[Greens-Media]
Sunday, 12 August 2007

Indigenous communities across Australia face Australian Crime
Commission's coercive powers

Under the racist Division 1 of the Northern Territory National
Emergency Response Bill 2007, Indigenous communities in all states and
territories are singled out to be subject to the Australian Crime
Commission's coercive powers, Greens Leader Bob Brown warned today.

"White communities need not worry. The ACC will be able to access all
state and territory records and employ its own staff and extraordinary
surveillance powers to pursue individual causes of alleged violence or
sexual abuse involving Aboriginal Australians," Senator Brown said.

The Redfern, Palm Island and Launceston Aboriginal people will be
singled out for the ACC's draconian powers just as much as those at
Tennant Creek or Mutujulu. If you are white, usual laws apply, if you
are black, the draconian powers, designed to deal with highly
organised crime syndicates and the mafia will apply."

Senator Brown said that latest statistics point to 6000 reported cases
of child abuse in Indigenous communities but 35000 across Australia.

"So, on a basis of race only, less than 20 per cent of child abuse
comes under these coercive powers. Why this 20 %? Why not the other
80%?" Senator Brown asked.

--- In ClimateChangeAction@..., greg hopwood
<ghoppy9@...> wrote:
>
> Good onya Benny
>
>
> [Greens-Media] NT land grab would fail in High Court - say Greens
[input] [input] [input] [input]

> Friday, 10 August 2007
>
> Legal opinion released
>
> Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown has released senior legal opinion
> that the Howard government's proposed takeover of Aboriginal
> communities land in the Northern Territory is not on 'just terms' as
> required by the Constitution.
>
> Mr Brian Walters SC concludes that, "all of the provisions in the
> legislation providing for acquisition of property other than on "just
> terms" would be struck down as void ab initio if they were enacted into
> law in their present form."
>
> Mr Walters is of the opinion that the constitutional guarantee of 'just
> terms' is not upheld by the legislation.
>
> The government substitutes the words 'reasonable compensation' for
> 'just terms' in some clauses and Minister Mal Brough has indicated that
> government spending, including the provision of infrastructure, will be
> considered compensation.
>
> "The legislation is a reversal to Terra Nullius - empty land -
> thinking," Senator Brown said.
>
> "It treats Indigenous communal land as if it has no more significance
> than the dollars a real estate speculator would see in remote and arid
> country. But it is the government, not the Aboriginal land, which is
> remote and arid in its thinking.
>
> "This hasty and nasty, patronising legislation may be bulldozed through
> the Senate next week but it is far from being upheld as law. Even the
> Howard government is not entitled to override the Constitution,"
> Senator Brown said.
>
> Senator Brown said that more legal questions arose. For example, the
> extension of the extensive powers of the Australian Crime Commission,
> set up to snare crime syndicates involved in money laundering,
> international drug smuggling and white slavery, which this legislation
> applies to Indigenous communities to catch sex offenders.
>
> "This is a dangerous police-state move which deserves much greater
> public debate - especially as most child sex offences in Australia do
> not occur in Aboriginal communities," Senator Brown said.
>
> Further information: Ebony Bennett 0409 164 603
>
> You can find the legal opinion at www.bobbrown.org.au
>
> Ebony Bennett
> Media Adviser
> Office of Greens Senator Bob Brown
> Mobile: 0409 164 603
> Ph: (02) 6277 3170
> Fax: (02) 6277 3185
>
> Visit Bob's new myspace site at:
> www.myspace.com/bobbrowngreens
>
>
> benny zable <bennyzable@...> wrote: Attention All
>
> Please download, sign and send off this letter to the senate.
>
> Please pass this email around.
>
> Benny Zable
>
>
> >From: "Siobhan"
> >To:
> >Subject: FW: [pw_australia] Urgent action needed
> >Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2007 23:54:51 +1000
> >
> >Dear friends
> >
> >Shar has generously drafted a letter to the senate in response to the
> >government's emergency legislation regarding its intervention into
> >Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. Please if you
can make
> >time to forward it to the senate do so. I know at this time I find
myself
> >to be overwhelmed by the enormity of what is happening to our
democracy and
> >heartbroken about what is happening to Aboriginal communities in the
> >territory and so even a small action in the good company of friends
gives
> >me
> >some hope.
> >
> >
> >
> >Best wishes and love
> >
> >Siobhan
> >
> >
> >
> > _____
> >
> >From: pw_australia@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:pw_australia@yahoogroups.com] On
> >Behalf Of Shar Edmunds
> >Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2007 9:53 PM
> >To: PW Australia
> >Subject: [pw_australia] Urgent action needed
> >
> >
> >
> >Dear Friends
> >
> >Today is International Indigenous Peoples Day. Tomorrow (Friday 10^th
> >August) there will be a one-day Senate inquiry into the government's
> >emergency legislation regarding its intervention into Aboriginal
> >communities in the Northern Territory. The legislation is complex
> >involving amendments to 5 Acts of Parliament. Much of the detail of its
> >content has been widely criticized by Aboriginal groups throughout
> >Australia and, in addition, by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
> >Commission. The haste with which the Senate inquiry is required to sit
> >does not allow adequate time for affected groups to properly understand
> >the implications the legislation has for them, nor time for appropriate
> >debate and representation to the inquiry which is required to present
> >its report this coming Monday, 13^th August. This haste is a
significant
> >loss of democratic process.
> >
> >Mal Brough justifies the haste by saying that what's in the Bill has
> >been known for six weeks. However genuine his intentions may be, I can
> >only conclude that his visits to Northern Territory communities
were not
> >about listening to the people and consulting with them but about
telling
> >them why they should support his radical proposals on the strength of
> >his word ie it was a sales trip.
> >
> >Not only do our Aboriginal peoples need our support at this time
but our
> >democracy needs our support.
> >
> >Attached is a model letter you are invited to use for ideas if you
would
> >like. Please do make a submission before 3pm tomorrow to the Senate
> >Committee meeting. The earlier in the day the better. Write it more in
> >your own words so that we don't replicate each other. Your letter
can be
> >as long or as short as you like and they need to be individual. You
need
> >to include your name, phone number and address for your submission
to be
> >accepted. I'll attach the document that talks about making a submission
> >for your information.
> >
> >Email your submission to
> >gov.au>
> >
> >Depending on what the inquiry recommends there may be amendments
made to
> >the Bill which would then go back to the House of Reps to be passed
> >before it can go before the Senate. Whether or not that happens the
Bill
> >needs to be passed by the Senate to come into effect. Therefore I will
> >also send an excel list of all senators' email addresses. To email all
> >of them, all you have to do is copy and paste column C of the list into
> >the "To" section of an email and write your concerns. (Just modify the
> >letter a bit so, again, it's not identical with the one you sent to the
> >committee.)
> >
> >If enough voices are raised there just might be an impact and proper
> >consultation required.
> >
> >Love to you all
> >
> >Shar
> >
> >
> >
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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