Pyrmont Village on NSW Labor and Social Justice

By: Don Anderson Click author's name for more of his/her articles

This is article 14 from the stated aims and objectives of NSW branch of the ALP: “Recognition and protection of fundamental political and civil rights, including freedom of expression, the press, assembly, association, conscience and religion; the right to privacy; the protection of the individual from oppression by the state and democratic reform of the Australian legal system.”

Quite lofty words, you’d have to agree. It’s a shame that Labor across the country doesn’t appear to even pay basic lip service to this principle. NSW Labor seems intent on clawing away at basic human rights such as freedom of speech and association whenever the opportunity arises. Whilst I’m no supporter of outlaw bikie gangs I do accept the right of these groups to exist. I’m not denying that the police need to tackle bikie related crime but outlawing the bikies right to associate is futile. Did the Government miss something- they’re outlaw gangs, as such I can’t see that outlawing anything they’re involved in will have any effect other than to push already secretive organizations even further underground.

Similarly, using the bikies to justify further expansion of police search powers is cynical politics at its worst. It seems to me that NSW Labor is using a crack down on crime to divert attention from their complete incompetence at governing. If things keep going at this rate it’s unlikely that we’ll still have the right to vote at the next election anyway. That’s a touch extreme maybe but you get my point.

Federal Labor is faring little better. What happened the ‘Knowledge Nation’? Mr Rudd seems more interested in censoring things we shouldn’t know about rather than funding universities to teach what we should. Useless filtering of the internet is a waste of time and funds that could be better diverted to actually attempting to crack child porn rings. And while Mr Rudd hasn’t ‘gone the full Tampa’ on the latest people smuggling debarkle he’s not too far off. I’m yet to be convinced that displaying humanity on the nation’s behalf is the same as displaying weakness. It’s time to change Australia’s poor record on refugees and do our bit.

Labor is traditionally the defender of civil liberties and champion of social justice. What has happened to these values and where does a concerned voter look to find an alternative that still embraces such seemingly antiquated values- The Liberal Party? Certainly not. Unfortunately, our two party system no longer provides a spectrum of ideology but a convergence of cynical vote winning strategies on both sides. Perhaps it’s time to seriously consider alternatives.

Article Source: ABC Article Directory

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