From The Campaign Trail

Mohamed Haneef has been treated terribly by the Howard Government. I continue to be astounded by the attitude of the Immigration Minister - so stubborn in his refusal to reverse his initial unjust visa cancellation. Now he says Haneef's return to India has only heightened suspicions about the Doctor's character. But in the midst of this debacle it is Minister Ruddock - our Attorney General, the first law officer - who really takes the cake. He often lays out his gobble gook in a soft measured flat tone hoping to suggest deep thought and legal wisdom. But now he's found new levels of absurdity. In commenting on the Haneef case Ruddock said "I think that what we have seen is that the system worked as was intended." Well, spare us when it works in unintended ways! Nothing worked properly!

Separation of Powers within the State is a crucial principle in our system of government. Queenslanders who lived under Joh know it is a vital curb on the exercise of power by government. It is now central to the case of Dr. Mohamed Haneef. Our Prime Minister Howard has criticised Haneef’s legal team and Premier Beattie for their comments on the case. Howard says, "It's not for me to say whether he should be let go - under our system of justice, the executive has no role in the prosecution of people". Why then was the Haneef case discussed in the National Security Committee of Cabinet? Why then did he agree with the Immigration Minister’s blatant interference with the administration of justice? How does he explain Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile's admission that Haneef's visa was cancelled to keep him in the country? More and more examples of Howard's politically motivated tampering with the integrity of our system of government - and the lies he tells!

I've previously mentioned the tremendous problems my own kids have, saving for a house deposit - it's the same for many Australians who cherish the dream of home of their own. Given the economic management hype of the Howard government you would think that most Australians would easily achieve that dream. Not so! As Shadow Treasurer Wayne Swan has consistently pointed out there is a now a crisis in housing affordability in Australia. Our Housing Affordability Index is at a record low and young people will need an income of about $115,000 to keep up with mortgage repayments on an average loan. The average home now costs seven times the average annual wage, up from four times the annual average wage in 1996. This surely tells us that John Howard is out of touch when he claims "....Australian families have never had it so good". You can access Wayne Swan's statement at: http://www.alp.org.au/media/0707/mstre120.php

If only you knew what I know then you would know that I am acting in your best interests. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what I know because that would not be in your best interests. Sounds a bit weird? It does! But that is the mysterious logic being used by Howard Government Ministers around the Mohamed Haneef case. This is, and has always been, a government that thrives on fear and secrecy. It dreads openness and honesty. That is why it has attacked Haneef's defence barrister Stephen Keim for releasing transcripts of Mohamed Haneef's interview with police. Keim has done nothing illegal or unethical. More importantly he has served the public interest by taking a stand to protect the basic principles of the presumption of innocence, transparency in government and the independence of the judiciary. I don't know if Haneef is guilty or innocent. I certainly know that the stand taken by Keim is to be applauded and supported.

I have spent the major portion of my working life dealing with human rights. Strangely, a recurring theme has been abuse of power and manipulation of authority by governments. I say "strangely" because governments are supposed to protect human rights. They are also supposed to defend the fundamental principles that underpin our system of government. The decision by Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews to revoke Mohamed Haneef's visa fails both to protect human rights and the vital principle of separation of the powers of the State. This is yet another Howard government wedge. It says if you oppose Andrews' decision you are soft on terrorism! Well I am totally opposed to Andrews' decision and to terrorism in all its forms. You don't defeat terrorism by throwing out the very principles that are worth fighting for. And sometimes it actually takes real leadership to defend those principles.

Truth at last! Five long years after the risky and illegal invasion of Iraq the Howard Government's real motives come to light. Defence Minister Brendan Nelson admitted that securing Australia's oil supply is one of the key reasons for deployment of our troops in Iraq. This admission was immediately smothered by Howard - truth is often unpalatable. But things are also a bit more subtle. Australia is in Iraq because America is in Iraq. We remain in Iraq because America remains. And this is the real oil / energy connection. America's motive for invasion was to secure its strategic oil / energy interests. That is not some left-wing conspiracy theory. For example, it is there for all to read in the many reports from the influential organization Project for a New American Century. Members of this neo-conservative movement included such luminaries as Jeb Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz. In 2000 The Project Report Rebuilding America’s Defenses spelled out the new mission for the US Army. It included the combat role of defending American interests in the Persian Gulf and Middle East and the imperative to remove Saddam Hussein. Note the date - 2000! All the other justifications for the Iraq invasions are simply window dressing. So Nelson is simply owning up to what everyone has known for a very long time. While it is now a decade old the Report remains an important document in understanding the lead up to the Iraq invasion. You can access it at:
http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf

I suspect that my family situation is quite common. In contrast to past generations, my kids will not leave home. I would like to think that this is because they love home life. In my more realistic moments I recognise that they, like thousands of young people, simply cannot leave home. They are struggling to live the Australian dream of home ownership. They are struggling despite the economic management claims of the Howard government. They are struggling despite Howard’s arrogant claim that Australian families have "never had it so good". They are struggling in the face of eight consecutive interest rate rises. They will continue to struggle because Australian families with mortgages are paying the highest percentage of their disposable income in mortgage interest in our history. Housing affordability is now a crucial social and economic issue. That is why I welcome Kevin Rudd's initiative to call a National Housing Affordability Summit. Details of the summit can be found at: http://www.alp.org.au/media/0707/riloo030.php

John Howard knows no limits in his shameless capacity to manipulate issues in an election year. This time it is his late-found concern for the sexual abuse of indigenous children. He cynically manoeuvres to leave the impression that those who do not support his paternalistic, authoritarian interventions are soft on child abuse. But why did it take him more than a decade to declare an emergency? For every day he has run Australia, indigenous life expectancy has been 17 years lower than other Australians. For every day of his Government, indigenous infant mortality has been three times higher and death rates for indigenous Australians twice as high, as most of Australia. The fact is that he has had an emergency in Aboriginal health and well being every day that he has held power, and every day he has failed to use that power. What is so special about THIS year that suddenly he declares a state of emergency?

I recently visited two aged person's nursing homes in the Ryan electorate. At both I heard about the long waits that many residents had experienced before being admitted. Some had spent extended periods in hospital not because of illness but because of the inexcusable shortage of places in nursing homes. Surely older Australians deserve better. They will get that under a Rudd Labor government. At the weekend Kevin Rudd announced that his government will create up to 2000 "transition beds" for older Australians in hospitals. Labor will make $300 million available in interest-free loans to aged care providers to fund 2500 permanent aged care beds. This initiative in Labor's New Directions For Older Australians, will not only help elderly Australians but also help relieve pressure on public hospitals. If you want a full copy of the policy please contact me.