By Jason Morrison

The law in Australia only works when it applies to all people equally. 

So to allow an exemption for a small group for fear of offence shows how spineless many in politics in this country have become. 

The Queensland government has rejected a push by independents and minor parties to force Muslim women to remove their burqas or veils to prove their identity.

The bill, introduced by the independent MP for Nicklin, Peter Wellington, would have allowed lawyers, police, prison officers, justices of the peace and other “persons of responsibility” to require a person to remove any face covering to establish their identity.

The bill is more than reasonable. Officers of the law MUST be able to identify an individual to confirm who they are or are not. 

Queensland Attorney General, Jarrod Bleijie showed how unfit he is for the job when he ran to the dumbest argument in the book to reject this ...multiculturalism : "The government believes in a multicultural Queensland. This government respects the rights of its citizens and individuals to practise the religion that they so choose,” 

No-one is debating religion. The burqa is a cultural garment and not one required by the Islamic religion. 

The women wearing it do it by choice or because their husband insists.

In NSW, we went through all of this 4 years ago when Carnita Matthews, used the fact that her Face and identity was obscured by her burqa to dodge 6-months in gaol for lying to police.

She'd played the "you can't see my face because of my religion" card with a Highway Patrol officer and then accused him of being racist when he tried to enforce the law.

Then the court found that no-one could be sure she was who she was underneath - all because she didn't have to co-operate.

The law has since been changed in favour of the common good.

And that's what it's meant to be about ... the common good.

Attorney General Jarrod Bleijie is a fool who just made the job of enforcing the law in his State that bit harder.