OZschwitz maggots attack charter of rights

Subject: OZschwitz maggots attack charter of rights Thu May 08, 2008 8:13 pm

In recent weeks the charter of rights "debate" has been heading largely in one direction - against. The antagonists have had longer at the megaphone than usual and have cranked up the volume. Cardinal George Pell is out on the barricades, and unsurprisingly he thinks a charter of rights is a bad thing, along with stem-cell research, contraception and abortion.

The NSW Attorney-General, John Hatzistergos, and the former premier Bob Carr have lent their voices to the anti campaign. They think you would be crazy if you let anyone other than NSW politicians look after your freedoms.

A handful of conservative provocateurs from the fourth estate keep banging away about how awful such legislation would be. These voices are relatively fresh from saying the invasion of Iraq was a good idea, which gets me thinking that surely they cannot be hugely wrong yet again.

Having culled through both the flourishes and the rhetoric against a charter, the arguments come down to two core complaints.

It is undemocratic because it would transfer power from elected politicians to unelected judges, and God knows what they will do. A sub-branch of this is that a charter will be a lawyers' picnic.

Second, our rights are well protected enough, by Parliament and the common law, so stop worrying and enjoy the splendid freedoms you have.

Both these arguments need serious attention to detail and quite a bit of reworking if they have any hope of carrying the day.

Take the transfer of power proposition. I'd like to know who first whistled up that furphy. When major pieces of legislation that presaged a realignment of forces were under consideration did we ever hear, "Oh no, that's diabolical because judges will steal all the policy moves"?

The Trade Practices Act in a sense is a charter of rights for consumers and a charter of restraints for business. The various anti-discrimination acts are charters of rights, as is the whole equal opportunity regime - all with their fair share of abstractions.

Why weren't these hugely intrusive pieces of legislation strangled at birth? In their dark hearts these laws transferred policy-making powers from elected politicians to unelected judges and gave lawyers a feast of carbs and cholesterol into the bargain.

Countless laws reassign rights and responsibilities and give lawyers and judges the job of searching for meaning and balance. Parliament grabs back a bit of the action if it doesn't like the outcome struck by the courts. That's sort of how our democratic system works and, yes, lawyers are in for their slice.

LNK

Subject: Re: OZschwitz maggots attack charter of rights Thu May 08, 2008 8:57 pm

Quote :: OZschwitz maggots attack charter of rights

Well, what else can we expect, from a slave pen like that! Fucking statist sheeple!

OZschwitz maggots attack charter of rights

OZschwitz maggots attack charter of rights

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