Kevin Rudd is obviously in need of having his complete disregard of human rights monitored and recorded.

As items crop up they will be added to the list and comments added where appropriate.

1) Censorship

2) War in Afghanistan

3) Absence of same-sex legislation reforms having a grandfather clause

4) Taxation for religious institutions

5) "marriage" what is it? - marriage-like arrangement - what is it?

6) ban on abortion aid to 3rd world countries

7) Northern Territory Intervention

8) support for coal and uranium mining

9) hetero couples receiving couples - rate pensions when clearly they are two people

10) health minister's homophobic appointments

11) unqualified support for Israel

12) lack of support for Palestine

John Vorster, P.W.Botha and F.W.de Klerk would have been very proud of the Howard/Rudd governments' legislation to control the trade unions and to impose draconian restrictions on them and turn them into criminals.

The Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC) has powers that the controllers of the anti-terror legislation can only look upon with envy and wish they had the same dictatorial control.

Below is the flyer for a protest rally to be held outside the Melbourne Magistrate's Court on Tuesday 2 December, and a draft letter for people to copy and  send to the Alternative Liberal Party government in Canberra, protesting at the ABCC's methods of operation.

Star chamber operations should have no place in a country such as Australia, but the sorts of legislation which saw the birth of the ABCC  as one of the outcomes of the Cole Royal Commission into the building industry is just one of a long line of punitive pieces of legislation aimed at destroying the trade union movement in Australia since Malcolm Fraser became Prime minister in 1975.

The trend has been followed by every succeeding government from that time to this.

Peter McGregor died in January 2008. The University of New South Wales was approached to make a posthumous apology for their behaviour in relation to the treatment of Peter at the Gilbert and Tobin forum (note the word forum) where he was not only ejected by the organisers, but had charges laid against him.

18 APRIL 2008:

No response yet from the University of New South Wales who regard this matter as closed, but Peter McGregor's friends and supporters don't quite see it that way. The disgusting behaviour of that university and its Gilbert and Tobin Law centre are as reprehensible as ever and have made no move to make amends to Peter's partner and everybody else involved.

17 MARCH 2008

Mannie De Saxe,

 

I am acknowledging receipt of your emails of 18 January and 11 March 2008. The University regards this matter as closed and will not respond to any further correspondence.

Yours sincerely,

Victoria Finlay

Executive Officer to the Vice-Chancellor
Office of the Vice-Chancellor
Level 1, Chancellery
The University of New South Wales
UNSW Sydney
NSW 2052
Ph: 612 9385 3803 Fax: 612 9385 1949

josken@zipworld.com.au

Please acknowledge receipt of this email and advise when a response may be expected.

Mannie De Saxe

ATTENTION VICTORIA FINLAY

The fact that Peter McGregor died on 11 January 2008 does not mean that the matter between him and the University is now closed.

More than ever, it is necessary for the University to demonstrate that it is not a university in name only, but that the meaning of the word university is still understood to be that of an institution which upholds the traditions of a seat of learning.

The University, the Gilbert and Tobin Centre, the Law Faculty and the people involved in the events leading to the arrest of Peter McGregor need to make public apologies which are placed in the media in prominent positions so that the community is made aware of of the injustices of the actions taken to have Peter McGregor arrested and ignominiously thrown out of the University.

Until such time as this is done, the matter will not be laid to rest.

Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done.

Mannie De Saxe, Lesbian and Gay Solidarity, Melbourne.

Subject: Your email to the Vice-Chancellor

Dear Mr McGregor,

I am responding to your email to the Vice-Chancellor. I understand that the police prosecution has been withdrawn. The University regards the matter as closed and will not respond to any further correspondence regarding the matter.

Yours sincerely,

Victoria Finlay

Morris Iemma and some of the worst members of his government have departed, and New South Wales should be able to heave a collective sigh of relief.

Unfortunately not enough of them have gone, and there are still some of the old guard who are in the new cabinet of a new and unknown premier, ostensibly of the ALP "Left", if anyone can envisage such an animal. The trouble is already apparent by the choice of the deputy premier in the person of Carmel Tebbutt, who is still part of the old school, and has not been seen as one in the NSW government to inspire confidence.

Hopefully the Victorian premier might learn a little about the arrogance of the people who were in the NSW government and also those in the WA government, but the ALP never learns and goes from weakness to weakness in its endeavours to govern for big business but never for the people who elected them.

Both New South Wales and Victoria have governments which have not learnt that their states need public transport urgently, better health and education systems, and all the surpluses accumulated by all the governments around the country because of the goods and services taxes imposed on us by the Coalition and the non-lamented departed Democrats.

We deserve better, but most voters haven't woken up to the fact that these governments can be challenged by making sure that there are not just two main political parties in Australia.

The Greens may not be the best answer, but they would at least provide a challenge.

Roll on the Council elections in Victoria in November 2008 where the gerrymander has been ended for most councils and we may see the ALP no longer dominating much of local government politics.

Michelle Grattan pointed out in The Age newspaper on 5 September 2008 that the Alternative Liberal Party in Victoria had made the preference deal which saw Family First get the last senate seat in the 2004 federal election.

"As you make your bed so shall you lie in it", and how apt it is for the ALP government which is now unable to get its legislation through federal parliament because it has created the millstone round its neck in the form of Steve Fielding who, if anything, is certainly NOT family first when it comes to big business.

The ALP has been in government since November 2007, but the numbers in the senate for the new parliament only took effect from 1 July 2008, and the numbers are so tight that there is little room for negotiations with the minor parties for legislation which the Coalition has no intention of supporting.

The article below shows in detail how the ALP manoeuvred the preferences to eliminate the Greens - they preferred Family First and they got shot in the feet which will lead to future frustrations as they try to get legislation passed which Steve Fielding doesn't like!

The longer the ALP is in government in Canberra the more it is looking like the Coalition of the Howard era.

18 APRIL 2008:

No response yet from the University of New South Wales who regard this matter as closed, but Peter McGregor's friends and supporters don't quite see it that way. The disgusting behaviour of that university and its Gilbert and Tobin Law centre are as reprehensible as ever and have made no move to make amends to Peter's partner and everybody else involved.

17 MARCH 2008

Dear Mannie De Saxe,

 

I am acknowledging receipt of your emails of 18 January and 11 March 2008. The University regards this matter as closed and will not respond to any further correspondence.

Yours sincerely,

Victoria Finlay

Executive Officer to the Vice-Chancellor
Office of the Vice-Chancellor
Level 1, Chancellery
The University of New South Wales
UNSW Sydney
NSW 2052
Ph: 612 9385 3803 Fax: 612 9385 1949

josken@zipworld.com.au

Please acknowledge receipt of this email and advise when a response may be expected.

Mannie De Saxe

ATTENTION VICTORIA FINLAY

The fact that Peter McGregor died on 11 January 2008 does not mean that the matter between him and the University is now closed.

More than ever, it is necessary for the University to demonstrate that it is not a university in name only, but that the meaning of the word university is still understood to be that of an institution which upholds the traditions of a seat of learning.

The University, the Gilbert and Tobin Centre, the Law Faculty and the people involved in the events leading to the arrest of Peter McGregor need to make public apologies which are placed in the media in prominent positions so that the community is made aware of of the injustices of the actions taken to have Peter McGregor arrested and ignominiously thrown out of the University.

Until such time as this is done, the matter will not be laid to rest.

Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done.

Mannie De Saxe, Lesbian and Gay Solidarity, Melbourne.

Subject: Your email to the Vice-Chancellor

Dear Mr McGregor,

I am responding to your email to the Vice-Chancellor. I understand that the police prosecution has been withdrawn. The University regards the matter as closed and will not respond to any further correspondence regarding the matter.

Yours sincerely,

Victoria Finlay

John Brumby, Premier of Victoria since the resignation of Steve Bracks, is quite determined to exit his seat of power at the next state election. Everything he is involved with has divided the communities from one end of the state to the other. He has probably done more to ensure the election of Greens into both houses of the Victorian parliament at the next election due in a few years' time than any other government any where else in the country.

This will probably be for the best in the longer term because the Libs and Nats are doing their best to try and win back ground lost to the Alternative Liberal Party over the last 7 or 8 years.

Their problem is that it is difficult to know who is more right wing - the ALP or the Coalition.

Brumby has lost the plot as far as the teachers of Victoria are concerned. Teaching is an exhausting profession and requires a degree of dedication and commitment which is not easy to find, and young people starting out on their careers of study at tertiary level are showing they are not too keen to get into an unrewarding profession at a time when the cost of living is soaring to new heights.

Tandberg is a cartoonist of the politics of Australia and never misses a beat. The following two cartoons, from The Age newspaper of 12 and 14 February 2008 illustrate graphically most of the main issues which will help Brumby lose the next election. One which Tandberg could well add to his list is the issue of Freedom of Information, or FoI. Brumby and most governments around Australia are now showing that they are ensuring citizens are obtaining Freedom From Information by refusing to allow many documents on major issues to be released.

This just compounds an already alarming trend to censorship on just about anything and everything, the Internet being the latest which governments are all trying to do something about.

Here are Tandberg's cartoons:

Thank you Tandberg!

Mannie De Saxe, Lesbian and Gay Solidarity, Melbourne

PO Box 1675

Preston South

Vic 3072

ATTENTION VICTORIA FINLAY

The fact that Peter McGregor died on 11 January 2008 does not mean that the matter between him and the University is now closed.

More than ever, it is necessary for the University to demonstrate that it is not a university in name only, but that the meaning of the word university is still understood to be that of an institution which upholds the traditions of a seat of learning.

The University, the Gilbert and Tobin Centre, the Law Faculty and the people involved in the events leading to the arrest of Peter McGregor need to make public apologies which are placed in the media in prominent positions so that the community is made aware of of the injustices of the actions taken to have Peter McGregor arrested and ignominiously thrown out of the University.

Until such time as this is done, the matter will not be laid to rest.

Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done.

Mannie De Saxe, Lesbian and Gay Solidarity, Melbourne.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- , d.caddies@unsw.edu.au,

k.oneile@unsw.edu.au

The Alternative Liberal Party (ALP) Government of Kevin Rudd has been quick to follow in the footsteps of the Howard government in relation to David Hicks, making sure that a control order was placed on him for his release from Yatala Prison in South Australia by 29 December 2007.

David Hicks has not had his time in court, has been silenced by the US government until the end of March 2008, and there are now arguments about Hicks profiting from telling his story, because as a convicted criminal he is not supposed to profit from his crimes.

The main trouble with this argument is that Hicks has not been convicted of any crimes in Australia, and is not likely to be either, because there is no case against him which would stand up in any Australian court.

It is also necessary to understand that whatever Hicks is able to tell of his story, it is all coloured permanently by his 5 1/2 years incareceration in the torture chambers known as Guantanamo Bay, the off-shore concentration camp and gulag run by the United States government.

During the period of incarceration the acts of torture are designed to reduce people's thought processes to total acquiescence and subservience, and to damage them irreparably so that they will NEVER be able to be normal members of society again.

We now have the new Australian government behaving no differently from the previous government in its blame game and ensuring that people should think Hicks continue suffering for his "crimes".

And the previous government, which has learnt nothing from its defeat at the recent polls, has people like Christopher Pyne and Alexander Downer mouthing off about the criminality of Hicks. They both, of course, come from the same state as Hicks, South Australia, so feel they have a right to continue defending the indefensible.

Also, not to forget the years in opposition of the current government which gave total acquiescence to the Howard government's "war on terrorism"!

So, we are in for more of the same, and I don't feel I can look forward in 2008 to a more enlightened government running the country and our lives.

As we say in Yiddish, "OI VEY!!".

David Hicks is due for release from Yatala Prison in South Australia in 1 week's time. The new federal government has seen a control order placed on Hicks for the next 12 months, because he "still poses a threat to Australia's National Security".

Pardon us while we puke!

Jack Thomas was number one, David Hicks is number two, who knows who will be next, but while Australia is still involved in Afghanistan - where it has no right to be - and in Iraq - likewise, and while it still supports Israel in its land grab of the whole of Palestine, Australia is still placed at risk from some of the crazed fundamentalists of the world.

We hoped a change of government would start to show a change in direction in foreign policy, but so far not much has changed.

The feeling around the country is very strong - Howard's End is nigh, and about time too! 2004 should have seen the end, but events at that time played into his grubby little paws and he was saved, even though we weren't!

But this time, despite the last-minute dirty tricks by others in the Coalition than Heffernan, who is still doubtless behind some of the grubby events, nothing will save the prime minister!

People around the country, even including those who have voted for him for all these years are now having doubts and intend to vote differently on Saturday 24 November 2007.

Make sure you help to get rid of him, and also, in the process, send a protest message to that Alternative Liberal Party (ALP) who may win government by voting Greens in both houses - your vote will not be lost under any circumstances, despite the major parties telling you not to waste your vote on minor parties. They just do it to scare you!

VOTE GREENS AND SCARE THEM ALL!

The following article appeared in the Sydney Star Observer dated 15 November 2007 - yet another reason to be wary, very wary, about how you cast your votes on Saturday 24 November 2007. It really is time gays, lesbians, transgenders, people living with HIV/AIDS realised who is supporting them and who is opposing them always!

Vote Greens and put us all back in the picture with hope for the future.

LIBERALS PREFERENCE CHRISTIANS   by Harley Dennett

John Challis   Three days after Malcolm Turnbull’s re-announcement of interdependency reforms to superannuation, gay and lesbian constituents were still waiting for the Liberal Party to acknowledge the commitment. Despite the blanket media coverage, Wentworth residents who phoned the Liberal headquarters were told variations on “I’m not sure he said that” and “we haven’t made any announcement”. Turnbull’s address to the Gay and Lesbian Business Association pipped the much quieter real announcement by Finance Minister Nick Minchin over the weekend. The policy release coincided with a Galaxy poll that found Turnbull neck and neck with Labor’s George Newhouse, with Greens preferences. But if Turnbull hoped it would help win votes in the marginal seat, it has instead been received with widespread disappointment for not going further. “The Coalition is not ruling out removing discrimination against interdependent relationships in other areas,” a spokeswoman for Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said. “The [superannuation] reforms will be implemented as soon as possible subject to competing legislative priorities.” Over half a million members in military, judiciary, parliamentary and public service schemes will be eligible to nominate a same-sex or interdependent partner for a reversionary pension or an annuity payout on death. The estimated cost is $40 million over the next term, with a total unfunded liability of $1.8 billion – half of which pertains to same-sex couples. “The Government has been disposed to making this change for some time, but until recently, the cost of expanding the range of relationships eligible for death benefits was prohibitive,” Minchin said. Former ABC employee John Challis had been the loudest voice campaigning on the issue of superannuation equality – saying at age 79 he and his partner couldn’t afford the luxury of patience. But having received a commitment from both potential governments, Challis said he is now free to vote on other issues – like global warming. Meanwhile, Senate preferences in NSW have been announced with the Coalition giving first priority to the Christian Democratic Party (Fred Nile Group) followed by Family First. Labor has nominated first preference to the Greens, who have in turn placed Labor before the Coalition.

This is part two of the great Howard homo romances. See part one at FUNDAMENTALIST BIGAMOUS GAY MARRIAGES

Tandberg does it again!!! in The Age newspaper of 20 November 2007 - the Clayton's marriage - the gay marriage we had to have when we weren't having a gay marriage!

And then, to top up the first part of the story, Tandberg does the next part in The Age on 21 November 2007, and Janette is becoming more and more confused - first it was George W Bush, then it was Tony Blair, then it was Kim Beazley, now, of all people, it is Peter Costello!

Where will it all end, you may well ask? and the answer will probably be given on Saturday 24 November 2007 at about 10pm when it becomes clear that John has lost the election and lost Bennelong and so loses all the boy friends!

This will be good for the gay community who are not really that happy to acknowledge him as one of their number - he was never a gay activist, so he is really out of place in his current role!

Two letters from The Age newspaper showing yet again the devastating consequences of having a government totally out of control and not accountable.

We can only hope the next government will be forced to act in ways which make it more accountable to the people who voted for it and whom it supposedly represents: 

  Tran case highlights need for inquiry

ASSUMING the story about Tony Tran (The Age, 14/11) is true, just what sort of operation is the Department of Immigration running? This new case also raises the question: how many others are lost in the detention system? Maybe an independent inquiry would be a good start to improving what appears to be a deeply flawed system.

Chris Bridge, South Yarra

Beneath the barrel

THE Bakhtiyari family were detained for four years, then illegally deported to the wrong country with the truth of their Afghan nationality known to the Department of Immigration as early as June 2000 but denied for years, and we thought we had hit the bottom.

When Cornelia Rau was discovered in Baxter, we thought we had reached bottom when we discovered that the department already believed she was an Australian as early as November 2004 but promptly stuck her in isolation for 65 days while pretending to "find" her in Europe.

Vivian Alvarez Solon's case shocked not just Australia but the world with the callous disregard for her life and the welfare of her young children, and the four-year cover-up by two departments that knew she was Australian and didn't care. And we thought we had touched bottom.

Now we see Tony Tran and his little son and the shame continues unabated. We are beneath the barrel after all.

Marilyn Shepherd, Kensington

Malcolm Turnbull is getting desperate - so being a millionaire doesn't always mean getting you own way? Malcolm has done a week later what wife Lucy did on 1 November 2007. On 8 November 2007 there is a full-page advertisement from Malcolm Turnbull in the Sydney Star Observer telling us all what a good friend he is to the gay, lesbian, transgender and HIV/AIDS communities, and that we must now all vote for him!

In the same issue, the following letter appears:

by Rodney from Potts Point | 7/11/2007 6:52:33 PM

DEAR MALCOLM Malcolm, you appear to be a hard-working, friendly, broadminded member of parliament. Unfortunately, no matter how well intentioned your vision may be, people are judged by the company they keep – Bill Heffernan, John Howard, David Clark, Philip Ruddock, Tony Abbott, Kevin Andrews, Christopher Pyne, Alex Hawke, et al. As long as the so-called “broad church” of the Liberal Party is dominated by these and other bigoted, homophobic, extreme right-wing religious fanatics it matters not to my partner and me what redeeming qualities you as an individual may hold. Neanderthals of your party will prevail.

Lucy Turnbull took out a full page advertisement in the Sydney Star Observer on 1 November 2007 telling the gay, lesbian, transgender and HIV/AIDS communities that her husband Malcolm has done so much for these communities that they should return the favour and vote for Malcolm for Wentworth.

What Lucy failed to tell everybody was that Malcolm is a member of the coalition of the willing - willing to continue to treat the gay communities as second-class citizens because they are denied the same human rights as the rest of the community which takes these rights for granted.

No matter how hard Lucy tries, she will not be able to persuade people that after nearly 12 years of Howard government discrimination against gay communities this will suddenly change if the Coalition is re-elected.

And if the voters in Wentworth don't want to be conned by the Alternative Liberal Party (ALP) they shouldn't vote for the ALP either.

The Greens at this stage are, federally, our only hope in the 24 November 2007 elections for any changes in our favour, and it will be to our advantage to do everything possible to ensure as many votes for the Greens as we can muster.

Lucy says that with Malcolm things always get done - but Malcolm has also given us the pulp mill we don't want, has given us global warming we don't want, and NOT given equal rights to dykes and poofters and trannies which we DO want.

So don't take Lucy's advice and don't vote for Malcolm!