On Thu, 10 Aug 2000 07:40:45 GMT jeremy dixon <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: The following is from the anti-World Economic Forum mailing list, I thought it might be of more general interest. Don't know about the law in it, though, and I haven't had time to do the research; although I should say that the Alternative Law Journal is well respected here in Australia. My reservation is that "Aid to the Civil Power" plans for the army to act against civil unrest have been around, and been known to be around , for quite a few years now. The Constitutional basis, apart from the section mentioned below, would appear to be the so-called "Nationhood Power" thought by High Court judges to be implied in the Australian Constitution; or the reserve power currently conceptualised as lying in the Crown. The essence of the reserve power is captured in Abraham Lincoln's remark on the folly of saving the Constitution but losing the Union. So there is no doubt in my mind that *at some point* of civil unrest it would be found constitutional to use military force to quell it, with or without a request from a State government. Where that point is would be the interesting question, I recall there is US case-law on the subject which the Australian High Court would no doubt consider. And if it is worthwhile for the government to bring in such a bill as is described below; no doubt it is worth our while to oppose it! ........the "GST" (Goods and Servives Tax) referred to below is a widely unpopular federal consumption tax recently introduced in Australia. -j ----Original Message Follows---- From: "Damien Lawson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> CC: "Benjamin Doherty-Rosenzweig" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [melb2000] Australian Military New Powers to supress dissent Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2000 21:33:59 +1000 EMERGENCY ACTION ALERT TROOPS IN THE STREETS? AUSTRALIAN MILITARY TO GET SWEEPING NEW POWERS With no media attention or public discussion the Howard Government is using the Olympics to justify sweeping new powers allowing the military to suppress domestic unrest in Australia. The Defence Legislation Amendment (Aid to the Civilian Authorities) Bill seeks to establish the legal and political basis for using troops to suppress political disturbances, seriously undermining the centuries-old principle that the armed forces should not be mobilised against the civilian population. The Bill was passed through the House of Representatives in one day (June 28) virtually unnoticed with the country in the grip of GST mania, and is due to be voted on in the Senate by the end of August in time for the Olympic Games. Under the pretext of ensuring public safety during the Olympics, the government and the Labor Opposition have combined to rush through the legislation which will permanently and fundamentally change the military's role. The Bill authorises the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister and the Attorney-General to advise the Governor-General (the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces under the Constitution) to call out military personnel to deal with "domestic violence" that is considered a threat to the nation or one of Australia's states or territories. The words "domestic violence" do not refer to violence against family members or in the home. It is a vague and undefined expression derived from s.119 of the Constitution, which was intended to cover civilian disorder that the state police forces prove incapable of putting down. Today, the term "domestic violence" is widely interpreted to mean more than just "terrorism" and can include strikes, political demonstrations or riots. Already the term "terrorism" has been used by police and security forces to encompass protests such as those planned for the World Economic Forum in Melbourne in September. It is possible that "domestic violence" will be interpreted to include protests at the Olympics or the WEF. Section 119 of the Consititution provides that the federal government shall protect each state against domestic violence, but only on the application of the state's government. Section 51A of the Bill goes well beyond the existing s. 51 of the Defence Act 1903 (Cth), which is based on s. 119 of the Constitution. The new section will allow a military callout where the three ministers are satisfied that domestic violence is occurring "or is likely to occur" that will affect "Commonwealth interests" (also undefined), regardless of whether there is a request by any state or territory government. Section 51B retains an existing proviso in s. 51 that a state government cannot request reserve forces for use in an intervention to deal with an industrial dispute, but no such restriction applies to the use of the armed forces to protect Commonwealth interests. Nor is there a restriction on the use of the permanent military when requested by a State. Section 51G will prevent military personnel being utilised to "stop or restrict any lawful protest or dissent" but that limitation is for all practical purposes meaningless. Almost any political demonstration can be rendered "unlawful" by refusal of official permission (such as NSW's new Olympic security legislation). Once deployed, the military forces will have wide-ranging powers under Sections 51I to 51Y to seize premises, places and means of transport; detain people; search premises; and seize things. If the three ministers declare a "general security area" these powers will be expanded to provide for wider searches, including personal searches; the erection of barriers; and the stopping of means of transport. If a "designated area" is declared, the powers will increase further to stop and control movement; and issue directions to people. The most disturbing measures, however, are those contained in Section 51T on the use of "reasonable and necessary force". In essence, the section will allow military personnel to shoot to kill. They will be permitted to cause death or grievous bodily harm where they believe "on reasonable grounds" that such action is necessary to protect the life of, or prevent serious injury to, another person, including the military personnel. Both the government and the Labor Party have claimed that the Bill merely codifies the law that already exists. But the purpose of this section is to shield military personnel from actions or prosecution for assault, false imprisonment and homicide. As legal commentators have warned, without such legal protection, soldiers could, for example, face murder charges if they killed someone in the course of quelling a civil disturbance, even if they were acting under superior orders. In recent years, police killings of civilians have become commonplace in a number of states, with the police authorities invariably claiming that the killings were required for self-defence. The Bill will see the same power extended to troops, armed with even more deadly weapons, operating under conditions of serious domestic unrest. There are significant questions about the constitutionality of aspects of the legislation, more importantly, however, the bill will be a further increase in the para-militarisation of policing in Australia and a significant further step by the military into domestic politics. In 1978 the Fraser Government used the pretext of the Hilton Bombing and counter-terrorism in constructing a new national security apparatus based on extensive intelligence-military-police cooperation. Now the Olympics are being used as justification for further strengthening of this apparatus and its grip on civil society. Already the Olympics have been the pretext for increased funding and resources for the military special forces, sweeping new phone tapping powers for ASIO and unprecedented powers for police and security in NSW, this bill if passed will be another significant erosion of our civil liberties. (Sections of this leaflet are abridged from a forthcoming article by Michael Head in the August edition of the Alternative Law Journal). Act Now Write, Ring, Fax or Email John Howard, Parliament House, Canberra, ACT, 2066 Tel: 02 6277 7700, Fax: 02 6273 4100 Kim Beazley, Parliament House, Canberra, ACT 2066 Tel: 02 6277 4022, Fax: 02 6277 8495 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Meg Lees, Senate, Parliament House, Canberra, ACT 2066 Tel: 02 6277 3991, Fax: 02 6277 3996 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Call media contacts, ring talk back and make a noise about this fundamental threat to our civil liberties. For more information: Damien Lawson Tel: 0418 140 387 damienlawson.vtown.com.au *** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Feel free to distribute widely but PLEASE acknowledge the source. *** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The end is in the means as the tree is in the seed. - Mahatma Ghandi ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Abraham Lincoln, letter to Wm. F. Elkins Nov. 21 1864 Arthur Shaw ed. The Lincoln Encyclopedia 40 {1950} "We may congratulate ourselves that this cruel war is nearing it's end. It has cost a vast amount of treasure and blood.........It has indeed been a trying hour for the Republic, but I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong it's reign by working on the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.angelfire.com/mi/smilinks/thirdeye.html <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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