However, he said it was wrong to blame mandatory sentencing for the
> boy's death.
>> 'I don't think that can be credibly argued that that (mandatory
> sentencing) was the only cause of that very very tragic
> incident,' Mr Howard said.
Mr Howard for once is correct - so why is everyone making this a race issue?
Why don't people look into his family and friends and find out what really
bothered him enough for him to kill himself?? And what about all the other
races which commit suicide while in detention centres and jails? People care
about them too but it's not a race issue, it is a mental health issue.
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Graham Young
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2000 4:23 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [recoznet2] Australia not breaching international treaties
- PM
Well, he will be proved right or wrong after Mary Robinson has had a look,
but I couldn't say much for his logic. This could end up being a very
embarrassing press comment, and in this context embarrassing = damaging.
I had assumed that Kofi Annan kept quiet because he understood that his
comments could actually inflame the situation and that the government would
be more likely to do the right thing if he held his peace and allowed
pressure to occur at more subterranean levels.
Howard's comments later in the interview seem to indicate that no strategy
is going to change his mind.
Graham Y
----- Original Message -----
From: Trudy and Rod Bray <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: RecOzNet2 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2000 2:41 PM
Subject: [recoznet2] Australia not breaching international treaties - PM
> Can you believe the unmitigated gall?! --- Trudy
> ===================================
>
> Australia not breaching international treaties - PM
>
> Source: AAP | Published: Thursday February 24, 1:15 PM
>
> The fact that United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan did not raise
> the issue of mandatory sentencing during his
> recent visit proved that Australia had not breached international
> treaties, Prime Minister John Howard said today.
>
> Mr Howard said there was a popular misconception that Australia had
> breached its international obligations by
> allowing mandatory sentencing laws in Western Australia and the Northern
> Territory.
>
> 'The secretary-General of the United Nations spent and hour with me and
> did not raise the matter,' Mr Howard told
> ABC radio.
>
> 'If we are clearly in breach ... he would have put a view, but he
> actually said that Australia was a model member of the
> United Nations.'
>
> A national debate on mandatory sentencing was sparked by the death in
> custody two weeks ago of a 15-year-old
> Aboriginal boy sentenced to 28 days' jail in the NT for stealing
> stationery.
>
> Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley has called on Prime Minister John
> Howard to pressure the WA and NT
> governments to overturn their mandatory sentencing laws.
>
> Mr Howard said Attorney-General Daryl Williams would be asking WA and
> the NT to review the laws, particularly those
> that related to juveniles.
>
> However, he said it was wrong to blame mandatory sentencing for the
> boy's death.
>
> 'I don't think that can be credibly argued that that (mandatory
> sentencing) was the only cause of that very very tragic
> incident,' Mr Howard said.
>
> He said mandatory sentencing remained a state issue and the federal
> government was unlikely to overturn state laws.
>
> 'We take the view that traditionally, sentencing and criminal law
> matters are matters for state governments and there
> would have to be very exceptional circumstances to use the external
> affairs powers - foreign affairs powers - to
> intervene,' Mr Howard said.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------
> RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived
at http://www.mail-archive.com/
> To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the
body
> of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here
> mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce
> This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without
permission from the
> copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and
research under the "fair
> use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be
distributed further without
> permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use."
>
> RecOzNet2 is archived for members @
http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
>
-------------------------------------------------------
RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at
http://www.mail-archive.com/
To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the
body
of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce
This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without
permission from the
copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and
research under the "fair
use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed
further without
permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use."
RecOzNet2 is archived for members @
http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
-------------------------------------------------------
RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at
http://www.mail-archive.com/
To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body
of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce
This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission
from the
copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under
the "fair
use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further
without
permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use."
RecOzNet2 is archived for members @
http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/
