Fox,

That is a lot of words. However once again your spin that Costello somehow agrees with you is made without grounds or evidence whatsoever.

Courts are not there to make the decisions that are the responsibility of government and ministers. Ministers are responsible and answerable to the Parliament, but Courts are not.

The parliament passes laws and the powers are delegated to Ministers who may then delegate to others. With delegation comes accountability, reporting, monitoring and review and appeal mechanisms.

The High Court has been scathing about government trying to pass the buck to courts to do what government should do, specifically, make decisions. The High Court rightly sees that as government and the Parliament itself evading responsibility and accountability.

Unfortunately, governments of either complexion, red or blue, have created all sorts of quangos, quasi nongovernmental agencies that swing from the taxpayer's teat being funded by government (which has NO money except that taken from taxpayers), but are able to avoid the direct scrutiny of Parliament and ARE NOT accountable to the electorate as politicians are. With a few exceptions, such arrangements are usually government escaping responsibility and refusing to grasp some nettle and understand and explain some complex matters (to the public).

A timely example could be the Human Rights Commission. If ever there was a case for that body it has long disappeared into the fog of the decades long past, well before many taxpayers were born.

We should not be enabling ministers, their delegates and ultimately government and the Parliament to evade their due responsibilities and accountability that they sought at election and are very handsomely remunerated for.

Why is there this faith in the legal system? A bunch of greedy people who are delighted that their membership avoid their taxes and leech of the public purse. Really? You would think that we should be taking money off them rather than giving them another free lunch. Here is an idea all legal fee's have 30% sent straight to the ATO, job done!
The terrorists that come back should be first put on the sexual offenders register in the well founded belief that they are rapists and murderers. Also they should be offered to Iraq and Iran on the assurance they will not face the death penalty. Job done and can you imagine the little cowardly diddums facing life in the fast lane.

Peter Costello's words came from his book,
"The Costello Memoirs," pp. 358 - 361.
Taken from Appendix 6. "Worth Promoting,
Worth Defending: Australian Citizenship."

The Costello Memoris is a frank
look inside the engine-room of the Liberal
Party and the Howard government. It makes
interesting reading as it answers quite a
few questions and charts the victories and defeats
in one man's very public life.

JBower, I wasn't aware the people working in the legal system don't pay taxes?
Where did you get that from?

The mere thought of some of our politicians having the power to be jury, judge and executioner of our citizens who are overseas makes my skin crawl.
Anyone can be a politician. Just think of the idiots in the shooter's party or One Nation, just to name a few.

I want a proper judge, whose only long-term job is to work in the legal system, to decide who is guilty or not of crimes, not some dubiously talented politician who may only be a politician for a short time.

Suse,

"Just think of the idiots in the shooter's party or One Nation, just to name a few...."

I take umbrage at that though I agree with your main points, the Shooters Party MsP have worked diligently for their constituents and, unlike the Greens, have never lied about anyone or anything and have never hidden behind Parliamentary Privilege.

Suse,
As I understand it, Immigration Ministers have always had the power to make decisions on individual immigration issues.

I seem to recall a certain mufti, that referred to women as 'cats meat', getting ministerial approval for a permanent residency visa, and that is only one example.

I also often see judges being critisised for supposedly wrong decisions.