E D I T O R I A L

Modern Labour
Unveiling his 'modern Labor' pitch in the Budget in Reply, Opposition leader Simon Crean seemed very 1950s � when 'modern' was good in itself, like spray-cans, zippers and uncomfortable furniture.

F E A T U R E S

Interview: Licking the Wounds
Elder statesman Neville Wran expands on his review into Labor's performance at the last federal election.

Industrial: The Accidental Tourist
Standing on a picket line, just metres from the sleaziest part of Kings Cross, was not what Cheshire chemist David Lui had in mind when he was saving for his trip of a lifetime.

Unions: Stars And Stripes
Fly the flag, beat the war drum and screw the old, the sick and the poor � Peter Costello�s budget aims to emulate the worst aspects of American politics argues Noel Hester.

International: The Un-Promised Land
Andrew Casey lifts the lid on a little-known campaign to establish a Jewish homeland in the Kimberleys.

History: Mate Against Mate
Neale Towart trawls the records to recount some of the more acrimonious ALP State Conference debates.

Politics: Reith's Gong
Peter Reith's medal from the HR Nicholls Society overlooks a number of lamentable aspects about his character as Stuart Mackenzie reports.

Poetry: You've Got a Friend
A friend is someone who protects you, but in an interesting twist the Federal budget has redefined the notion of 'protection' by adding the word 'from'.

Review: War on Terror: Now Showing
Arnold Schwarznegger's latest flick Collateral Damage is spooky for many reasons, writes Tara de Boehmler.

Satire: Burmese Regime Makes Genuine Commitment To Pretence Of Change
The government of Myanmar (Burma) released democratic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi today after a year and a half of house arrest.

N E W S

Solidarity In The Post To East Timor

Joy Wins For All Workers

Workers Call Abbott On Democracy Bluff

Wran Tells MPs: Talk to Unions

Family First on Conference Agenda

Cole Commission Declares Paper War

Yarra Workers Thank Australia

Budget Attacks Retirement Incomes

PSA Challenges Carr�s Secrecy Shield

Election Talk Aint Cheap

Hotel Bosses Back Down On Pay

Welfare Staff Strike Out At Harrassment

Della Ups DIR Inspectorate

Fake Notes Expose Government as Tax Cheat

Labor Faces Acid Test on Asylum Seekers

New Project Encourages Cultural Exchanges

Bush�s Western Saharan War And Oil Deal

Activists Notebook

C O L U M N S

The Soapbox
Border Solidarity
The Australian Workers Union's Bill Shorten explains why he drew a line in the cement in support of the CSL Yarra crew

The Locker Room
The Dangerous Life Of A Hot Dog Seller
Phil Doyle ruminates on the virtues of processed meats in the world of elite sports.

Bosswatch
The Bottom Line
Peter Costello wasn't the only one flaunting a budget deficit this week, as Rupert Murdoch announced the largest corporate write-down on record.

Postcard
East Timor Appeals For Help
At midnight on Sunday 19 May, the UN mandate in East Timor comes to an end and East Timor becomes a new independent nation.

Week in Review
The Spin Cycle
Budget week brings that much spin you half expect to see Shane Warne wheeled out as a spokesman on health, economics, or whatever else the combatants are blabbing about. Jim Marr lifts the covers.

L E T T E R S

WHAT YOU CAN DO

	About Workers Online
	Latest Issue
	Print Latest Issue
	Previous Issues
	Advanced Search

other LaborNET sites

Labor Council of NSW
Vic Trades Hall Council
IT Workers Alliance
Bosswatch
Unions on LaborNET
Evatt Foundation

Censor Moi

***********************

Insipid stewardship of our civil freedoms has become the stock and trade of the nation's chief legal officer. While attorneys general have traditionally played the important roll of being a bridge between the legislature and judiciary and an advocate for the Rule of law in the hurly burly of political discourse, Williams has lacked both the heart and stomach for the fight. To steal a Keating Hewson insult, he's a shiver looking for a spine to run up.

From the day he took office and was given the task of rogering the Legal Aid, Williams has been the most ineffectual of advocates for his fraternity. When the High court was subjected to unprecedented political attack over the Wik decision, Williams was struck dumb. When Justice Kirby was viciously attacked by Senator Heffernen, he was missing in action again - leaving it to the likes of Downer and Abbott to defend both the man and the institution.

His handling of the doomed anti-terror laws were similarly ineffectual. Allowing his political masters to dictate the drafting of the legislation has left him with a Draconian dogs breakfast that any self-respecting liberal would disown. Among the outrageous provision are proposals that would see unionists involved in legitimate industrial action locked up as terrorists. That a Senate Committee dominated by Coalition Senators as condemned the Bill as unacceptable gives some indication of the shortcomings of this exercise. For Williams, the one-time Libertarian way out of his depth, the rebuttal is an abject embarrassment.

In this context, the Bais Moi decision is totally consistent. Asleep at the wheel, or just asleep, Williams has let others dictate his portfolio. The censorship authorities approved the film for release when the Howard Government was in thralls of its khaki election campaign. The decision was made on its merits. But now it's been released the usual moralising suspects have exerted pressure on Howard; he's given his orders to his Attorney General, who himself has pressured the censors into a humiliating back down.

We're focusing on Dazzle, so we won't dwell on the fact that the kerfuffle has given the film an audience far greater than the arthouse fringe it would have normally attracted. We won't even question why it is a movie where women perpetrate violence on men that has fueled the current outrage, while blokes in fatigues continue to cut 'em up from all angles. All we'll say is this, when there's a choice between freedoms and knee-jerk politics, there's no contest with this government. And Williams - whose job is to be the voice of sanity in this regard - is as guilty as the rest of them.

Watching Williams justify the backdown has been so excrutiating it should rate as an extreme sport. The vacant stare, the tortured diction, the wavering voice, the quivering lip: to watch Dazzle to perform in public is like watching a drunkard attempt Karaoke; you just wish they had a loved one to tell them to play to their strengths. One suspects Dazzle realizes this, which is why he is currently more interested in finding a position on the Bench than carrying out his current job. The personal tragedy for Williams is that by the time he pulls the strings for an appointment he will be bereft of any credibility within the profession he should never have left. But the damage his ineffectual tenure has done to the Australian way of life will be even more enduring.

Show Us YOUR TOOL! The most inspiring interpretation of this week's tool get's a souvenir edition of Ship of Tools. Deface the Tool of the Week, click the button above to post your artwork, fill out the form and send your entry in and we'll post the winners next week in the Tool of the Week Gallery.

Ship of Tools - All the tools in one shed!

Nominate a Tool!

  View entire issue - print all of the articles!

  Issue 136 contents

© 1999-2002 Workers Online
Workers Online is a resource for the Labour movement
provided by the Labor Council of NSW
URL: http://workers.labor.net.au/136/d_pierswatch_williams.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005