Kampmark's article wanders over a few points but in some respects it is a self-parody. He bemoans Australia's treatment of terrorist suspects and refugees which he attributes to a lack of a bill of rights. Is that left or what? Australia admits nearly 200,000 immigrants a year, of which about 16,000 or so are genuine refugees (the numbers are off the top of my head). A number of potential immigrants who tried to enter Australia illegally are still refusing to leave a camp in PNG, although they now have no chance of being admitted to Australia. There is also no chance they are the genuine refugees in any sense that Kampmark would recognise. As for the poor treatment of terrorism suspects does anyone know what he's taking about? In any case there is no indication a bill of rights would help. The US has a bill or rights but I'd match our treatment of terrorism suspects and immigrants against their treatment any day.

*....Without realising it, those behind the same-sex marriage have become the progenitors of a new political impetus in Australia...*

Tall poppies have a short life in Australia...by tradition. Let's wait and see if they can change this trading also.

“No trigger for a bill of rights will move the Australian people; no catalyst great enough to warrant a deviation from an unswerving faith in the magic of the common law, and the wisdom of British-made institutional stability. The indefinite detention of refugees will be tolerated. Shabby treatment of terrorist suspects will be permitted. The advice of the Australian Secret Intelligence Organisation will be given greater weight than solid judicial review.”

And that is the way it should be! Common law and “British-made institutional stability” made us what we are and what we should be proud of. If “indefinite detention” upsets some people, there is a solution; send them packing. Terrorists 'suspects' only reach that status after a lot of painstaking investigation. That type of creature has no place in Australia. “Judicial review” has been shown to be anything but judicial, and more the activism of Left judges picked by Left politicians. And, the head of ASIO is an incompetent clown who sees no connection between terrorism and so-called 'refugees' of the Muslim kind; so the less said about ASIO the better.

A bill of rights would serve no useful purpose then to employ lawyers.

We remain the only western "democracy" without a bill of rights! And problematic for born to rule control freaks who routinely trample over so called rights!? Now the want some rights enshrined in law?

The right to subjectively discriminate based solely on medieval superstition and erroneous assertion? And want the right to withhold service? Correct good science, with inculcated stone age, fact free superstition? And trotted out as a parental right?

Yes we should all have an inherent right to religious belief and freedom of worship. But can that ever include infallible cults, who own their own facts?

Yes to a broad brush overdue bill of irrevocable rights! Which must include, a man's home is his castle. Where his rights trump that of intending trespassers, but particularly, armed break and enter merchants, who currently have more rights, it would seem, than the householder. When any all their rights should disappear with the intention/procede to commit a crime!

We cannot cherry pick some rights and leave all others as the default position and or at the whim and caprice of the minister/magistrate!

And ought be taken to an election, for final ratification! If only to ensure there's bidding war on how many rights the major parties are willing to concede to placate competing interests?

Let the cane fires burn, let the flames grow high,
Let (corrupt) bankers and (criminal) loan sharks wonder and look at the sky.
Let me feel no pain,
as I drown my sorrows in whiskey and dance in the flame. Quote unquote.
Alan B.

I TOLD THEM!

But they wouldn't listen. They needed this defeat to realise that the wheel is always turning and no one will remain up or down forever.

Now what is needed is not a bill of rights, but freedom itself.

Bill-Of-Rights = The small-coin change that states give you back after taking your whole freedom away