Justice in today's Australia, a so called democracy, the only one yet to embrace a bill of civil rights, without which it can hardly be called a democracy?
Justice seems to be for only the well heeled?
Rhrosty.

Rhosty,
Forgive my ignorance but how is a bill of civil rights in comparison to the rights we have now ? Also, if there is a bill of civil rights will there be a bill of civil responsibilities as well ?

Dear Rhrosty,

A bill of rights would be an insult.

Essentially, it means that the state has robbed away your natural/divine/inherent freedom, then gives you some crumbs in return.

Who are they anyway to "grant" me their filthy grace?

Don't deny my freedom, then you won't need to hand me that small change of what is mine to begin with.

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Dear Rhrosty,

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Your two points are well taken. I agree not only that like all other democratic countries in the world, Australia should have the equivalent of a bill of civil rights but it should also be deeply and clearly imbedded in its constitution. I too regret that like everything else in this world, the privileges of the rich and powerful extend to include access to justice far more readily and effectively than for the poor and insignificant.

Happily, we have managed to survive without a bill of rights since the constitution was established in 1901 but that was well over a century ago now. The country we live in today has very little in common with the monocultural society founded by the 165 000 white slaves deported from the UK over the 80 year period from 1788 to 1868.

Since then the world has changed dramatically and Australia with it. There have been two world wars followed by “the clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order” (Huntingdon), the spectacular explosion of international terrorism and the illegal migration of people fleeing poverty and political conflict in their home countries, arriving in Australia in a constant flow.

The descendents of those white slaves and early free settlers no longer constitute a monocultural society. Australia's ties with the UK have gradually become more nostalgic and historic than pertinent and operational. We have become a multicultural society on the southern tip of Asia.

Our constitution is in dire need of a complete overhaul. A constitutional monarchy no longer makes sense. The time has come for us to take stock of reality and provide for the future before the future provides for us.

A calm and orderly transition to a republic with the backing of a large, popular consensus would be preferable to acting under the pressure of a major political crisis due, perhaps, to the sudden disappearance of Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II, or some other unforseen or unpredictable event.

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Dear individual and Yuyutsu,

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The Magna Carta laid the foundation stone of all future efforts to counter the tyrannical and arbitrary rule of government. Its purpose was to firmly establish the principle that human beings not only had duties and obligations but also fundamental rights which must be respected. British citizens at the time were overwhelmed with duties and obligations but any rights they might have had were constantly ignored or overruled by the king. That is why the legacy of the Magna Carta to modern day international conventions and national legislation is the perpetuation of basic human rights. The Magna Carta was conceived in order to counter-balance the authority of the king to over-burden his people with excessive duties and obligations while denying them their basic rights as human beings. Its sole purpose was to establish those rights, not to deny or even ignore the existence of duties and obligations which weighed so heavily on the population at the time.

Some may feel that the balance has now swung the other way and that there is more concern for Human Rights than for duties and obligations. That is to ignore reality. The United Nations Human Rights Agencies such as the High Commissioner for Human Rights, The Human Rights Council and the Security Council are there to prove the contrary as are various Non-Governmental Organisations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists, the International Federation of Human Rights, Minority Group Rights, Doctors without Borders and Oxfam. The balance has not swung the other way. It is still very heavily weighted in favour of the denial and non-respect of basic human rights.

Both the international conventions and the national legislations on Human Rights lay down only the strict minimal standards to be respected. They are concerned exclusively with avoiding what is totally unacceptable, rather than achieving best practices. They generally do not deal with duties and obligations. If Human Rights have to be enforced it is precisely because duties and obligations are excessive in nature and the result of arbitrary decisions by governments.

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Dear Banjo,

My authority to live my life does not arise from this or that other person'(s) sayings, writings and decrees.