Christians Against Terrorism walk free and acquitted!

Free at last. Ruddock’s rotten rules couldn’t hold them. Read all about it here.Congratulations one and all. Miss Eagle is glad that your ordeal is over. God go with you into a new day!

ALL CHICKENS ARE ON THE ROOST: THE MAN OF SHAME HAS CONCEDED DEFEAT

John Howard's chickens have finally come home to roost

This morning a tune keeps coming into my mind. I hum it away but the words are a little different from the original. The tune is "After the Ball" and I apologise to Charles K Harris for the interference with his lyrics:

After the election’s over, after the votes are in,
After the worker’s leaving, after the poster’s gone,
Many a heart’s rejoicing, if you could read them all—
Many the hopes that have heightened after it all.

And here is why:

We don't know yet if John Howard has been defeated in his seat of Bennelong by Maxine McKew. But it appears more than likely. John Howard sought to make it into the history books - by longevity as Australian Prime Minister. He would have like to equalled or surpassed the long period of office of Sir Robert Menzies. He failed. He is second only to Menzies. But he will make it into the record books for another reason which he almost surely did not ever imagine - he would be kicked out by the voters of Bennelong. John Howard did not seek this record - but he will become only the second Prime Minister in Australian history to be voted out of his own seat.

As Miss Eagle's campaign against John Howard's retirement until the chickens come home to roost has shown, John Howard has meted such inhumanity out to so many people that his actions could not go unaddressed by the electorate. This has happened. The chickens have roosted. They are in the henhouse. They sit on their perch - and John Howard has been knocked off his.

John Howard was the Prime Minister for Injustice. The Minister for Injustice, Mal Brough - co-author with John Howard of the military intervention into Aboriginal life and land in the Northern Territory - has been kicked out of his seat of Longman. It is pleasing to know that the ALP has won the seat of Solomon in the Northern Territory. There are only two Federal seats in the sparsely populated NT - one was already held by Centralian stalwart Warren Snowdon for the ALP. Now the other seat has been snatched away by the ALP from the Coalition. The people of the Northern Territory have expressed their views on the military intervention at the ballot box.

Of course, a number of Liberals are in the safest of safe seats but because of their administration of injustice need to go. This raises the question of resignations and by-elections. In this category, Philip Ruddock tops the list. His horrific administration of Immigration followed by his deceptive and devious administration of the Attorney-General's portfolio has meant that he does not deserve membership in the Parliament of Australia - but the electorate of Berowra has decided to return him anyway. We look forward to his resignation from Parliament within the next twelve months.

The current incumbent in the Immigration portfolio is Kevin Andrews who has proved to have only lower-levels of competence and a complete intolerance of the heat in the political kitchen. His report card should read: Consider your future.

Another who needs to consider his future is Tony Abbott. If there is a particular hallmark in the character of Tony Abbott, it is his absolute high-level rudeness. If Tony Abbott is to continue in Parliament, graduation from a reputable charm school should be mandatory. Why should the Australian public have to witness his carry-ons?

And does Alexander Downer consider that he has a future in the Parliament? What heights of power and fame does he think he can now aspire to? Methinks, Alexander is an example of the Peter Principle. He has risen to his level of incompetence. Didn't know about the AWB corruption, Alexander? You must be incompetent then, Alexander. Otherwise, you must be telling porkies, eh?

So onto a new day...

We can't know or say what we are getting with Kevin 07 and his Krew.

We just believe that Howard & Co had to go.

We hope for a just, fair, equitable future for all.

And some of us are determined to keep Kevin and Krew to that.
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And - for those who might be interested in how it happened in Australian democracy yesterday - here it is

Miss Eagle did her stint at Upper Gully School.
Schools traditionally use Election Day as an opportunity for fundraising

Miss Eagle as Booth Captain was there at 5.30am setting up for Your Rights At Work. YRAW is unique in that it had no candidates of its own but it did have a voting ticket to distribute. Our organisers in La Trobe, Katie and Sam, had provided us with a huge amount of bunting and there was a huge amount of fence to take it. So YRAW won the Fence Competition!
Posters, posters all about!

Booth Workers:

The Greens; ALP, the Officer in Charge of the Polling Booth, Liberal; What Women Want; Liberal.

Within two hours, we had formed a jolly little community of civic minded people.

Election hostilities are put far away on the day.

Australia does not use computerised voting although there have recently been pilot programs for the visually impaired. We use the plain old fashioned method: pencil and paper and placing in a secure box for counting, under scrutiny of all political parties, at the close of voting. Australia does not have the big issues of electoral fraud one hears of in the U.S.A. If there are disputes arising from the polling or the counting, matters can be referred to the Court of Disputed Returns for decision.

On Election Night, there are parties - private, public, and political - so people can gather for drinks, food, and watching telecasts from the National Tally Room in Canberra. Last night, in the seat of La Trobe, Your Rights At Work and Kevin 07 people gathered in a small church hall in Tecoma and watched on the big screen - with more and more and more cheering as the night wore on. Miss Eagle was beyond applause. Euphoria would best describe her condition - sprinkled with a tear of great relief.

Howard conceding defeat - we were beginning to wonder if he every would!

Bring David Home

The Sunday Age has received more than 6500 emails and letters supporting its campaign to bring David Hicks home.

They have been packed up and sent to federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock. He has been invited to write in next week's Sunday Age about the issue. The campaign to bring Hicks home will continue in 2007 as Hicks enters his sixth year in jail — without trial. We look forward to your support. The email address
— bringdavidhome@theage.com.au — will remain active.

Justice, torture, coercion, and moral bankruptcy

Australia does not provide justice to all Australians.

Malcolm Fraser speaks plainly about how Australia, along with other western nations, has moved away from the rule of law and is prepared to accept evidence gained through torture in spite of the long battle under British law to outlaw such a practice.

Brian Walters SC, a Melbourne barrister and the immediate past president of Liberty Victoria, says that, contrary to well-known principles of international law, Australia's Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, says that sleep deprivation is not torture: it is merely "coercive".

You can decide but Miss Eagle thinks the only point of argument is whether Australia, as a nation state, has reached a state of moral bankruptcy or is merely on the road to it.

Free David Hicks and bring him home

"America would not tolerate this for one of its citizens,"

says [DavidHicks' military lawyer, Major Michael] Mori.

"Nor would it tolerate any politicians sacrificing some American citizen to the whim of a foreign country, regardless of whether they are our ally or not. It just doesn't happen."

Read more here

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David Hicks has broken no Australian law, albeit that one school of thought is that it would be possible for David to face some kind of charges. Australia has not stood by its own. Miss Eagle believes that Howard, Ruddock et al clearly display vengefulness mixed with a dog in a manger attitude.

Australia can't convict Hicks so he will be left somewhere where he can be convicted. Justice, mateship, Australian values. None of this is wasted on David Hicks as the Australian Government seeks to reek vengeance upon him. A fair go? Not for David Hicks.

David has obtained British citizenship and the United Kingdom has not, apparently, lifted a finger to get him out of Guantanamo Bay as it has for all other British citizens.

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In Melbourne,

The Sunday Age is becoming involved in the campaign to bring David home.

The Sunday Age is inviting readers to register their support to bring David Hicks home, and it will pass it on to the Federal Government.
Send your messages to bringdavidhome@theage.com.au

Converging towards Peace

Pine Gap has been an emblem of Australia's involvement in the United States geo-military network since 9 December 1966 when the Australian and US governments signed the Pine Gap treaty. Pine Gap is a CIA-run facility as the ground control and processing station for geosynchronous satellites engaged in signals intelligence collection.

There are four categories of signals collected:

• telemetry from advanced weaponos developmebnt, such as ballistic missiles, used for arms control verification;
• signals from anti-missile and anti-aircraft radars;
• transmissions intended for communicatins satellites; and
• microwave emissions, such as long distance telephone calls.

It is widely beleaved that this facility and facilities like it around the world also benefit the commercial interests of the US government and US corporations, commonly referred to as US Inc. In short, industrial and commercial espionage is part of its brief. Bear this in mind when considering the Australia-US Fair Trade Agreement.

Pine Gap has been the focus, across the years, of numerous demonstrations. In December last year, a group of poeple known as Christians Against ALL Terrorism actually penetrated the Pine Gap perimeter by peaceful means and face trial on October 3, 2006 in Alice Springs in Australia's Northern Territory. Read an account of their experience here.This trial is of particular legal interest because Australia's Attorney-General, that ghost like person Phillip Ruddock, has charged these four people under a never before used Commonowealth law. Please go to the website where you can leave donations and look at other ways in which you might be able to support the Pine Gap 4, Jim Dowling, Adele Goldie, Bryan Law and Donna Mulhearn.

David Hicks: citizenship and freedom

The stage is set for Australian David Hicks to become a British citizen. Hicks has been left by the Howard Government and Attorney-General Philip Ruddock to moulder in Guantanomo Bay. Currently he is being punished in solitary confinement by the vengeful United States Government.

Press Tony Blair - particularly while he is under political pressure on many fronts - to expedite the citizenship of David Hicks and, as a consequence, work to set him free as, previously, other British citizens have been. Contact details are here.

The Archbishop of Canterbury and Guantanamo Bay

Rowan Williams, The Archbishop of Canterbury,

has spoken out against Guantanamo Bay

and the breaches of human rights that are occuring there.

Phillip Aspinall, Anglican Primate of Australia and Archbishop of Brisbane

has spoken out to-day.

Who will listen in the USA? Who will listen in Australia?

Australia has one of its own, David Hicks, incarcerated there:

left to rot by Howard, Downer, Ruddock and co.

Very moral people these people -

at least it is my guess that this is how they think of themselves.

Can't believe that they would try to match it with the Archbishops though.

But if they do reflect on the their actions,

on the morality of their actions

and the spiritual counsel they might seek

in regard to their power over the life of David Hicks

and the delegation of that power to a foreign power

what does their conscience tell them?

BILL FARMER, HEAD OF DIMIA RESIGNS POST

The Prime Minister, John Howard to-day announced the resignation of Bill Farmer AO from his position of Secretary of the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs. See New Senior Appointments - 10 July 2005. Ordinarily, this would be a matter for much rejoicing in those seeking reform within the Dept of Immigration. However, his departure has been suspected as being imminent for two reasons:

1. He apologised to a Parliamentary Committee
2. He received an AO at the recent Queen's Birthday awards.

Awards are not unusual prior to the resignation of a senior public servant or their transfer to a significant overseas posting. In this case, Bill Farmer will become Australia's Ambassador to Indonesia. This posting need not be seen as unusual since his service prior to DIMIA was with the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT). If there is anything punitive in these changes to Bill Farmer's career because of the massive failures within the operations and organization of his department, it is not evident.

As a Christian and a practising Anglican, I have been particularly disappointed in the handling of immigration matters because Bill Farmer is the spouse of an Anglican priest in the Anglican Diocese of Canberra-Goulburn and because the excesses under his leadership also occurred under the ministry of that other well-known Anglican, Philip Ruddock, now the Commonwealth Attorney-General.

All of us can be forgiven and all of us deserve the right to a clean slate and a fresh start. I hope that Bill Farmer has been able to learn from what has occurred within the Department of Immigration and understands how the Department he led has been the bureaucratic hand of gross injustice. I also hope that his new position gives him more time for biblical study - in particular, I hope he has a glance at the references in the Old Testament on how the Lord God of Israel instructs us to care for the sojourner - because you were once sojourners. The New Testament could provide material for reflection - particularly the matter of Jesus, with his parents Mary and Joseph, fleeing persecution to become asylum seekers in Egypt. There is no mention of how the Egyptians treated this little family of refugees but clearly they were not locked in interminable detention and were, at an appropriate time of their choosing, able to return. And thereby hangs a story! Now, Bill, narrative theology is a worthwhile pursuit. Listen to the stories.