web
|
November 28,
2002 |
|
|
|
|
|
A
Parliamentary Steering Committee has been appointed to oversee the
Constitutional Convention. A panel
of experts, including specialists in constitutional law, will prepare a
Discussion Paper. This Discussion Paper will be put out for public comment
for you and your community to have a say and will be discussed at the
Constitutional Convention. The
Parliamentary Steering Committee will formulate the questions to be covered
in the Discussion Paper and also they will appoint the panel of
experts. A
series of meetings in country centres and metropolitan Adelaide will be held
early next year at which all the issues identified in the Discussion Paper
will be discussed and debated. It is
planned that the Constitutional Convention will be held in Adelaide in April
2003. The
recommendations of the Constitutional Convention will then be put to the
Parliament. Issues Should South Australia
have a system of initiative and referendum (Citizen Initiated Referenda) and,
if so, in what form and how should it operate? John
Robertson’s Comments Yes.
The promise of our grandparents’ times evaporated with the end of the
Playford era; Parliament is the cause.
CIR of the Swiss type provides citizens with the opportunity to bypass
Political Parties and initiate changes to the law. Electronic voting and the Internet permit
citizens to be easily informed and to easily vote. Case History. Study of my web page: http://www.robertsonj32.freeserve.co.uk/SouthAusGovDefendsClaimByCovering-upMaliciousProsecution.htm
reveals how CIR could have corrected an
unjust law. In 1987 I engaged Johnsons, Solicitors, to
appeal from a Magistrate’s Decision to a Supreme Court Judge. Lawyer Joe Kilby informed me,
that under South Australian law, the forensic evidence, showing that
the main prosecution witness had rewritten documents before denying her
rewriting to the Magistrate, could not be put to the Appeal Judge and
nor could other new evidence be put to the Appeal Judge. I learned of Mr Justice Zelling giving
Reasons in the James Philip Hinton Appeal from Special Magistrate J C Grieve,
saying, ‘Hinton would not have had any difficulty in Victoria in obtaining
justice because he would have had the right of appeal to a District Court for
a complete rehearing on the facts so the judge who sat on the rehearing could
asses the credibility of the witnesses Zelling J. said more scathing words
including, ‘The doing of justice between the State and the accused person is
a matter of primary importance in any community which considers itself
civilised and I cannot think that any of the excuses that have been suggested
justify the present state of affairs in this State.’ This Hinton matter was reported in the
Advertiser, 16 January 1979. If CIR had been available to me I would have energetically used Zelling J’s words
to petition to have the Appeal Law made fit for a civilised community. As it happened, public sector
criminals, thriving in uncivilised SA, caused me to be jailed in 1990 for two
months. Over all of the years I guess about a
million citizens have been convicted by SA magistrates. Perhaps 10% of those
people would have won appeals, and not had a conviction recorded against
them, if they had had the right to a complete rehearing on the facts before a
judge. And it is still going on! I conceived the Money Solution in late
1990; a short description is: Money With
modern computers it is ridiculous to tax in obsolete ways. 1%
tax on all credits (deposits) and on all debits (withdrawals) in the banks
and other finance houses would provide the SA Treasury with too much
money. All existing SA taxes
would be scrapped. SA would then
lend its surplus money to the banks at 1% who in turn would lend, in their
usual high-gearing way, to businesses and homebuyers at 3%. The low cost money would attract
excellent businesses and people to create full employment in SA. People
and Corporations evading the 1% tax would be fined ten times the tax evaded
and be barred from the low cost money for ten years. In addition, their competitors and
others would have the right to claim treble damages in the civil courts for
losses suffered by paying their tax while the evaders did not pay tax, so
causing unfair competition. State Retirement Pension: To increase the money movements
and therefore SA tax receipts and money available for low cost loans, an Old
Age Pension equal to 20% of the Commonwealth Age Pension would be paid. This would attract people to SA so
further boosting business and employment opportunities. With the SA economy fixed, money would be available
for better supplies of electricity, water, health services, education,
transport, environment services, police, emergency and human services. As
one example, ample low cost money could finance wind turbine
electricity generation. Port Augusta would be a good site as the
existing power grid system radiates from there. The Flinders Ranges and
Spencer Gulf combine to provide suitable wind farm sites.
Off-peak electricity could pump seawater into a hydro electricity dam on the
Flinders with the exhausted water from the hydroelectric scheme flowing into
Lake Torrens and Lake Eyre. Surplus clean electricity could produce
clean hydrogen fuel. The additional lakes water would cause more
evaporation and therefore more dew and thunderstorms. Living in Rural Areas would be enhanced by
employment opportunities via the Internet and by the servicing of aged people
wanting to enjoy their retirement in Country Towns. Internet Solution If
Parliament introduced new statutory law to have ALL court documents put onto
the Internet, public scrutiny would make it easier to ferret out the crooked
lawyers, magistrates and judges.
The added risk of exposure would act as a deterrent to those legal
people with low standards. That
would be effective law reform. CIR: If CIR was already operating in SA, interested
people could join me in petitioning for the Money and Law Solution. Politicians and other influential
people have not publicly commented on the Money and Law Solution; I assume
through fear of commenting on the unique and untried proposals. CIR petitions would break the ice and
open up public debate. If there
are any faults in the proposals, they would be identified. John Robertson’s Comments Peter Lewis is an experienced
Parliamentarian and I support his judgment. As above John Robertson’s Comments Political Parties have been instrumental
in damaging South Australia.
Local Government Councillors should elect the Legislative Council, one
vote per person. John Robertson’s Comments The House of Assembly could be elected as
per the proposal for the Legislative Council; all would be fair and
democratic. Citizens would take
their views and problems to the Local Councilor in their Ward to pass up line
as required. CIR would be necessary to remove bad
councilors, and to put important issues to the people via referenda, if Ward
Councilors are not up to the task. The
following people are members of the steering committee: Hon
Peter Lewis, Chairman Hon Ron
Roberts Hon
Michael Atkinson Hon
Robert Lawson Hon
Gail Gago Mr
John Rau Hon
Angus Redford Hon
Dean Brown Panel of Experts The
following people have been appointed to the Panel of Experts. Dr
Clement Macintyre, Chairperson Associate
Professor Peter Howell Dr
Geoffrey Partington Professor
Judith Sloan Dr
Jenny Stock Professor
Geoffrey Walker Hon
Trevor Griffin Hon
Len King
Site design by DSX Digital © Copyright
2002. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer |
|
|