It may be the title to one of my favorite films but it is my fear given another 10 to 30 years if governments within Australian are not pulled into line then the main theme of the movie that being totalitarian control of a government over its people will be the reality in which future Australians will have to live in.
It is my belief that our state and national Labor governments are working in tandem in a bid for totalitarian control of its subjects. The aim is being achieved slowly and at a pace where the overwhelming majority of Australians being politically apathetic or inept are unaware of the governments ever gradually dissolving of their rights, by the time they realize the government has seized to much control it will be unlikely that the two party preferred Westminster democracy of Australia could save them.
To illustrate my point I will first highlight that the Australian Constitution has no bill of rights, for that matter it has hardly any rights written within, the most important human rights such as freedom of speech in regards to political affairs are not mentioned textually within the constitution and instead implied by the High Court. Furthermore Implied rights are of little practical use against a executive arm of government which wishes to silence your speech.
Time for some case examples of how our State and National Labor Governments are ever slowly but gradually resting totalitarian control over the people thanks in part to few constitutionally protected rights.
My first example will be the recent talk and action of the South Australian government(with similar plans in every other state)in outlawing certain social/bikie gangs(The Finks in particular). Here we see a government attempting to outlaw the free association of a group of people by classifying them as a criminal group and then giving the police a wide array of powers that they do not possess at common law to enforce the legislatures will. The legislature is effectively making it a crime to be in such an association, that is effectively criminialing the forming or right to be an association that is not on good graces with the legislature. Needless to say our right to freedom of association is under direct attack here. Now yes, a lot of the members of these bikie associations have played apart in organised crime and other criminal activity. THAT IS IRRELEVANT FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROTECTING THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION. The government wants you to believe that they are violent criminals and via the effect of these laws they will be able to stop such people, they are praying on your fear of being victimized to mask their true intent. The government is not trying to stop criminal activity here, they are only trying to criminalize and prevent the association of people they find to be nuisances or in opposition of their will. These laws will do little to nothing to stop the alleged criminal activity of members of these gangs, they will only allow for the government to easily infringe human rights and allow the rapid dismantlement of associations of people that the government find to be diplomatic.
A necessary right in order to live in the supposed democratic system that must exist along with the right to freedom of speech and habeas corpus is the freedom of association. We should have a right to associate with people of similar view and believe so as to voice and represent a political belief in order that it be heard. In the case of the bikies their association and shared political belief is most likely a belief that the state should have limited powers to enforce Laws on its citizens, that they should be free and live according to the philosophies of John Stuart Mills. It should be irregardless that an associations motive is for more freedom from the law or disobedience of law, because that motive in itself is a political one and thus worthy of protection.
So what is the big deal if we let the government stop a group of people, even criminals from representing their political belief through an association, well its simple, once you give the government a power it will be eager to use it again to neutralize its next nuisance. Once you give the government the power to outlaw the association of one group of people, even criminals, they can then go to use that power to outlaw another association with the same power used in a different manner, such as a group of protesters for example. If the government is allowed to outlaw a group representing a adverse political belief it can shut down other associations adverse to its own agenda in order to obtain total power. The commonwealth government has tried to wash away the right to political speech and association before in the Australian Communist Party Case, we can only hope the High Court steps in again and realizes that the protection of the right itself must outweigh what the government will spin to be the public interest in seeing criminals arrested and crimes prevented.
To use another recent case study example of how the Australian government are bidding for complete control was after the reading of this years budget which was very negative for the countries economy. The budget drew criticism and protest and thus certain groups of people protested at parliament house. The High Court of Australia once held that the freedom of speech in regards to political affairs was one of the most sacred human rights under the Australian system of Democracy.
How is it then that the legislature (the Labor Party) and effect the executive arm of the government (Aus Fed Police) to move these people away from parliament house and thus silence them. I argue that protesting the national budget is one of the most iconic forms of exercising a right to political speech. This was irrelevant to the government though as they just moved people on and silenced the protest. This shows the governments intent to take totalitarian control as it clearly doesnt want you exercising political speech if it adverse to the government. Whats more this intent is turned into action, the government takes totalitarian control of the situation and silences oppisition through use of its executive power as the High Court isnt exactly their to defend the peoples right to protest.
My last example of a case study of the government bidding for totalitarian control if the federal governments bid on its new communication act which would give the executive government the power to tap any form of communication device used within Australia, emails, websites, phone calls, txt, fax and post, the government could have complete knowledge and control of your affairs at any time. Not only does destroy any natural right to privacy that we as people feel we deserve but it once again affects the right to political speech and association and even habeas corpus, via having complete access to every form of communication you make the government can completely control you via mean of prevention should you ever wish to oppose or rebel against the government. Simply don oppose the government you say, is it as easy as that? Well this old conservative believes the right to oppose the government and the freedom to even break the law in rebellion to government(so long as one accepts the consequences)is a democratic right and with out such a right a government would have totalitarian power, Australia would be like China or North Korea. As Mr Rudd loves the Chinese maybe he hope to establish similar control and power in his government.
Remember that Power leads to Corruption, Absolute Power leads to Absolute Corruption.
Such is the path to the dark side
Master Yoda :p
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