Elected zealots
Lorie Werner, Box Hill South VIC
Date: 29 April 2008
Bob Carr (Opine 28/4/08) decries those calling for a Bill of Rights as zealots and claims that such a Bill would put power in the hands of unelected judges, which he claims they would misuse. I wonder if Mr Carr has spoken to David Hicks or Mamdouh Habaib about whether they think a Bill of Rights might have saved them from our former Prime Minister's acquiescence to US Administration lunacy in the shape of Guantanamo Bay.
The trouble with leaving citizens rights exclusively in the hands of the elected government is that occassionally you get a mob of zealots elected (having gone to the electorate with moderate policy proposals) who, once in power, seek to impose their manefesto on the people - a good example being "Work Choices" not mentioned in the leadup to the 2004 federal election but pursued with gusto once Howard realised he had gained control of the Upper House.
A Bill or Charter of Human Rights is a check on executive power, not a replacement, and the rights a properly constructed Bill or Charter would seek to protect should be universal human rights. These rights are hard to question if you believe in equity before the law and justice in public policy.
The overplayed use of the fear of litigation comes straight out of the coffers of insurance companies which continually put up premiums due to the "threat" of litigation, a claim not supported by the facts.
