BLANK BIT
Ummm Nope.
"Even though Australia has signed all five international treaties that make up the the International Bill of Human Rights, none of these treaties are legally binding in Australia. Nor is there is a Bill of Rights in the Australian Constitution. This means that the fundamental rights and freedoms of everyone living in Australia are not protected by the law."
Crikey, streuth, and stone the crows I hear you all say. So how democratic IS Australia?.....and not caparatively. IF you're gonna compare it. Compare it against your idea of a democracy...
I think you may need to keep researching....
ReplyDelete1. Only compulsory if you're on the electoral roll. If you dont enroll you're not obliged
2. You can write anything you want on the ballot. Or nothing at all.
3. Your choices are numbered in the way YOU want them. Nobody forces you to vote along the party card.
4. As above. Put your least favorite candiate last.
Democracy Shamocracy! A Military Dictatorship with me in charge. I'd be a benovelent Dictator.
ReplyDeleteTake the fun out of it Lobes...Jesus.
ReplyDeleteBIll of Rights?.
Sorry man, just pointing out the obvious. I didnt say it was a shit post as there were issues that could have been developed, for instance the marginalisation of minority views in a compulsory democracy. If you wanna do thinky posts its inevitable you'll get a thinky response.
ReplyDeleteNot sensitive about it Lobes. You didn't say it was shit, I did. No point leaving that up there if it was wrong...
ReplyDeleteI for one welcome our new Leader BBA.
ReplyDeleteFor sure....sounds like a plan to me.
ReplyDeleteWhy Thank ye Naut. I hereby appoint you Minister of Misinformation.
ReplyDeleteThe Victorians HAVE as I understand it enshrined the Bill of Rights or some equivalent human rights charter. Not sure of the details but I read in a motorcycle mag (AMCN) it's the reason the Vics can't or won't enact similar anti-bikie gang laws to South Oz and NSW as those laws remove or conditionalise rights such as presumption of innocence which are enshrined in their charter.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly I can vote here in NZ - indeed had to go on the voting roll, though actual voting isn't compulsory - and in Australia, though I'd fallen off the roll and couldn't be arsed going back on as then it'd be mandatory for me to vote in every election going, even ones I wasn't aware existed eg local byelections. I think the NZ system is more reasonable. You pay tax there, you vote there, whether a citizen or not (though this may be an Aussie thing, other residents might get a different deal - we're pretty much given residency as soon as we show interest in staying.)
ReplyDeleteI changed my mind a long time ago, there may not be something to vote for, but sure as hell there is something to vote against.
ReplyDeleteI love to vote and now every MP has been found to be fiddling their expenses here I can't see any of them being re-elected next term!
ReplyDeletefor every Bill of Rights,there's a Bill of Wrongs..
ReplyDeleteThe debate as to enshrine a bill of rights in the australia constitution was discussed at the time of federation and continues to this day.
ReplyDeletePeople whose opinion I respect have said they do not think we should have a bill of rights as the difficulty is to enumerate ALL the rights. They argue that the Commenwealth history of common law provides those rights that a specific document could limit.
WHile I like the idea of a bill of rights I do have some concerns that any such document which does not specifically address a right would mean that right isn't protected.
I recently had to pay a fine for not voting in the bullshit local government elections here. I gave as my reason for not voting that I had moved from Queensland down here and that I wasn't a ratepayer...
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say that excuse didn't fly- but I thought that there was something in a book I read about 'service guarantees citizenship'???
I suppose that Starship Troopers doesn't really count as a legal text does it?