[Greens-Media] Howard, Beazley sell out on Australian law and courts: Brown

[Oquist, Ben (Sen B. Brown)]

Tuesday, 2nd August 2005


Howard, Beazley sell out on Australian law and courts: Brown


The Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Kim Beazley are
wrongly giving legitimacy to the US law and courts over the Australian
rule of law, Greens Senator Bob Brown said today.

"If Hicks was engaged in terrorism in Afghanistan, he should be charged
under our own Australian Crimes (Foreign Incursions and Recruitment) Act
1978.  The Act provides a penalty of imprisonment for 20 years as
follows: 

	A person shall not: 

		a)	enter a foreign State with intent to engage in a
hostile activity in that foreign state; or
		b)	engage in a hostile activity in a foreign state

Penalty: Imprisonment for 20 years," Senator Brown said.

"Mr Howard has been obsequious to the Bush administration's
determination to treat the Australian David Hicks as a foreigner, with
less rights than US prisoners.  However, Mr Beazley's call for US,
rather than Australian, courts to try Hicks also concedes quite
unnecessarily to the idea that the US system is superior to Australian
law.  Both leaders backed the rigged US Military Commissions being
recognised and written into Australian law last year.  Both were wrong
then and are now.

"The Prime Minister's treatment of Australian law as second rate,
dishonours this country. Mr Howard has failed to go in to bat for our
legal system which is second to none." Senator Brown said.