From The Campaign Trail

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Howard and Downer claim the Cole Report has vindicated them. The children overboard, weapons of mass destruction Prime Minister stands before the Australian public claiming he did not know. In the AWB case he did not know despite 35 separate warnings. Warnings that started in 1998! At that early time his own Department, Defence and Foreign Affairs all knew. He did not know even though Australian UN Ambassador Dauth had been told of AWB kickbacks. And Howard continued his blissful ignorance for the next 33 warnings. In his usual you-must-believe-me-I-am-honest style Howard now claims that Commissioner Cole could have asked for different terms of reference. Well, here is one thing that Howard definitely did know. He knew that Commissioner Cole could not and would not ask for such terms of reference. He knew because Cole had said that asking for such terms would make his investigation significantly different from its original intent. Howard is Australia’s version of Donald Rumsfeld’s known unknowns - except in Howard's case he decides what he does not want to know and makes sure he then does not know it.

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Last Wednesday my campaign held a very well attended forum at the Taringa Rovers Soccer Club on Howard's oppressive industrial relations laws. The forum heard directly from people who have had working conditions destroyed by having to sign up to unfair Australian Workplace Agreements. I am deeply concerned about how these laws are affecting women who are returning to the work force and young people who have very little bargaining power with employers. These laws are unfair and have shattered rights that Australian workers spent decades fighting for. It was good to see the Greens Party presenting almost identical views. It was disappointing that despite invitations to the local Federal member no one from the government was prepared to stand up and defend these laws. Every time I hear the stories of the hardships being faced by workers I am more determined to be part of an ALP team that will rip them up and replace them with laws that are Australian, decent and fair.

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The bloodshed in Iraq continues unchecked and unabated. This terrible adventure costing thousands of Iraqi lives and billions of Australian dollars goes on with no end in sight. Yet Howard still maintains that the decision to go to war was right. In an interview last week he stuck to the line that he decided to go to war only in early 2003 - only after carefully weighing all the intelligence on weapons of mass destruction! How do Howard and his local backer Michael Johnson square that account with the latest AWB documents released from the Cole Inquiry? These reveal Australian Ambassador to the UN John Dauth briefing AWB Chairman Trevor Flugge, in some detail, that Howard's government would be part of a military action against Saddam Hussein. The problem for Howard and his supporters is that the briefing took place in February 2002 - a full year prior to the invasion. Does Dauth possess amazing predictive abilities or are there other explanations? Let me know what you think.

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I am pleased that Prime Minister Howard made time to visit the memorial to those who took part in the Battle of Long Tan. In August 1966 eighteen Australian soldiers died. So too did many Vietnamese. On the flight home I hope Howard takes some time to reflect on whether he, his Liberal Party and his government have learnt anything from the horrors of Vietnam. It would seem not! The parallels with Iraq are just too compelling. A myopic attachment to following the US, a tragic misreading of culture and history and of course the familiar litany of lies. It is one thing to remember - it is a far better thing to prevent. By the way I have just finished Thomas Ricks' book FIASCO: The American Military Adventure in Iraq. If you ever had any doubts about the lead up and execution of the Iraq adventure then Ricks will put them to bed.

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I said at the start of the G20 Conference held in Melbourne that Treasure Costello showed considerable failure in leadership by not putting climate change on the agenda. For Costello, as for climate change sceptic Howard, it is business as usual with just a little bit of tinkering on the side - because that is good politics. Well I am happy to say that climate change did make it to the agenda. The push to include it came not from Australia but from others lead by British government economist Nicholas Stern. Stern successfully persuaded others that climate change is not just an environmental issue - the original Costello position - but should be central to the concerns of all especially those concerned with long term economics. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has a view on how the political parties are going, in truly addressing the profound present and future challenge created by global warming. By the way you can access the full Stern report at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/sternreview_index.cfm

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I know that the war on Iraq has no funny side. In fact it is an unforgivable mess. But there are times when satirists get to the heart of the matter far quicker than the established political commentators. This was the case last Thursday when Bryan Dawe asked blundering Defence Minister Nelson [John Clarke] about the new plan for Iraq. Dawe becomes quite bemused when Nelson says that the plan is to ask for help from Syria and Iran even though we included them in the axis of evil and threatened to bomb them. You can watch the bumbling Nelson at http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/7.30_clarkedawe.htm

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I can't help but be struck by the contradictions between two important international meetings taking place this weekend. Treasurer Costello welcomed the G20 in Melbourne. This self appointed body made up of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors regards itself as the key international forum for discussion on global economic issues. The theme this year is 'Building and Sustaining Prosperity'. Costello’s welcome lists the key topics as energy and the resource commodities market. Nothing about climate change or the environment! Contrast that with Kofi Annan who told this week's Nairobi UN Climate Change Conference that the world suffered from a 'frightening lack of leadership' on climate change. I wonder if Annan had Costello and Howard in mind when he went on to say that those who 'delay taking action are out of step and out of time'.

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It is a very rare day indeed that I find myself in agreement with something coming from the founder of Fox News. But on this occasion Rupert Murdoch is correct in labelling Australia's broadband services as a disgrace. Anyone who has been following the development of information and communication networks in countries like China, South Korea and Japan knows that Australia is way off the mark in this critical infrastructure. This is just further evidence of a Howard Government out of touch with the realities needed for our future prosperity. Broadband is slow and so is this government. Compare the government's sluggishness with the vision of Labor. Yesterday, at the National Press Club, Kim Beazley committed a Labor government to a first class broadband system which will drive thousands of productivity applications for businesses around Australia. Labor has promised to build a super-fast national broadband network to 98 per cent of Australian homes, delivering speeds up to 25 times faster than what's available now. That is what is needed for a country in the 21st century. You can access Kim's full speech at: http://www.alp.org.au/media/1106/speloo150.php

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The High Court has found that John Howard's Workplace laws are legal. Let's not pretend that legal means a fair go or just treatment of workers. Howard's law has stripped back one hundred years of hard won rights for workers. The High Court has simply confirmed that it is now legal to dismiss workers without appeal, to undercut employment conditions, reduce penalty rates and overtime, end holiday loadings, stop redundancy pay and destroy a host of other essential conditions that protect both workers and, most importantly, their families. Kim Beazley has promised to rip up these now legal but unfair and unjust laws. Only Labor can protect middle Australia. You can access Kim Beazley's commitments to protect you at: http://www.alp.org.au/action/letter_unfairdismissal.php

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I am delighted with the result of the American elections. Congratulations to the US Democratic Party who now control both Houses of the Congress. I am even more delighted with the sacking of Rumsfeld who has proven to be a totally incompetent, warmongering ideologue. I hope the next to go will be the arrogant US Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton. Since his appointment he has done everything possible to destroy and manipulate the UN. All this may be the beginning of the return of some sanity. Most importantly there may now be some prospect of a halt to the slaughter that has gone on in Iraq since Bush, Rumsfeld, Bolton, Cheney and company went on their mad imperial venture to secure energy for their next American Century. Well done the US Democrats and well done the American voters.

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Nuclear power is a dumb idea for Australia, for so many reasons. The waste can't be made safe for hundreds of thousands of years, and all that time it has to be stored and guarded so it doesn't leak or get stolen; more nuclear material out in the world makes it easier for warmongers to get their hands on nuclear weapons; and nowhere on this planet does nuclear power operate without massive Government subsidies, often hidden. So why does John Howard raise the issue? Only so he can claim he's pursuing cleaner energy sources than traditional coal (greenhouse gas emitter) power stations. He knows it's not a goer – he just wants to look good.

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It is now legal in Australia to unfairly dismiss our kids! The terrible changes made by the Howard Government to Industrial Relations law are a hot topic, so my team and I have decided to hold a Community Forum where local residents can get the full facts. We've even invited my opponent, Michael Johnson, to speak on behalf of the Federal Government – he hasn't confirmed yet. Full details can be found at http://www.labor4Ryan.com/whatson.php.