Cynicism aside, last night did witness one genuinely moving bipartisan moment. Margo reports that just before Irwin rose to speak to Parliament on the Migration Amendment (Detention Arrangements) Bill 2005, Bruce Baird scribbled her a quick note and despatched it via a PH attendant. After she'd read it the two shared a private smile across the chamber, as if to say: 'Tonight we're on the same side, comrade.' Not quite the Christmas Truce of 1914, but a reminder that politics doesn't always have to be a war. [Ach and her husband Geoff Irwin, a Member of the NSW Parliament (1984-1995) was one of the kindeness and finest man in the Bear Pit and even the opposition Members like Andrew Tink or Ray Chappell would second that ...] Julia Irwin: Welcome to the trenches, Johnny's come-latelies
Eye on Politics & Law Lords: Truer words were never spoken
How democratic is parliament? A case study in auditing the performance of parliaments
In this discussion paper John Uhr ranks parliaments against four key values – political equality, popular control of government, civil liberties and human rights and public deliberation. The Senate emerges in a positive light, particularly in relation to proportional representation, scrutiny of legislation and the committee system. Uhr rates negatively the low number of private members’ bills, questions of ministerial responsibility, Question Time and the government’s political donation proposals, and points to the danger that the Howard government might use its majority in the Senate to reduce democracy within parliament.
The achievements of the civil rights movement stand witness to the power of hope, harnessed rightly, as an engine for positive social change. Hope enables individuals and communities to embark on the pursuit of difficult goals where success may be far from certain, and sustains their resolve through adversity or setbacks that might otherwise cause them to lose heart and give up. The Politics of Hope ) For some, hope is just wishful thinking that is frequently disappointed. But others see hope as the kind of positive emotion that can serve our most rational ends ...
• Any democracy you want, as long as I am in charge? [Senator Brian Harradine's valedictory The Father of the House takes his leave ; John Howard made unexpected concessions last week to avert a backbench revolt in parliament. But why is crossing the floor seen as such a major step? Paul Rodan looks at the precedents Crossing the floor: a short history ; Over the course of the last six months, we've seen everybody's talents, we've seen where the match-ups take place Ferguson tipped to lose in Labor reshuffle ]
• · Behind the multicultural curtains Tanya Plibersek: a triumph of hope despite experience, Rebel 4? ; There are no judicial checks on Australia’s system of mandatory removal How Australia reversed the burden of proof ; Nearly 500,000 mentally ill men and women are now locked up in America's jails. That's 10 times the number who remain in its psychiatric hospitals The New Asylums
• · · One rate for all would boost investment, cut unemployment Hail, flat tax ; Charge ex-Strathfield mayors, says ICAC
• · · · Colorful former owner of Sparta Praha soccer club and ex-convict Petr Mach returned to the limelight this month - Millionaire ex-con says he gave a top deputy gifts, holidays, loans Police chief resigns after scandal ; WWII commentaries note the fate of former Czechoslovak citizens Rethinking the postwar expulsions ; The Australin Capital Territory is the first Australian jurisdiction to have a Bill of Rights Review of the first year of operation of the Human Rights Act 2004; John Fitzgerald argues that democracy matters in Australia’s dealings with China A lesson in diplomacy
• · · · · Robyn May, Iain Campbell and John Burgess : The rise and rise of casual work in Australia: who benefits, who loses? ; Lee Ridoutt, Chris Selby Smith, Kevin Hummel, Christina Cheang look at how employers value and use qualifications in their business decisions. Their research indicates that qualifications are considered more important for higher-level occupations and employers use them predominantly to recruit new employees and to ensure regulatory compliance. Employers regard qualifications as a signal of potential for future learning and skills acquisition, not as a signal of immediate competence What value do Australian employers give to qualifications?
• · · · · · Opposition presses NSW Govt over damning Cityrail report Question Time; Rail staff typically have no idea where trains are, how late they are running or when they will arrive. RailCorp's management and staff were "making a serious effort" to help passengers, but a "quantum leap" was needed to improve a communications system that often gave "inaccurate, incomprehensible or incomplete" information Trains lost in the twilight zone