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The Forum > Article Comments > The fragility of liberty in Australia > Comments

The fragility of liberty in Australia : Comments

By Patrick Keyzer, published 21/1/2014

Should politicians have the power to reverse a decision of a court? Thankfully the Queensland Court of Appeal said 'no'.

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It amazes me people like spindoc who would rather trust a politician, (under enormous public and media pressure, and worrying about being voted in at the next election) to make a decision regarding their liberty rather than a judge (who has no such pressures) who can apply the law in an impartial manner and must given written reasons for doing so. Or maybe spindoc thinks such powers can only be used on other people. Personally I would prefer an impartial judge any day.
A system where a politician gets to decide who goes free and who gets locked up is the very antithesis of the rule of law.
Posted by Rhys Jones, Tuesday, 21 January 2014 4:31:31 PM
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spindoc asks "what is the problem?
The problem is that when a politician decides to lock someone up, they may be under a lot of pressure to do so. They may not look at the evidence to decide whether the person has actually committed a crime. They may not be interested in the actual evidence. They may be more concerned about quelling public hysteria rather doing justice. They may perhaps harbour certain predjudices which sway their opinion. That is the problem. People should not be punished on the say so of politicians. A weak judiciary and a powerful executive lead to regimes such as existed in Nazi Germany. As much as judges make mistakes and our system is not perfect, the rule of law is far preferable to the arbitrary rule of politicians.
Posted by Rhys Jones, Tuesday, 21 January 2014 4:37:59 PM
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If we want justice we need trial by jury, a jury with the appropriate background in order to make an informed decision. Nothing as idiotic as having an inner city jury to deal with a country matter & vice versa. Have trades people deal with trade level cases etc etc.
Have shop keepers deal with hold ups & criminal assault with a jury made up of medical staff.
That would go a little step towards some liberty rather than the present hiding in a gilded cage. Liberty in Australia is not fragile, it is fragmented.
Posted by individual, Tuesday, 21 January 2014 6:36:44 PM
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Either the people's parliament has the authority to over ride court decisions which plainly contravene the people's will, or local judges should be elected as they are in the USA, so that activist judges can not ignore the will of the people without considering the cost to themselves.

For too long in Australia, some notorious judges with activist ideologies have acted with the imperiousness of absolute monarchs, ignoring the lowly peasants and their representatives.

What this author is really whining about is that the Queensland government is making itself popular by over riding judicial decisions which the public finds outrageous. The recent case of the famous "road rage" incident in Queensland where the offender received a trivial sentence is a case in point. Here in NSW, the public has been incensed at the lenient treatment of offenders who apparently wander around the streets punching people in the face for fun. At least two boys have died from injuries sustained from these senseless attacks.

The entire town of Burke, NSW, once turned out en masse at Burke airport to demonstrate against the "visiting" magistrates from Sydney who routinely gave the lightest possible sentences to repeat offender aboriginals who's endless unpunished crimes were in danger of turning Burke into another white free ghost town like Wilcannia.
Posted by LEGO, Tuesday, 21 January 2014 7:35:01 PM
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It is a pity that with a couple of exceptions the discussion about Professor Keyzer's important article has already degenerated into the usual suspects giving vent to their ill-informed prejudices arising out of some perceived wrongdoing by a particular judicial officer(s).

If they stopped for a moment and actually engaged their brains they would see the incredible dangers of the policies they want. They need look no further then the current appalling situation in Nauru when the politicians are doing exactly what some of the commenters would wish the Queensland government (and others) to be able to do.

They may wish to live in a society where the rule of law is superceded by politicians, in which case they are more than welcome to go elsewhere. South Sudan springs to mind.
Posted by James O'Neill, Tuesday, 21 January 2014 8:56:18 PM
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What is really dangerous James O'Neill, is that unelected judges, & other members of the legal profession think they are above the parliament, & the rest of us.

Trust a politician before a judge, bloody right I would. In fact the only people I would trust less than a judge would be Professor Chris Turney, & the rest of the global warming brigade
Posted by Hasbeen, Tuesday, 21 January 2014 11:59:17 PM
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