I was asked to mediate the Wikileaks Party launch in Byron Bay on August 29, 2013. Below is my introduction.
Veteran journalist Mungo McCullum was going to present tonight but after the preference fiasco, he washed his hands of it and said he won't be giving the Wikileaks party any oxygen. Frankly the things he said to me are actually too damning for me to repeat here. But he did tell me one gag which seemed to sum up the situation: put four lefties in a room to form a party and you will end up with three parties and one independent. And from my understanding, this is essentially where the senate preference fiasco has led us. I don't want to dwell on this topic for too long, but it's an important one. Those following this will know that there have been an exodus of Wikileaks party volunteers and a candidate after an internal squabble erupted over where their preference votes would flow. According to a founding member of Wikileaks and long time Assange friend, Daniel Mathews, the eleven National Council members agreed on a set of preferences but they were mysteriously changed. He says he quit the party after hearing Assange on JJJ's Hack incorrectly explaining how his party's preferences are handled. Daniel also made the point Assange was absent for the majority of the Council's meetings. It's an interesting turn considering the party ran on a platform of transparency, democracy and accountability. This is a good time to add that Byron Shire Councillor Paul Spooner was also going to chair tonight as well as Mungo, but declined after this was brought to light. Some say that placing very conservative parties above the Greens and the major parties will lead to both houses of parliament controlled by the Coalition. Others say instead that micro-party preferences won't have a big impact. We'll have to wait until September 7 to find out. And it's not just Wikileaks either, the Stop CSG party have done deals with other parties that don't seem to fit with a 'progressive' ideology. The following were all placed before the Greens and majors for the Stop CSG part: The Stable Population Party, Family First Party, Australia First Party, Australian Voice Party, Australian Protectionist Party and the Australian Motoring Enthusiasts Party. I asked Michael McNamara from northern rivers lock the gate about this, and said his group are not politically aligned to anyone and he suggested that voters look at the policies and preferences themselves. That's hardly an ringing endorsement. I thought Graham Askey summed it up well in this week's Echo on why we have a metre long senate ticket, but more than why, the result I believe has damaged Australia's democracy. No reasonable citizen in NSW should be asked to differentiate or understand the policies between 44 senate parties. And to make it more complicated and boring, internal preference deals from an outsider perspective appear like a poker game, so to win you need to know this stuff inside out. It's reasonable to assume that new parties will not have the skill or knowledge to negotiate like the long-term ones. Has Assange and his Wikileaks party blown their credibility by this fiasco? With so many senate parties with endless policies, can this team provide a much needed alternative? That's my take for what it's worth. These letdowns only matter because we've all been so inspired by WikiLeaks and Assange standing up against secretive and oppressive governments, including ours. I'd like to introduce Alison and offer her an opportunity to respond and to also hear more broadly about the issues Wikileaks are championing. Alison Broinowski is a former Australian diplomat with experience in Asian countries and the United Nations. She has written and lectures extensively on Australia’s reputation abroad, and has publicly opposed the way prime ministers send Australians to war illegally and in defiance of public opinion. She lives in Sydney.
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Funding availability for a feasibility study into a rail trail on the Casino to Murwillumbah rail line has been announced by minister for the north coast, Don Page.
Northern Rivers Rail Trail Inc (NRRT Inc) warmly welcomed the announcement, however train advocate Karin Kolbe from TOOT (Trains On Our Tracks) voiced concerns that the tracks would be covered and a temporary bike path constructed over the rails. She told The Echo, ‘We need to have our bike tracks beside the rail, or to take our bikes on the train.’ Mr Page, when asked if he advocated a rail trail beside the rail or on the railways, said, ‘The rail trail would be for the most part on the existing track area and certainly within the rail corridor.’ Mr Page also said he would guarantee public land would not be sold if the project was to happen. ‘The corridor will be kept intact, not sold, and be preserved for the possible re-introduction of rail services, should a viable economic model for trains become available at some stage in the future. The potential benefits for tourism and employment are significant.’ Previous study The previous rail study of the region, which cost $2m, was blasted back in March by the Greens and TOOT (Trains On Our Tracks) for its narrow terms of reference, the exclusion of light rail, lack of comprehensive ground truthing and a bloated figure of repair comparative to an earlier Price Waterhouse Coopers report in 2004. And despite criticism of a flawed report, Mr Page referred to the 130-page Casino to Murwillumbah Train Study and backed his party by claiming rail is not an option as it ‘wouldn’t meet the current or future public transport needs of the region because two of the three largest centres (Ballina and Tweed Heads) would not be served.’ NRRT just shy of 5,000 supporters Meanwhile NRRT secretary Steve Martin said the issue of covering over or removing existing tracks for a rail trail is a complex one and something which he hopes to have an answer on soon. He said however of his not-for-profit group, ‘We now have close to 5,000 community supporters, as well as backing from local government, tourism and chambers of commerce.’ NRRT was formed by a steering committee comprising local business philanthropists, known as the Sourdough Group, as well as volunteers and councillors and people working in the tourism industry. Its chairperson, Pat Grier, says, ‘The rail trail would act as the spine that links a network of communities, regional towns and villages.’ ‘It would provide the platform for economic development, new businesses and jobs for the region.’ Monday morning, August 19, 2013 and Graeme Dunstan, 71, walked into a Rockhampton court surrounded by around 20 supporters carrying peace flags and photos of dead civilians and soldiers.
Northern rivers-based Dunstan is charged with wilful damage of Commonwealth property, namely an Australian Army ‘Tiger’ armed reconnaissance helicopter, which was disabled by a blow from a garden mattock during the 2011 Talisman Saber Military Exercises. Local filmmaker David Bradbury is covering the case in Rockhampton, and told The Echo that Dunstan’s trial has initially been promising. ‘The judge seems to be reasonable and has a sense of humour,’ he said. ‘And Graeme seems to be winning with cross-examining the expert witness, and the questionable costs of the helicopter’s repair bill.’ While the action was allegedly committed by fellow activist Bryan Law, now deceased, Dunstan confessed to being Mr Law’s driver and assistant and is charged as a co-offender. But Mr Dunstan is pleading not guilty to the charge and is employing the ‘Ploughshares’ defence, a biblical concept where military weapons or technologies are converted for peaceful civilian applications. He says he will be arguing that the strike was an act of conscience ‘aimed a raising public awareness to the true nature of the war in Afghanistan where the attack helicopters were to be deployed.’ ‘The Tiger is similar in design and identical in function to the Apache helicopter used by the US Army to gun down innocents in the “Collateral Murder” footage leaked by Bradley Manning and Julian Assange and which has had in excess of 14 million viewers on YouTube.’ His long and colourful peace activism legacy is well known: trained at Duntroon’s Royal Military College, he says he later became disillusioned ‘with the military mindset’ and enrolled to study engineering. In his opening address to the court, he said, ‘Soon I was to become a major campus organiser of the war resistance at the University of NSW.’ In 1973, Dunstan helped organise Nimbin’s Aquarius Festival and later founded Peacebus.com. The trial is expected to last three days. Does the NSW coalition government support holiday letting in residential areas or not?
It’s a question NSW Greens MP and former Byron Shire mayor Jan Barham says she has been waiting three years for an answer on, and on August 12 she got one from tourism MP George Souris (Nationals). Well, sort of. In a recent general purpose standing committee held in parliament, Mr Souris was asked whether he supported ‘legitimate tourism operators’ or those ‘who operate without approvals, safety provisions for visitors and without paying their way to local government.’ Mr Souris replied to Ms Barham after some stalling that ‘Holiday letting in NSW is essentially a local government issue,’ and referred to the recently introduced holiday rental code of conduct, introduced by the industry with help from NSW department of Trade and Investment and Destination NSW. He claims councils have at their disposal a range of regulatory mechanisms to deal with matters such as noise pollution issues. ‘These can usually be addressed by existing regulation; for example, under the protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997, councils and communities are encouraged to utilise these mechanisms as appropriate.’ But MP Paul Green from the Christian Democratic Party made the point during Mr Souris’s questioning that ‘Local government is an arm of the state government, as we well know, so obviously its master should be watching over it to ensure that it is able to enact or empower those regulations that the state makes.’ It should be noted that the general purpose standing committee transcript is an uncorrected proof. Dept of planning replies on HL As for the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure position, a spokesperson told The Echo the department ‘worked with industry and other government departments to develop a self-regulatory code of conduct for use by owners, managers, guests and visitors of holiday let properties.’ ‘The department is continuing to work with councils and industry on this issue and has recently attended meetings with industry representatives and concerned residents of Byron Bay.’ Does the NSW coalition government support holiday letting in residential areas or not?
It’s a question NSW Greens MP and former Byron Shire mayor Jan Barham says she has been waiting three years for an answer on, and on August 12 she got one from tourism MP George Souris (Nationals). Well, sort of. In a recent general pur- pose standing committee held in parliament, Mr Souris was asked whether he supported ‘legitimate tourism operators’ or those ‘who op- erate without approvals, safe- ty provisions for visitors and without paying their way to local government.’ Mr Souris replied to Ms Barham after some stalling that ‘Holiday letting in NSW is essentially a local government issue,’ and referred to the recently introduced holiday rental code of conduct, introduced by the industry with help from NSW department of Trade and Investment and Destination NSW. He claims councils have at their disposal a range of regulatory mechanisms to deal with matters such as noise pollution issues. ‘These can usually be ad- dressed by existing regulation; for example, under the protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997, councils and communities are encouraged to utilise these mechanisms as appropriate.’ But MP Paul Green from the Christian Democratic Party made the point during Mr Souris’s questioning that ‘Local government is an arm of the state government, as we well know, so obviously its master should be watch- ing over it to ensure that it is able to enact or empower those regulations that the state makes.’ It should be noted that the general purpose stand- ing committee transcript is an uncorrected proof. Dept of planning replies on HL As for the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure position, a spokes- person told The Echo the department ‘worked with industry and other government departments to develop a self-regulatory code of con- duct for use by owners, man- agers, guests and visitors of holiday let properties.’ ‘The department is continuing to work with councils and industry on this is- sue and has recently attended meetings with industry representatives and concerned residents of Byron Bay.’ Members from a group that say they been affected by Byron’s holiday letting industry are calling on Council to crack down on holiday letting in residential zones.
It comes after a meeting between Victims Of Holiday Letting (VOHL), community representatives and Council last Tuesday. While thanking Council, including staff, for the opportunity to present their concerns, spokesperson Doug Luke told The Echo that he hopes to see a more proactive compliance approach by Council toward holiday letting in residential zones. ‘We are rapidly losing our demographic diversity and our vibrant alternative culture,’ said Mr Luke. ‘VOHL welcomes holiday letting in areas appropriately zoned for tourism and close to the beach. VOHL’s position is that holiday letting is illegal and has serious detrimental impacts on individual residents and the shire as a community and a society.’ Mr Luke claims self-regulation by the HLO (holiday letting organisation) and its code of conduct are ‘absolutely useless’. ‘The only protection achieved is for the financial interests of the industry. Council and therefore its councillors have a duty of care for citizens and residents. VOHL is simply asking Council to uphold the law and as soon as possible put up a motion in Council to reinstate compliance action against the Suffolk Park property where the case is ready to go to court.’ He says the group ‘now has concerns about holiday letting multiplying in the north of our Shire, as evidenced by the impacts felt recently from the Splendour In The Grass festival attended by 25,000 people.’ ‘While compliance action continues,’ he says, ‘VOHL believes that a development control plan (DCP) should be worked on and inserted into the local environment plan (LEP). Can the state government help us here? VOHL would like the ball to stop bouncing between Council and state.’ Mayor responds And while Mayor Simon Richardson agrees that ‘Council has an obligation to act on a compliance issue when it has been notified of a breach’, he told The Echo he does ‘not want Council to spend years in court, taking on one compliance matter after another.’ He says that under the current local environment plan (LEP), holiday letting in a residential zone is a prohibited use. ‘I am trying to find a compromise that can provide a clear understanding in the community as to where holiday letting can occur and where it cannot. ‘Within the area that holiday letting may be considered acceptable, we need to develop stringent management strategies to make sure the noise, rubbish, fire safety and parking issues are addressed properly. ‘Within the DCP [development control plan] and new LEP we need to embed clear and fair regulation. ‘In this way, we can protect residents who have decided to live in an area with a thriving community instead of a constant stream of short-term visitors, while ensuring the holiday letting industry can provide accommodation to our visitors so pressure for high rises can be dampened.’ The Echo contacted Holiday Letting Organisation’s (HLO) John Gudgeon but he declined to comment. A local man who was cuffed and sprayed in the face with capsicum spray by police has had charges against him thrown out by the District Court upon appeal.
The decision last Thursday by Her Honour Judge Wells in the Lismore District Court convincingly overturned the findings of Local Court Magistrate Michael Dakin and held that the evidence of the two police officers involved, Senior Constables Amos and Hayworth, lacked credibility. After being pulled over for a licence check just outside Mullumbimby on October 25, 2011, police conducted a search of John Scrivener, then aged 50, and his car, supposedly on suspicion of drugs. Police then alleged that Mr Scrivener became abusive towards them. However, Mr Scrivener instead claims he was abused and told The Echo he immediately lodged a complaint against the two officers after the incident. Even though Mr Scrivener had told the officers that he intended to lodge a complaint, he told The Echo that he gave evidence in court that the police nevertheless ‘proceeded to violently assault me, including throwing me on the ground, jumping on me with their knees, punching me, pulling my hair, attempting to choke me and then cuffing me before spraying me in the face with capsicum spray.’ After Mr Scrivener was found guilty by Magistrate Dakin last September for resisting arrest, assaulting police officers in the execution of their duty and behaving in an offensive manner, he lodged an appeal, which was then heard in the higher-ranked District Court. Mr Scrivener won that appeal on August 8. During the Local Court hearing, Mr Scrivener’s solicitor, Cameron Bell, argued that the search was illegal and that the evidence of the two police officers was so inconsistent that it could not be accepted. However, Local Court Magistrate Dakin held that the search was legal and went on to find that the police witnesses were truthful notwithstanding the inconsistencies in their evidence. To add insult to injury, the Magistrate was critical of Mr Scrivener’s evidence and indicated that he was not a truthful witness. 'Preferred' police evidence: magistrate Magistrate Dakin, a former police officer, even told the court, ‘I prefer the police evidence.’ On appeal, the District Court held that the actions of the police officers in searching Mr Scrivener were not justified as there was not the ‘reasonable suspicion’ required to conduct a legal search. The District Court also held that Mr Scrivener’s evidence was ‘consistent and clear’. Most importantly, the District Court found that the evidence of the two police officers was not credible. Mr Scrivener told The Echo his lawyer Cameron Bell ‘found at least six discrepancies in the police officers’ evidence. Even the Crown prosecutor said they couldn’t offer any explanation for the discrepancies.’ One of the issues in the case was the allegation by the police officers of the existence of a small ‘resealable’ bag, which Senior Constable Amos said, ‘are normally used to put drugs in, namely cannabis’. Her Honour noted that in the Local Court hearing the police prosecutor objected to Mr Bell cross-examining as to the whereabouts of that ‘resealable bag’. Although an important issue in the case, the cross examination was not allowed by the Magistrate who said that it was ‘not relevant’. Her Honour stated that this ‘casts a shadow’ as to whether the bag ever existed at all. Mr Bell said, ‘The decision by Judge Wells was a clear and unarguable finding that, based on the facts and evidence in this case, the conviction of Mr Scrivener by the Local Court Magistrate could not be upheld. Her Honour indicated that it was not an appropriate consideration for a Magistrate to ask ‘why would the police act in a way like this towards the defendant’, as it reverses the burden of proof.’ Civil rights issue The outcome shines a light on local civil rights issues; the increased police presence in Mullumbimby has resulted in a handful of complaints received by The Echo regarding recent aggressive behaviour by police towards the public. Although the appeal process brought justice for Mr Scrivener, the public may feel less confident that faced with a similar situation, the Local Court will uphold their rights or allow their defences to be properly heard. When asked what he had learnt from this experience, Mr Scrivener stated, ‘I’ve realised how easy it is for police to abuse their authority and get away with it, and how difficult it is to defend against false accusations and misrepresentations by police.’ ‘I will never again feel safe when being stopped by police and I will always record any encounter I have in the future, for my own safety and security. ‘I don’t think I would do anything differently if the same circumstances arose again, apart from making sure I had my camera rolling. ‘I would recommend to anyone who has a similar experience with police, to immediately write down a detailed and accurate account of what happened as soon as possible after the incident. I did this and the written account was later used as the basis for an affidavit that I lodged with my complaint.’ Obtaining proper legal advice is also important. ‘I would also like to say that Cameron Bell has been a really perceptive and supportive representative throughout.’ When asked about the complaints against the officers, duty manager Inspector Darren Steel from the Tweed-Byron LAC told The Echo he had no knowledge of complaints lodged as the process is confidential and he is not on the complaints committee. |
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