work on developing the liarsforhoward website, which is up (but still needs some work) and getting other people interested – organising a campaign committee etc.
What I envisage is that this should be a grass-roots media type campaign – the idea of which is to remind people that this is the most deceptive and unaccountable government in our history. We can turn up at events staged by the Liberals (or Labor for that matter), where we will have banners and chants such as ‘rich schools need more pools’, ‘Invading Iraq DID NOT increase our terrorist threat!’ etc. Our central message is that we support the Howard Government’s right to lie to the Australian people – after all, they know what is best for us! It’s in the good old Aussie tradition of taking the piss.
The thing about the campaign is that it will be open to anyone to join and create their own branch. The message is that if you’re a Greenie in Hobart, Labor in Launceston, a Democrat in Darwin, or unaligned in Adelaide and you too have had enough of the lies and lack of accountability of this government, the “Liars for Howard” campaign and website will enable you to start up your own branch.
The site will eventually have downloadable material and I envisage that we will be able to provide some centralised support for others to tip them off to where Liberal and Labor events are going to be staged. So, I’m hoping in the next few months, this thing will grow in an organic type of way and in the next week or so we intend to hold our campaign launch (perhaps a mock protest at Michael Moore’s new film Fahrenheit 9/11. I can see the banner now… “No Moore Truth!”)
Apart from a link on your website, what would be most valuable to me as organiser of this thing is to have someone in the media who could tip us off to where the Liberals and Labor will be holding events on any particular day. Failing that, how can we find out this information?
Last night we saw some greens go feral and get arrested protesting against John Howard down here in Federation Square. Our campaign won’t be agressive – it’s all about sending a message using humour – but how did they know where he was going to be, and how can I find this information? I hope you can help out in that regard. (Margo: Once the site is up and running, hopefully insiders and people on the ground will help out.)
This whole thing about the Howard Government being a bunch of pathological liars seems to be gaining a sort of momentum, as seen through a number of websites that are springing up. Our website will be an integral part of our campaign (as is the billionairesforbush campaign, on which ours is modelled).
I assure you that we are in no way associated with johnhowardlies. While I agree with what they say and their right to say it, it is gutless that they choose to remain anonymous. I don’t know who they are or where they are coming from. I’m upfront on our website that while I am a member of the Labor party, I’m doing this in my capacity as a citizen of this country and that this campaign is in no way associated with or affiliated to the Labor party and is open to anyone to join. I don’t see why I should be anything less than totally honest about that.
Margo: Robin Rothfield has also started a website, called defeathoward
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Pete Rowe
It’s 4.45am and I’m crying like a baby. No trickle of a single tear slowly making it’s way over the (smile lines) creases of my cheek, not for this little black duck. I’m talking racking sobs that I find hard to stifle, tears streaming down my face.
The force of the emotion has caught me completely by surprise, no time to prepare, no warning, just bam, welcome to a brand new day.
I’ll explain my reasons for this outburst soon enough but in order to go forward, I first need to go back for a moment to set the scene. I’m 36 years old, I have a wife, a 3 year old son and 1 year old daughter. I live on a small property in a valley not far outside of Bellingen in NSW. It’s pure heaven, well, my version of it anyway.
I like to tell people I’m semi retired, although strictly speaking that’s not really the case, more like in between jobs. I contract to the mining industry which means that, to make up for the short periods of time that I have to be away, I get to spend the majority of my time at home with my family.
The upshot of all this is to explain that, in general, life’s good – for me and mine anyway.
My baby girl’s need for an early morning feed awoke me and, seeing as how that’s the sleep thing shot for now, I figured I might as well read.
Better to have gone back to bed perhaps? To have remained almost blissfully ignorant, for a while longer at any rate.
The words that leapt from the page and pierced me with such unexpected force are these:
“What do you do in that situation?’ Kylie said later. ‘Do you just stand there, or go and finish the grocery shopping before going home and falling apart?”
These words are in chapter ‘Not Happy, John!, and were spoken by Kylie Russell, wife and more recently, widow to Australian Special Air Service Sergeant Andrew Russell, killed while serving in Afghanistan.
Sergeant Russell never got to hold his new baby daughter, born just eleven days before he was killed.
Kylie had received a call from Western Australian based Labor MP Graham Edwards informing her that there was to be a wreath layed by George W Bush in memory of Sergeant Russell and all Australians who have died in service to our country. She was not invited.
I have watched with a certain degree of unease as, ever since the Sept 11 attacks of 2001, the world as I knew it, or at least thought I did, has changed dramatically and for ever.
With a growing sense of helplessness I’ve seen images of the invasion of Afghanistan, the detention of a large number of people in Guantanamo Bay and, more recently, the invasion of Iraq.
Add to this the unbelievable precedents set in our own country recently, namely the occupation of our own parliament by not one, but two foreign powers, and I know there’s definitely something rotten in the state of Texas. Pun intended.
In regards to the state of play in the world at large, I leave that up to each individual to view as they see fit. My concerns lie much closer to home. In fact, my concerns are about my home, that is, this country we all call home and the institutions and processes that govern it.
For the most part, I have been content to sit back and watch with quiet amusement and a cynical smile as our pollies, democratically elected one and all, have gone about the day to day task of governing our country.
They have done this I believe, with our best interests at heart. We may at times think that our elected representatives are slightly off the mark but at least they’re out there trying to do their part to make Australia a better place to live for all of us.
Up until now that is.
The actions taken, in a number of arenas, by our incumbent Prime Minister John Howard, are anything but for the good of the Australian people, as far as I can see. In fact, you could be forgiven for thinking that John Howard sees Australia as containing only two groups of people, those who are with me, and the ‘mob’
It is not for me to debate each instance at this time, certainly not under this forum, but if you doubt my words in this matter then please, re-read the statement made by Kylie Russell. Better yet, read Margo Kingston’s book.
For some time now I’ve been trying to put in to words the growing anger and frustration I have felt in regards to the events of recent times. I now have those words and, irony being what it is, they were given to me by the very actions of our current leader, the one who helped create this level of confusion in the first place. Those words – NO RESPECT! No respect for the tradition, function and value of the office he holds.
No respect for the wishes of a vast number of people crying out for their collective voice to be heard in regards to the actions taken on the world stage, in our name.
No respect for our parliament, either as an institution or as our political ‘home’.
And most damningly, no respect for the wife and child of Sergeant Russell and therefore, no respect for his death and what that means to the ordinary men, women and children of Australia, whether that be the man on the street or a member of our defence forces.
For nearly twenty years I have refused to vote. Call me a conscientious objector, lazy, apathetic, whatever. In times not too far gone I would have gladly owned up to any and all tags as being equally justified..
I saw nothing about the way our politicians conducted themselves on a daily basis that made me even vaguely interested in playing a part in the election process. I saw it as an exercise in futility to think that by voting I going to be ‘making a difference’ as the spin doctors would have us believe.
How wrong I’ve been.
I’m enrolled, I’m angry and I can’t wait to have my say.
I don’t wish to engage in an ongoing verbal stoush with whom ever may take offence in regards to the comments I’ve made so far and as such, you can be sure this will be my only communication in this forum.
The fact is I’m frightened, concerned, angry and above all, profoundly sad at the situation we find ourselves in as a nation at this point in time.
I refuse to accept that the conflicts of recent times that we have played such a strong role in are in the ‘best interests of our country’.
I refuse to accept that the actions taken on so many levels by our highest elected representative are in ‘the best interests of the Australian people’.
And I sure as sh..t know that the shameful way in which Kylie Russell and her daughter were treated are in no way, shape or form ‘in the best interests of all Australians’.
There is an election looming. I urge each and every person eligible to vote to do so. It is absolutely crucial. More so, I believe, for our younger generation. A lot of these actions are being taken in your names remember.
If the majority of eligible voters do just that, vote, and we still end up with our current leadership regime, then so be it. I will gladly stand by the will of the people. But it has to be just that, the WILL OF THE PEOPLE. As many people as possible.
I only hope that my voice can go some way towards stirring debate on what is a crucial issue to the future of us as a nation and people, both at home and on the world stage.
I don’t ever want to have to read of the pain of another Kylie Russell being so unforgivably treated by the very people who sent her husband away in the first place.
NO JOHN, NOT IN MY BLOODY NAME!
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Michael Riggall
Margo, congrats on the book – I picked it up on Sunday and finished it last night.
I tried earlier this year to get myself involved in our political culture by conducting an information gathering exercise with the various parties. What an exercise in frustration that turned out to be. All the party functionaries could do was to rattle off web site addresses. The collective lack of response discouraged me and I let the project drop. Then I read your book.
I am now determined not to go into that dark neo-conservative night quietly, but screaming with every democratic breath that I can draw.
Your Webdiary is now in my favourites and will be studied on a regular basis (I live in Brisbane, so all of our newspapers carry the Murdoch seal of approval).
I have already scribbled off a letter to my local ALP MP (Wayne Swan) asking him to give me three reasons why he should get my vote and commenting on his offices lack of response to my earlier requests in March.
My next step will be to become active in this upcoming election and assist one of the minor parties in the Senate (that will be me standing outside the church/school/community hall handing out how to vote cards).
If my remiss local member ever does reply I am getting my question sheet ready. Media ownership – what does his party think? Political funding and the Australian Electoral Commission – what does his party intend to do in regards to greater accountability and the AECs power to investigate and prosecute? And finally, I see the gross commercial exploitation of our children as one of the major threats to our society – does his party believe that we need to restrict the corporate world’s access to our children and let them spend more time being kids instead of consumers and targets of marketing analysis?
Please never lose heart and give up – we all need more people like yourself to do what you do so well, keeping the bastards on their toes.
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Hannah Robert, lawyer and Greens Candidate for Kingsford Smith
I’ve just read an extract from your book, and I can’t wait to get my mitts on the whole thing to read it properly. I think you are spot on – politics is far to important to leave it to cynical PR crews and number-crunchers. And however naive it may be to think we can jump in and change it, we’ve tried apathy already (several times!) and it really isn’t getting us anywhere.
Hence, I’ve thrown my lot in with the one political party that does seem to have some concern for real democracy in more than just the “flag-pole on the lawn” sense – the Greens. And on the basic “in for a penny, in for a pound” principle, I’m running as a candidate in Kingsford-Smith against Peter Garrett.
Between me and Peter, surely we can thrash out a bit of a political debate! At least I hope so – I’d be sadly disappointed if he lets himself be gagged by the ALP media machine on his maiden voyage into politics.
On a similar note, I was appalled in a new and unusual way by Janet Albrectson’s attack on the new ACT bill of rights, and got het up enough to pen a response. I’ve sent it off to The Australian in the same way
I used to write letters to Santa when I was 13, with very little expectation of it being filed anywhere but “the bin”. So I thought I’d see if you felt like giving it a run on Webdiary:
As Janet Albrectson would have it, democracy and a bill of rights are completely opposed to one another, and every operation of judicial decision-making represents an erosion of Parliament’s omnipotent power (Wary of a world where new high priests hold sway The Australian, June 30, 2004).
This is a woefully inadequate picture of the way democracy works and fails to even address the core role which the separation of powers plays in a healthy democracy. Albrectson is wrong because democracy is far more than just brute majority rule. Democracy means that “the people shall govern” – and that means that everyone (not just those who form the majority) has a role to play in governing their society.
To confuse it with majority rule – where the majority could, if it wished, exterminate the minority, or exclude them from the vote – is to downgrade our concept of democracy.
A democratic government isn’t just about popularity – on that measure even Hitler’s Germany could arguably be viewed as a “democracy”. Rather, the strength of democracy is that it gives everyone a fair chance to participate in the way society is run, and that it determines the direction of government by taking account of every single voice.
A healthy democracy is built on a strong foundation of individual rights – to vote, to participate in government and elections, to be informed by a free media, and to have the basic education and health which enable you to participate as a citizen.
True democracy cannot tolerate the persecution of minorities, because every person who is persecuted or discriminated against is one less person who can be fully involved in the governance of their nation. Where the rights of minorities are attacked, the democracy of our entire society and government is diminished.
In the universality of the democratic ideal no one is “disposable”. Not everyone will be pleased by the decisions made by democratic governments, but everyone deserves a say in how they are made.
The daily reality of living in a democracy means that our rights are not just reflected in the way parliaments are elected, but also in the way our laws are applied and adjudicated in between elections. Democracy involves a finely tuned balance between three types of governmental power – the legislature makes the rules, the executive administers the rules and the judiciary adjudicates on the rules, and the human complications which the rules may not have contemplated.
By separating power into these three roles, we avoid concentrating too much power in the hands of any one arm of government, and prevent the corruption and abuse that can result.
Albrectson’s attack on the ACT Bill of Rights suggests a dangerously limited notion of democracy which concentrates power in the hands of our Parliamentarians at the expense of safeguarding basic human rights. When governments feel they can score populist points by targeting and scapegoating minorities, then the courts are often the last forum where individual rights can have a fair hearing.
Many Australians are rightfully proud that Australia is a signatory to key human rights treaties such as the UN convention on Civil and Political rights, the Convention for the Rights of the Child, and the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. But many would be equally surprised to realise that these rights don’t necessarily translate into Australian law, and that without a Bill of Rights, there is only very limited protection of our political rights under the constitution and no clear protection of our basic human rights.
If we want a future where the basic rights of all Australians are respected, and the mistakes and abuses of the past are not repeated, then we need a bill of rights.
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Lynda and Carlos Medina
Open Letter to Australia (hi guys!)
We want to share a little of our perspective about Australia today and a change we have made of priorities in our lives.
Recently, we went on a trip to Cairns for holidays. During this trip we visited the Great Barrier Reef, the Daintree Rainforest and many other amazing areas. This highlighted something we already knew: that Australia is a truly amazing place that deserves our respect and care. We want to actively maintain our country, look after it and pass on to following generations.
During one of the many tours we went on, a guide a fellow from Campbelltown in NSW mentioned that a small group of environmental activists literally buried themselves in the ground to stop the Daintree from being cleared, while pursuing the World Heritage Listing of the area with the UN and fighting off the local government’s legal challenges in the High Court. The world and the UN recognised its significance, but the government didn’t.
These things are worth fighting for, even when the odds are stacked against you!!!!!!
That very same week, the local North Queensland newspapers reported Costello’s latest budget, which stopped funding to the two major Research Centres for both the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest.
How can you even explain or justify this decision? We are still learning so much about these areas, the climatic changes and the drought’s effects on Australia, and these areas are a major money spinner through science and tourism for the region. Yet we have enough money to pay for wars, for election advertising, for election bribes, to send refugees all the way to Nauru to be detained, and for millions in expenses for Kirribilli House since this PM has been there!
We are sick of his racism, lies and the bribes thrown at us, of being seen only as consumers that swallow government propaganda and bullshit! They must think we are a bunch of greedy idiots, who they can buy off at every election.
Anything and everything is up for sale: schools, Unis, our health, our environment, human rights, our laws and justice, our media, our democracy. NO!
We are not selling out, we are not selling our conscience, our Australia, our future. It is time for change, for payback and for a better future, while we still can, before it’s too late.
We are taking this personally: we hold John hoWARd responsible!
We are personally doing EVERYTHING we can to make sure we get rid of him at this election! We are supporting Andrew Wilkie in the Bennelong electorate to compete head to head against hoWARd. We have also joined The GREENS in the Parramatta area where we live. hoWARd will need to win this election twice: first just to keep his seat and then again for the Libs to win it!
If you feel unhappy about Australia and the way things are being done nowadays, you are not alone. Every one CAN make a difference. If you don’t know where to start just give us a call (0402 070787).
We can all achieve a lot even if we do disagree in many areas. We are not recruiting you to join a party or to preach at anyone. We want to know how we can make this country the Lucky Country again. Democracy works best when all views are heard and everyone has a voice.
We would love to hear your thoughts on how we can all make a better Australia. Let’s Advance Australia Fair!