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  Issue No 35 Official Organ of LaborNet 15 October 1999  

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Letters to the Editor

Don't Let Howard Take The Human Out Of Human Rights


Early this week the Senate will vote whether to allow the Howard Government to take the human out of human rights.

There is little time to act.

Under a Bill known in Canberra as HREOC II, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission (HREOC) will become known as the:

Equal Opportunities and Equal Responsibilities Commission (EOERC - a wretched sounding acronym which echoes Howard's wretched record on human rights issues).

More disturbing than the Orwellian name change, however, the government wants to replace the existing commissioners -- each of whom specialise in different fields such as sex, race, disability -- and replace them with a single commissioner for all areas of discrimination.

It is impossible for any one person to remain in control of, and have an in-depth knowledge of, all such areas of discrimination.

We fear the output from the commission will not be able to done to the same high standard. Important HREOC roles such as advocating reform and examining discriminatory legislation are likely to suffer.

Most dangerously, the Bill seeks to give the Attorney-General of the sitting government the power to intervene in a case and the power to veto a case. The government needs to be reminded about the separation of powers, particularly where it involves a judicial system (the courts).

RUMOUR has it the ALP is willing to vote with the Government to pass the

HREOC II Bill.

* URGENT PROTEST IS REQUIRED. *

TELL the pollies we DEMAND they keep the HUMAN in Human Rights.

Citizens, and most notably citizens in identifiable minorities have been fighting for equal rights all this century, but it is our successive governments which have not come to the table with their equal responsibility to seriously address the issues.

Here is a government which has refused to say sorry for human rights violations of the most serious kind.

Now it is spitting the concept of human rights back in the faces of all disadvantaged Australians.

Instead of real action on discrimination, Howard serves us trite, talkback-driven newspeak.

PLEASE URGENTLY CONTACT:

Senator the Honorable Nick Bolkus, Opposition Attorney-General spokesman, Ph: (02)6277 3388 Fax: (02)6277 3062. mailto:[email protected]

Senator the Honorable Brian Greig, Australian Democrats A-G spokesperson Ph: (02)6277 3338, Fax: (02)6277 5703 mailto:[email protected]

The Honorable Daryl Williams, Attorney General. (02) 6277 7300(Tel) (02) 6273 4102(Fax) mailto:[email protected]

Iain Clacher - mailto:[email protected]


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*   View entire issue - print all of the articles!

*   Issue 35 contents

In this issue
Features
*  Interview: Strategic Responses
NSW Police Association president Mark Burgess has worked in the coal mines and the waterfront - now he�s the public face of NSW police
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*  Republic: Negative Campaigning
If the Republic fails, one of the main complaints which should be leveled against the ARM is its refusal to play dirty.
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*  Unions: Interpreter smooths the way for Kosovar Refugees
�The people really appreciate what Australia has done for them but they still want to go home," said Ariana Biba, a HREA member who has been worked recently as an interpreter assisting newly arrived refugees from Kosovo.
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*  Education: Count Yorga's Evil Plot
NTEU president Carolyn Allport looks at Kemp's brazen attack on univestities and warns the battle is not won yet.
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*  Safety: Death in the Snowy
Beyond the engineering achievements of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, there is the tragic story of those workers killed or seriously injured in the construction of the project.
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*  International: Why Is the WTO So Anti-Labour?
Driving the cost of labour down appears to be the main priority of the World Trade Organisation
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*  History: The Importance of Tradition
Historical documents bring us into closer contact with the past and its concerns as this 1945 extract from the NSW Nurses Association journal, The Lamp, shows.
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*  Review: McLibel - The Mice That Roared
This documentary is the classic tale of the little guys against the system, a battle for the right to dissent.
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*  Satire: Government Privatises Numbers
Prime Minister John Howard released a new policy on numerals yesterday, to bring them in in line with the Liberal Party's plan to privatise �Pretty much everything before we lose office.�
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News
»  Telstra Workers Turn Reith on his Head
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»  Revenge of the Working Sick
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»  McPickets To Hit Centennial Park
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»  AFL-CIO Computer Deal Keeps Union in Control
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»  Four Pillars Behind Westpac Cuts
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»  Labor MPs Asked to Stand Up and Be Counted
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»  Reith�s Second Wave Smokescreen
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»  Reith to Legalise Gay and Lesbian Discrimination
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»  Denham or Lace - Libs to Ravage Public Sector
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»  The Big Australian Swiftie - $19 Mill Entitlements at Risk
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»  Real Sweatshops: Ice Cubes To Cool Down
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»  Xanana Endorses APHEDA
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»  Tales from the Gender Battlefield
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»  It�s Time! Republic Goes Funky
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»  STOP PRESS: Combet Elected ACTU Secretary Unopposed
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Columns
»  Guest Report
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»  Sport
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»  Trades Hall
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»  Piers Watch
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Letters to the editor
»  The Very Broad Picture
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»  Second Wave - Are We Playing To Win
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»  Don't Let Howard Take The Human Out Of Human Rights
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»  Tax Ideas Not in the Hunt
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»  Desperately Seeking Trevor Melksham
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