Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner says while Australians are not racist people, there are pockets of racism that need to be addressed "head on".
'Room for improvement' - Racism in Australia 20 January 2010 | 03:37:22 PM | Source: AAP
General Peter Cosgrove says Australians have reasons to be proud of their response to emergencies like the 2004 Asian tsunami.
But he says dark incidents, such as the recent attacks on Indian students and the 2005 Cronulla riots diminish us in our own eyes and those of the world. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=83f_1263973036
========================
Gallop blasts racism .. PHILIPPA PERRY, The West Australian March 18, 2010, 5:02 am
WA News / Lee Griffith
Australia has significant pockets of racism and has seen a re- emergence of nationalism, according to former WA premier Geoff Gallop.
In a speech to be delivered to a Human Rights Arts and Film Festival breakfast this morning, Dr Gallop says Australia should have a charter of rights to benefit ordinary people as well as the marginalised and vulnerable in society.
"There are a lot of good things about Australia but one of them isn't the re-emergence of a form of political and cultural nationalism backed up at times by a particularly crude and nasty form of populism," he says.
"We describe ourselves as an egalitarian and tolerant nation but significant and unjustified inequalities remain as do not- insignificant pockets of racism."
Dr Gallop says Australia is the only democratic nation without a national bill or charter of rights and that while our rights receive some recognition nationally, it is very limited.
He says a charter of rights could be given a role in the legislative process, the administration of policy and the interpretation of the law.
Dr Gallop says there is a deep suspicion among elements of the political elite that a Human Rights Act will make it too hard for them to govern when faced with challenges such as terrorism and crime generally. "Not having a charter of rights legitimised by the Parliament sends a message to the community that the government itself is fearful of subjecting itself to serious human rights scrutiny," he said. .. http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/6947779/gallop-blasts-racism/
.. hey! hey! .. g'day agin! .. LOLOL, enough bad news in the other reply, here is some more good Australian news ..
AFP September 30, 2011, 2:27 pm
SYDNEY (AFP) - A 16-year-old girl has been placed on an airport watchlist in Australia after going to court to prevent her parents sending her to Lebanon for a forced marriage.
The Federal Magistrates' Court ruled that the parents of the teenager, who cannot be named, could not remove or attempt to remove their daughter from the country to marry the young man she has met only once.
Magistrate Joe Harman also ordered that the parents not assault, molest, harass, threaten or otherwise intimidate the girl or take her out of school.
In his judgement, delivered in April but revealed by Australian press on Friday, Harman said the girl's application to prevent her parents from sending her away for the marriage was one that was becoming increasingly common.
"The young person's evidence makes very clear that she has expressed to her parents that she does not want to go to Lebanon and does not want to marry the person proposed," he said.
"She has indicated also in her evidence that she is fearful for her personal safety, that she has concerns as to what will occur in relation to her mother's reaction once she becomes aware of these proceedings."
He said the girl might be suggested to have betrayed the authority of her parents by challenging the Lebanese Islamic culture in which she had been raised and this only made him more convinced of her argument.
"What has occurred is, in fact, an act of great bravery by this young woman in taking the steps this young person has taken in seeking assistance through the Legal Aid Commission," he said.
Harman found there was a psychological risk posed to the girl if he did not stop her marriage to a man who was essentially "a stranger".
He said if she was forced to go through with the union without her consent, it would render the marriage void under Australian law.
Until a month or so ago, I was under the impression that the One Nation party had shuffled off into history. So, I was surprised, attending a lunch at which Joe Hockey spoke, to hear repeated questions from reporters about the role of One Nation in attacks on Hockey’s standard against the appeals to racism allegedly advocated by (Lib Immigration shadow) Scott Morrison. Then, on a recent visit to Sydney I heard David Oldfield spruiking the One Nation line on 2UE. And now Pauline herself appears at an anti-carbon tax rally, along with a bizarre cast of characters including Angry Anderson and the League of Rights. Does anyone have any insight into what’s going on here? Is this just some bandwagon-jumping or is there a real resurgence of One Nation and similar groups?
One Nation, for those outside Australia, was a divisive and (clearly) racist minority party that appealed to the darker side of the electorate.
I posted a reply, but thought it worth while expanding my argument.
We are at an interesting point in history, living in the years following 9/11, the wars in Iran and Afghanistan, the Bali Bombings, terrorism, the rise of various fundamentalisms (Muslim, Christian and market) the Global Financial Crisis and growing concerns over climate change and environmental collapse.
In my mind we are living through a time not dissimilar to the 1920s and 1930s…
With such existential threats such as climate change looming, people are either getting very angry or burying themselves in denial.
A similar pattern could be seen during the 1920s and 1930s with people flocking to the Left/Right extremes of politics. It was also an age of spiritual mediums (today’s New Age), new forms of entertainment (then it was movies and radio, today the internet) and a cynical and wear weary public harbouring resentment against politicians and “other elites”.
It was also during the 1920s and 1930s that the “anti-Relativity” movement was in full swing.
Sound familiar?
The RWAs
People feel powerless and look for agents causing them harm: conspiracy theories to help make sense of the world and thus regain some control. Scientists are lying – dare we say conspiring – to get more funding and control the world! Thus climate change is not real!
On a deeper level, there are personality types attracted to the messages of the climate sceptics and right-wing shock jocks.
“Right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) is a personality and ideological variable studied in political, social, and personality psychology. It is defined by three attitudinal and behavioral clusters which correlate together:[1][2]
Authoritarian submission — a high degree of submissiveness to the authorities who are perceived to be established and legitimate in the society in which one lives.
Authoritarian aggression — a general aggressiveness directed against deviants, outgroups, and other people that are perceived to be targets according to established authorities.
Conventionalism — a high degree of adherence to the traditions and social norms that are perceived to be endorsed by society and its established authorities, and a belief that others in one’s society should also be required to adhere to these norms[3].
There are also “highly destructive”, as a series of psychological studies indicate:
In roleplaying situations, authoritarians tend to seek dominance over others by being competitive and destructive instead of cooperative. In a study by Altemeyer, 68 authoritarians played a three hour simulation of the Earth’s future entitled the Global change game. Unlike a comparison game played by individuals with low RWA scores, which resulted in world peace and widespread international cooperation, the simulation by authoritarians became highly militarized and eventually entered the stage of nuclear war. By the end of the high RWA game, the entire population of the earth was declared dead…”
“A large map of the world is laid out. The game involves up to 70 participants or more (depending on the size of the venue). Each participant is randomly assigned to one of the 10 regions in the world: North America, Latin America, Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Africa, The Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, China and the Pacific Rim. Each player represents roughly 100 million people. Each region begins with realistic assets and problems. North America, Europe and the Pacific Rim are well off, but India and Africa are in extreme poverty. Food supply, medical facilities and employment opportunity tokens are distributed accordingly based on actual figures in reality. Likewise, military strength also mirrors that of the real world. The passing of time represents the number of years. Normally the span is around 30 to 40 years.
At the beginning of the game, the three nuclear powers are asked whether they wish to disarm their nuclear armaments. Players who do not have food, health care and employment are given a black arm band; any player who receives three will be declared dead. Regions can also declare refugees, however if no other region offers them asylum, they perish into the open ocean. When the game is in play, the facilitators will move around to determine if proposals for certain problems are feasible or not and reward or punish the groups accordingly. For example, the poor management of the environment can lead to famine, strife and pestilence. Facilitators will also announce random problems at specified intervals, ranging from ozone depletion to global warming.
Leaders are chosen in the beginning of each game to lead their respective regions; these leaders are given coats ties and hats to give them the aura of leadership. They control the finances and military strength and are allowed to pocket the wealth of their regions as they deem fit. To win, one must be the leader of a region and acquire the most wealth.
Leaders can also choose to declare war: Victory is determined by the army tokens. Once victory is achieved, the loser’s territory and assets belong to the winner. If the army tokens are equal then both sides lose not only the armies but also the wealth. A victor can control the invaded territory by stationing troops in the conquered land. Nuclear war wipes out the entire earth population…”
Here comes the criticisms about “models” and “psychology is BS” from certain segments of the WtD’s readership…
Still, I maintain some elements of the denial movement would rather see the planet burn and our species wiped out than concede the point that there might – just might – be some truth to the science.
John Quiggin asks “Where are all these people from?”
They’ve always been there.
Indeed, within every society they exist.
They’ve simply migrated from one conservative “cause” to another: whether it is opposing a carbon tax, vilifying “boat people” as queue jumpers or “all Muslims are terrorists” they’ve always been pursuing their dark agenda.
Last weeks protests simply threw a light on their continued existence.
The tragedy was the leader of the Liberal Party standing shoulder-to-shoulder with them, giving them a legitimacy they should never have.
Duped by Katter, a ‘civil libertarian’ as long as you’re not gay by Doug Pollard, journalist and Joy 94.9 presenter
Anti-gay Australian 'libertarian' TeaParty-like trash and failure of bureaucratic effort to deny freedom of assembly.
In the good old days of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, [ link added: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joh_Bjelke-Petersen ] it was not unusual for the civil authorities in Queensland to take a creative approach to public order-and-law enforcement, in the process sometimes overstepping the boundaries of proper conduct. In Mount Isa, dominated as it is by the Katter family, nothing much has changed, as James Newburrie has discovered.
Newburrie seems an unlikely candidate for the role of Katter’s scourge, but in recent days he’s managed to land more punches on Bob and his son and heir, Robbie, than seasoned politicians who’ve been trying their entire lives.
Newburrie is a modest man. A self-confessed nerd who “could program a Commodore 64 before I could tie my own shoelaces”, he’s now an IT security specialist for a major mining company. A former Liberal who resigned when Tony Abbott became leader. Most surprising of all, a former Katter voter.
He now says he was duped: on his way to vote, he asked one of Hat Man’s aides how Katter felt about gay marriage. After calling the man himself, the aide assured Newburrie that “Mr Katter is all for civil liberty”.
“I hope Mr Katter [ link added: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Katter ] had a good laugh about my gullibility,” says Newburrie, whose sole claim to fame, until recently, was dressing as Lady Gaga in a bid to win tickets to her concert.
“I do not do drag,” he told me, “but for Lady Gaga I was prepared to get photos.” Yes, James is gay.
Bob Katter is not. Nor does he like gays very much. He doesn’t seem to like Parliament very much either, rarely turning up to vote. But he made the effort when Labor amended 84 laws that discriminated against gay couples. He voted against.
He once famously said ”I would walk from Brisbane to Bourke backwards if the poof population of North Queensland is any more than 0.001%”?—?a challenge James is happy to call him on, though in view of Katter’s age, he won’t insist he faces backwards all the way.
James was prepared to overlook, or at least, tolerate all of this. But on August 16, something changed.
“I saw Mr Katter auction his hat to raise money for an organisation which is defending NSW laws that allow schools to kick kids out just for being gay,” he said, fuming. “I saw him auction off his hat and say, essentially in my name, that gay people do not deserve respect and are worthy of ridicule. And that made me so incredibly angry …
“I just think we should get Mr Katter in front of the news cameras to apologise for a career of vilifying homos-xuals.”
Carl Katter, Bob’s gay half-brother, was equally incensed, despite the family connection.
“I spent Christmases with his family and grew up with his children, but when it comes to a choice between honesty and integrity and some kind of notion of family, it’s pretty obvious which one takes precedence,” said Carl. “The kind of behaviour that was undertaken at that rally was a whole new low. He went too far.
“I was shocked by it, I just couldn’t believe that was allowed to be held in the Great Hall of our Parliament.”
Like Carl, Newburrie believes Katter has blood on his hands for creating and reinforcing attitudes that lead some young gays and lesbians, especially in rural areas, to despair of ever being accepted, and to take their own lives. So to bring it home to the “outback hero”, Newburrie decided to organise a rally for equal marriage on the street opposite Katter’s constituency office in Mount Isa.
That’s when the ghost of Sir Joh rose and smote him.
Mount Isa City Council at first refused to even process James’s application, and continues to place obstacles in his way?—?most of them unsupported by the relevant legislation, The Peaceful Assemblies Act (1992).
They demanded an exact location: James gave them a map and GPS co-ordinates. They demanded public liability insurance, which is not available to individuals (and not a legal requirement): The Australian S-x Party stepped in to auspice the rally using its insurance.
Party leader Fiona Patten?—?who campaigned for the Senate in the last general election under the arresting slogan “Elect a MILF”?—?said she hoped the event was a great success and that it brought home to the Katters that there is support?—?even in Mount Isa?—?for changes to the Marriage Act.
The law allows the council to impose conditions on James, but only with his consent. Otherwise both parties must go before a magistrate for mediation. Would they seek a court order, Newburrie asked?
The council backed down and confirmed it would not, “unless we become concerned that [the event] may pose a risk to public safety”.
“One might almost think the council were trying to restrict my democratic freedom of assembly,” joked Newburrie, continuing to reject its demands. The police issued a permit without demur.
Now the council insists the rally cannot be held on council land?—?despite allowing NAIDOC week celebrations in front of the town hall, and the “Convoy Of No Confidence” on council roads.
Addressing the full council on Tuesday, Newburrie said: “For the moment, I am not suggesting that [MICC CEO] Mr Pratap’s reputed deeply held religious convictions are clouding his judgment.” He then went on to suggest it might be a good idea if all council officials, including the CEO, took a refresher course on the requirements of the Peaceful Assemblies Act.
Councillor Robbie Katter, Bob’s son, did not appear to enjoy the speech. He has previously told the local paper he thinks gay marriage “bizarre”, but “that doesn’t mean I’m resentful or have any dislike for gays”.
“He threw down his pen and appeared most indignant,” said Newburrie. That was probably because he had just asked the council to censure Robbie’s dad. “I was interrupted by the mayor, a lot, which as the chair is his right. In the end he did gavel me off before I finished.”
The rally will go ahead this Sunday from 11am on the footpath on Simpson Street, near Grace Street, opposite Bob Katter’s office.
“I would be astonished if more than 20 people turn up,” says Newburrie, joking that in the end it might just be “one short guy with a sign”.
“With some clear exceptions?—?Ali Hogg of Equal Love Victoria, Equal Love Brisbane, Michael James of the Adshel Campaign, the Victorian Anti-Violence Project , Rodney Croome, and a few others ?—?gay advocacy organisations don’t want to get involved,” he said.
Carl Katter, while he fully supports James, won’t be in Mt Isa either. Too many bad things happened to him there.
“Mt Isa is the one place I never want to go back to,” he said, “It has bad memories for me.”
James Newburrie, a modest, honest and courteous man, armoured with the knowledge that what he is doing is right and necessary, will take his stand opposite Katter’s office Sunday, even if he has to do it alone.
He’s determined to do what he can to bring an end to the culture?—?exemplified by Bob Katter?—?that allows and encourages the “bad things” that happen to gays and lesbians in Mt Isa, and far too many other rural and regional towns.
There may be few who will dare stand with this one man. But only a fool would stand against him?—?the one in the office across the road.
*Doug Pollard hosts the Rainbow Report on Melbourne station Joy 94.9 on Fridays at 12pm
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
