Today's
Headlines
an Aussie's viewpoint on Australia's
first daily Internet newspaper.
Since October
1995
This on-line paper is now archived for perpetuity in the
National Library
of Australia
Friday, 13th February 1998
Associated links:
Archive of weekly features:
[The Canberra
Column] [Economic
Rationalism]
Day
by day reports on the Constitutional Conventional reports by Peter
Mackay
International:
One Nation birthday party at Pauline's
place.
For a small entrance fee One Nation members only will be able to camp
on Pauline Hanson's rural property and enjoy three days and nights of dancing,
horse racing, live entertainment and a range of other activities.
It just so happens that April 11,
the day
of the One Nation launch in 1997, falls at Easter. If you are a One
Nation member and would like further details
feel free to send me an email.
There is a limit of 500 guests so book early!
Move towards sovereign Aboriginal state in
Australia.
Here is an extract from Green Left's
on-line web page
on the above subject. (Our copy of this Green Left page is
now
archived on our web site.
With the Mabo ruling, Reynolds believes, the
High Court has done only half the job, challenging property rights but failing
to address sovereignty. Citing Canada's success in recognising its indigenous
peoples and negotiating with them on a government to government basis,
Reynolds argues, "It's that sort of equality that we have to reach.
"It gives the respect in the law to say, `Look, this
was a viable, ongoing society that had government and law before we arrived,
and they not only deserve respect in the past but they deserve the respect
in the present of being recognised as a distinctive nation."
Green Left loonies, also known as "Resistance" hang around
in little groups protesting at some One Nation meetings (archive image
above). Otherwise they seem to stick very much to themselves and hardly ever
seen or heard from.
Let us remember that the Peter Jull architect of Nunavut, the Canadian indigenous
state referred to above, is now in Brisbane
preparing
the ground for an Aboriginal independent state in Australia.
The Constitutional Convention
The best show in town... but is it fair?
Peter Mackay's
excellent
daily coverage of the convention gives us an insight into what is
happening and a fabulous history of developments as history is made.
As someone who had watched the convention through the ANC's coverage on the
television I can't help being sceptical about the whole process.
It appears, not only to me but to delegates actually there, that the likes
of Kim Beazley, Gareth Evans and other well known politicians can walk up
to the chair say a few words and jump the queue or make a point in secret.
A point not missed by one of the delegates yesterday when he questioned how
Kim Beazley after talking to the chairman was able to be called up before
others waiting to talk.
The display of political might at both a state and federal level has grown
as the convention has come to an end with state leaders and opposition leaders
as well as federal ministers and financially and politically well placed
people as well as politically correct representatives making up the grand
majority of the delegates.
The manoeuvring's of the Australian Republic Movement and Malcolm Turnbull's
close relationship with Kerry Packer makes particularly suspicious about
this whole joke.
May the republic fail when the "model" is put to the people at a
convention.
The Dreamworld scandal raises its head
again.
The behind the scenes dealings of the Prime Minister (Goh Chok Tong) of
Singapore's uncle, Kua Phek Long, Australian operations continue to smack
of corruption.
Back in
1995 Australian businessman Ross Palmer was beaten off by Ernst
and Young, the receivers of Dreamworld when he tried to buy the
theme park. The receivers, with backing from Paul Keating no less, rode all
over Palmer's counter bid with the park being bought by Long for Au$84.1
million in February 1996.
Now just two years later, in the face of the currency collapse in Asia, Long
has sold Dreamworld to the Macquarie Bank for Au$114.8 million
- not a bad little profit of Au$30 million over twenty four months - or over
a million dollars a month.
Paul Keating is, of course, under a big cloud because of his
strange financial dealings
in the piggery fiasco...
A performance Christopher Skase would
have been proud of!
Yesterday we reported that Northern Land Council chairman Galarrwuy
Yununpingu would spend 14 days in jail under the Northern Territory's new
laws if found guilty of assault and stealing by a magistrate at Nhulunbuy.
When he appeared he pulled a Skase classic, collapsing in the
witness box soon after he began giving evidence. An ambulance was called
however soon after its arrival Yununpingu was able to walk away under his
own steam.
Let us remember that Yununpingu has a very questionable background
on his use
of tax-payer funded credit cards.
Making the
news" -
an indepth exposé of media and political collusion at the highest
possible levels in Australia.
Blood on the
Canvas
There were four boxers in the ring Thursday morning at
the Constitutional Convention and I had a ringside seat at the bout. So did
Fred Nile in the public gallery, but I couldn't tell who he was rooting
for.
The contenders were introduced one by one. First up was
the ragbag tag team of the Direct Election Group. Variously represented by
Victorian Phil Cleary, Ipswich councillor Paul Tully and West Australian
Patrick O'Brien, they were in favour of a directly-elected head of state
and they jeered and catcalled everyone who wasn't. A vocal and colourful
group, they brought the match alive.
Next up was ex Governor-General Bill Hayden, another resident
of the Ipswich area. His republican model had had difficulty in attracting
the requisite ten supporters, and it was only with the help of Phil Cleary,
Eric Bullmore of the Shooter's Party and monarchist Sophie Panopoulos, among
others, that it was lodged for consideration at all.
The third was another retired vice-regal officer, the
genial Victorian Richard McGarvie, whose "three wise men" model had attracted
a good deal of support and respect amongst the delegates. I noted that when
he spoke he was listened to in silence, an honour accorded to very few.
Fourth and last was the favourite, Malcolm Turnbull of
the Australian Republican Movement. A merchant banker and never entirely
open, he was an easy man to hate. Well organised, one of the most eloquent,
the best salesman, there was no doubt that he would be there in the last
round.
As the models were brought forward, formally moved and
seconded, then explained by the proponents, the galleries began filling up.
The public gallery, of course, was continuously full, with a half-hour queue
or more. A side gallery had two rows of VIPs. And from my seat in the press
gallery above the lectern, I wasn't game to leave for a coffee or a quick
trip to the media room to pick up the latest releases, because there were
two or three dozen journos behind me. shifting from one foot to the other,
waiting for a break.
Not that I wanted to leave even for a second. The tension
increased as the votes neared and the hours melted away. The delegates were
bringing out their best performances, talking up their model and disparaging
the others. Phil Cleary referred to the support of bishops Pell and Hollingworth
for Turnbull's model, declaring "I will not vote for a false god republic!".
Richard McGarvie referred to the Turnbull/Camel model -- "obviously designed
in a rush to get the votes on the floor."
Malcolm Turnbull stuck his foot firmly in his mouth when
he attacked the direct election models, saying "there's more to democracy
than 50% + one." I filed his statement away for future reference. "Don't
worry about the details," he said "trust me, they can be added in later."
Liberal Chris Gallus filed that one away and brought it out later.
When Lois O'Donoghue supported the "simple and inexpensive
nomination process" of the Camel model, I wondered if she was looking at
the same documents that I was. Fully half of the camel was taken up with
the convoluted nomination process, which needed wide community consultation
from several dozen different groups to produce a short list balanced by age,
sex, culture and location. And the Prime Minister wasn't even obliged to
choose a name from the list at the end of it!
Kerry Jones brought up the Constitution Convention election
process, which Turnbull had campaigned against, contrasting it with the
nomination process of Turnbull's model. Not a lot to contrast. By this time
Turnbull was finding it hard to raise even a weary smile. Not much joy in
having your hypocrisy exposed before the people whose votes you are trying
to gain.
Mind you, he got in a few shots of his own. I liked it
when he said that if you believed Paul Tully's numbers, he had 172 votes
out of 152 delegates.
Finally, it was the "witching hour" and the four contenders
squared off.
As I predicted yesterday, Bill Hayden was the first to
go down. I predicted around ten votes, because his model needed that many
to be lodged at all, but as it turned out, Ted Mack, Miranda Devine, Liam
Bartlett, Tom Bradley, Sophie Panopoulos, Vernon Wilcox, and Geoffrey Blainey
all deserted him. Up in the gallery we counted only three people standing.
Of course wheelchair-bound Adam Johnson had been overlooked.
In the second round, I'd predicted Hayden's ten supporters
moving to the other direct election model, but as it happened, only two of
the four switched their votes that way. And I'd believed Tully's somewhat
inflated figures. So I was pleasantly surprised to see the McGarvie Model
beat out the Direct Election Group by a single vote.
The Turnbull model was miles ahead, of course, and in
the third round, when the status quo became an option, the figures were:
The final playoff between the two remaining models was
a cliff-hanger. Not because the Camel wouldn't come first, but because it
might not get a clear majority. And it didn't:
With 75 against and 3 abstentions, the ARM was left staggering
weakly around the ring. Not a knockout, not even a win on points.
By this time it was half past one, and we all staggered
off to lunch. Paul Tully was bleeding on the canvas and shaking drops off
in all directions, railing mostly against Malcolm Turnbull. Richard McGarvie,
a gentleman to the end, was quietly slumped in a corner, praising Kerry Jones
and the ACM for their integrity in sticking to their "No Model" stance despite
the damage it had done him. Kerry Jones herself was being stacked on a pile
of bodies.
Professor Greg Craven was livid when we filed back in
after a quick bite. He pointed out the appalling lack of spirit evidenced
by the monarchists in not supporting the "least worst" McGarvie Model. If
they had thrown their weight behind him, he thundered, then McGarvie would
have won by two votes, and we would have a republic that had a chance of
success.
I had to agree with him. Whilst I myself am not terribly
keen to see a change, I can read the writing on the wall as well as the next
fellow, and the McGarvie Model was something with a chance of continuing
our stability into the third millenium, as opposed to the unbalanced Camel,
or (more likely) the years of unease following a defeat at a referendum.
But the afternoon belonged to Turnbull and the ARM. There
were ten amendments, most aimed at beating the ridiculous nomination process
into shape, though a couple were intended to insert a popular election in
there somewhere. Predicably, all but a couple of obvious improvements
failed.
Finally it was time for the climax. Did the delegates
approve the Turnbull Camel to be put to the people? Every delegate was in
his seat and there were two proxies, for Neville Bonner and Hazel Hawke,
who had both reported sick. But where was Steve Vizard of the ARM camp? Not
visible.
The "Yes" votes were called, and we counted furiously.
There were a lot of people standing up for this one. "No" -- again there
were a lot of people standing. I couldn't pick it.
Suddenly, the doors burst open and Steve Vizard rushed
in from makeup. After an uproar and a few points of order, including pleas
for his vote to be counted by the ever-gracious Richard McGarvie and the
maverick Bill Hayden, his vote was allowed:
Pandemonium! Tully and O'Brien raced to their feet and
cried foul! The convention had failed to produce a majority vote, they pointed
out. Ironman Ian Sinclair told them that this could be thrashed out at a
later date and adjourned the sitting until Friday. The doors were opened
and everyone streamed out into Kings Hall.
Sweet Glory, what a sight! The Hall was packed with excited
people, delegates, media, visitors all milling around at once. I found Paul
Tully alone for a moment. "Train wreck time?" I asked him, "Will we see a
plebiscite?"
He took a deep breath and vowed revenge, swearing to campaign
against Turnbull at the referendum. In a flash a television camera was in
his face, and he was live coast to coast. As were Kerry Jones, Tim Costello
and his brother Peter, with a dozen more lined up for a shot.
Turnbull himself was dancing a jig on the pile of bodies
strewn around the old Reps chamber. He calmed down a bit later on and tried
to convince us all that he had won a massive victory, but we could all count
as well as he hoped we couldn't, and 75 votes to 71 against and four abstaining
out of 152 was not even an absolute majority, let alone a clear majority,
a consensus, or the Prime Minister's vague "clear view". Not even 50% plus
one, to quote Malcolm Turnbull.
So the republic is pretty well dead. If John Howard says
that there was no consensus, then it will go to a plebiscite where the people
will vote against the ARM model in favour of direct election, and if there
was a consensus then there will be a referendum campaign, during which time
every constitutional lawyer and his dog will knock spots off Turnbull, not
to mention monarchists and rabid republicans alike, and it will fail
dismally.
Still, it's been exciting, and as the attendants mop up
the blood, shovel the body parts into a bin and sprinkle fresh sand on the
floor, I look forward to the final day of this marvellous convention.
You say:
Subject: Comments on Australian News of the
Day
Dear Editor,
As much as I abhor "political correctness", the comments
of Gordon Briggs letter on 12 February do nothing to further the cause for
fair and just treatment for all Australians.
We don't want to lower our standards to the oppositions
level of behaviour. Apart from anything, it is playing into their hands.
This is the type of material that the "politically correct" are searching
for to belittle Pauline Hanson and her supporters.
If Gordon didn't lump the members of the stolen generation
into one group there would be some valid comments. The tone of the letter
becomes worse and worse with a message of blaming the Aborigines rather than
the Self-Determination political system of post Assimilation years.
Jeremy Beck
Another perfect day in paradise.
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anotd
With the Mabo ruling, Reynolds believes, the
High Court has done only half the job, challenging property rights but failing
to address sovereignty. Citing Canada's success in recognising its indigenous
peoples and negotiating with them on a government to government basis,
Reynolds argues, "It's that sort of equality that we have to reach.