Democracy is not a spectator sport
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We would do well to proudly remember that Jessie Street and Doc Evatt were involved in the writing of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. I believe that declaration spells out the reasoning the High Court may have used. In relation to (asylum seekers). My advice comes from the recently retired High Court Judge Mary Gaudron. Even though they have tried Governments of all colours have been unable to overturn the original jurisdiction of sec 75.5 of the High Court. In a speech entitled “Remembering the Declaration of Human Rights”, former Australian High Court Judge Ms Mary G. Gaudron (Australia), President of ILO Admin Tribunal, said: “The Universal Declaration recognises there is no protection of human rights without the rule of law. Well, if Australia was tardy in implementing or giving effect to Article 7 of the Universal Declaration, it was more than ingenious in recognising the rule of law. The genius of the Australian Constitution lies in a little subsection called section 75(5). Its terms are probably meaningless to those of you non-lawyers who are present here today. It gives the High Court original jurisdiction in which any person, citizen or non citizen seeks mandamus, prohibition or an injunction against an officer of the Commonwealth”. “As a result of that tiny little subsection, ministers of the federal government, federal public servants, their agents and others acting on their behalf may be compelled to perform their Constitutional and legal duty and may be restrained from acting in excess of their constitutional or legal power”. “The section, is all our own; our own peculiar genius. Not surprisingly, governments of both sides have sought from time to time to cut down the operation of that little subsection; and equally not surprisingly, High Court has resisted their attempts every time. That little subsection is quite unique. It has no equivalent, as far as I know, in any other Constitution. Certainly it has no equivalent in the United States of America”. “Under our political system all three arms of Government exist separately yet none may have unbridled power unto itself or untrammelled power over any other. This is known as the doctrine of the separation of powers”. The separation of powers is a convention we adopted from the United States of America as part of our constitutional arrangements. I keenly want you to know it is possible , to compel the Minister and his Department of Immigration to do their duty as required by our Treaty regarding Refugees and any other treaty. In particular the taking in of those asylum seekers who spontaneously present at our borders over and above our quota as pledged. Australia is one of ten Countries who is pledged to take a defined quota of refugees over and above the number of asylum seekers who spontaneously present at our borders. John Ward