We need a society that addresses and adheres to PC matters - where PC stands for "Publicly Concerned".

I do get the feeling things are starting to change for the better.

http://youtu.be/06VSBQ8XhVA

"THE Gillard government has become a Labor refugee camp for out-of-work premiers and ex-Labor government and union officials.

Former Queensland attorney-general Cameron Dick was appointed to the chair of the Safety.

Former Queensland premier Anna Bligh was appointed to the board of Medibank Private three days earlier.
ex-Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser was appointed to Australian Sports Commission board.
Mr Fraser also joined the board of the new Moorebank Intermodal Company"

Michael,
The public should not have to rely on the government to protect them.....because they can't. The public have to stop thinking that government is their mummy and daddy, they need to protect themselves. This is hard as generally the law abiding public have been disarmed. Its an offence to even carry a knife without a lawful excuse and self defence is not considered a lawful excuse. Of course criminals don't care about the law and are armed. What I would like to see the next time a crim is breaking into a pensioners home or a home with young children is for home owner to tell them he's getting his shotgun! I would call 000 after I had secured the safety of my children and family. Lets give the law abiding people the ability to protect themselves! Keep up your good work, you have a great site.
Ian

The dominant sentiment comes over loudly and clearly. We do have a right to feel safe.

However, there is another principle that must be addressed; and that is the repressive axe must come down universally across society. The powerful and privileged must not be able to exploit the system. Otherwise justice is defined and applied according to social status and money.

This is shown by the Thomson and Wilson (Gillard etc) cases. How many delays would there have been without the financial resources of the ALP and PILCH being thrown at them? What if Slipper, Thomson and Wilson had been genuinely broke and without representation? What if, as Derryn Hinch observes, the convicted Melbourne Magistrate did not have 17 lawyers and judges prostituting themselves to successfully protect him from jail. Well, we know the answers to such questions.

The sword does not reach the neck of the privileged yobbo from the wealthy leafy suburbs as it does now to the neck of the yobbo from the dry and dusty west. This is fodder for the far left and its anarchist comrades.

As a corollary governments have to seriously look into the causes of crime. Why do people traffic in drugs? Why do people steal and bash? Why do privileged people in politics and business commit fraud? These are profound questions and their answers lie in evidenced based research and not on the emotive reactions based on fear. Economics, social dysfunction and despair play a role. As well as serious crime we also have a serious suicide problem. Some causal factors may intersect.

Governments must also put some thought into the wider social consequences of their decisions.

For example, I am reading of mass sackings in a regional TAFE in Victoria. A CEO was appointed fresh from Packer's Crown Casino and has sacked 50 staff members in addition to 100 earlier in the year. This was very poorly managed, for example, why do it just before Christmas? This not a good look and bad politics.

In early 2013 the area was a Coalition gain and likely to become a stronghold. The feeling against the Coalition is now so intense they have no hope.

This ill-thought out decision (repeated elsewhere in Victoria) will all but guarantee the end of the Napthine government as well as adding dramatically to social dysfunction and crime in the region. Tony Abbott is sure to become collateral damage.

There is a distinct impression that there is a drought of talent in both the government and bureaucracy and that the mediocre have command and we see abysmal decision making across the nation. Just look at the Toowoomba Airport, coal seam gas leases, wind-farms etc which look more like "fast buck" scams.

So, back to the start. The answers to the issues raised at the forum lie in policy adjustments and reform in many areas not just increasing penalties and building more and more prisons. Governor Phillip's penal colony was closed long ago and we cannot afford to return to being a penal colony and warehouse tens of thousands of people (and illegals) in custodial establishments.

Yes, the people have a right to feel safe from violent criminals but also from politicians, unionists, consultants, businessmen that steal from the money needed for health, education, re-training and the creation of jobs that will give the community opportunity and hope which will reduce crime.

Last, we must also be able to feel safe from the mediocre and incompetent in government, business, education and the professions.

I might add that the blight government did sweet F A about it after this meeting despite promising they would

This is off topic, but it's still on the area of our right to feel safe. Michael, do you know anything about this?
There is an article on Larry Pickering's site by Bernard Gaynor - Gaying the Army

http://pickeringpost.com/glance/gaying-the-army/2405

"The Department of Defence... is producing rainbow-encrusted cuff-links for homosexual soldiers.

And they are issued free of charge, even though they are not part of any uniform (yet).

It’s all part of the process of gaying the Army, unleashed by the former Labor Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith."

what the?

Yes , it looks like 'jobs for the boys (and girls!) but it is actually the great 'original Labor plan for Jobs and Growth' . I have just heard that Tim Flannery has been appointed manager of 'Preventive , Predictive and Corrective maintenance of the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning system and digital revolution of the Labor building " ( i.e. , Tim goes early and turns the AC on )

I agree with you in regard to the convicted Victorian Magistrate who was not sent to prison. A lesser type of crime of abuse of minors, just because he was a Magistrate, I don't think the victims would have suffered less.

This also goes along with the Wesley boys who broke into their school and stole laptops a few years ago. The reason given for the judge not registering a conviction, from memory, was because it would have a detrimental effect on their future prospects. Dare say, wealthy or poor, the same could be said of any young person's prospects, but the crime of breaking into a school and stealing should not go unpunished.

Perhaps we should be offering law scholarships to University to quality students from less well off schools so that we may have equal representation in our legal fraternity. It's not good enough that the wealthy get treated differently as in the Wesley case whereas if they had come from a poorer suburb where their parents were Mr and Mrs Average and not Mr and Mrs Society with influence in business and sometimes governments from the well off suburbs they would have had a conviction recorded and plenty of news coverage.

Even better if we have two sitting judges, one from either end of the spectrum, to deliberate on criminal cases and if found guilty, length of sentence. This would indeed limit undue influence and be a fairer system.

Michael
Nicky was spot on about minimum sentences, when the Libs were last in the N.T they introduced mandatory minimum sentences for property crime stealing,breaks etc .Strike 1 14 days, Strike 2 90days, Strike 3 12months. March 1997- Oct 2001 when labor got in for the first time up here that was one of the first Acts they squashed.
Got my hands on a paper written by the Office of Crime Prevention N.T based on a presentation to the Australian & NZ Criminology Conference 2003.
2,204 separate sentencing occasions
1,715 first strikes
379 second strikes
110 third strikes with 17 of those fourth & fifth offenders.

This is the interesting part for me comparison during & after minimum sentences.
During Mandatory Minimum 87% actual prison time
After '' '' '' '' 37% ''' ''' '''

During '' '' '' '' 0% Home Detention
After '' '' '' '' 2% ''' '' ''

During '' '' '' '' 1% Community Service
After '' '' '' '' 18% '' '' '' ''

During '' '' '' '' 12% Fines, Bonds, Suspended Sentences
After '' '' '' '' 43% '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' '' ''

During '' '' '' '' 81% First Time Offender
After '' '' '' '' 24% '' '' '' '' ''

During '' '' '' '' 100% Second Time Offender
After '' '' '' '' 53% '' '' '' '' ''

During '' '' '' '' 100% Third Time Offender
After '' '' '' '' 70% '' ' '' '' '''

That is a lot of crooks laughing there heads of after Labor squashed mandatory. The prison population was said to have increased less than 15% over that time. The above figures are for adult prisoners only.
There was 2 juvenile detention centers up here & during that time the Libs were able to close, not demolish as Labor did when they came in, the Wildman River camp as there was no inmates to house there & Don Dale was basically empty. Heard your AG on Bennys program saying minimum doesn't work, my take on these stats are alot of crime wasn't committed because of this law which is what it is all about to me. It was a Labor paper & they tried to pooh pooh it. Hope it is of some interest to some.
Cheers
Scotty