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Who stole justice?

By Stephen Fitz

I’m as deaf as a post but I hear the call “We want justice”. Here’s another little problem that haunts our precious society. Our adversarial legal system favours those with the most money. Like the LNP, it’s been manipulated and corrupted to favour corporates and the top end of town.

After reading the article in the Financial Review ‘Shadow lawyers’ barred from advising on Fair Work Commission cases the Law Society would have us believe that “justice system” and “legal system” are the same thing. They are not! It’s a deception. Justice is the result of a healthy legal system and does not happen if the legal system has been manipulated and corrupted. Banning defence lawyers from proceedings in the FWC supports this argument but in no way resolves the problem.

Since they have no real defence these unscrupulous lawyers use trickery, deception and theatre to protect their cosy little nest of clover worth $475 an hour. They have no shame, and no excuse, as they destroy the innocent for a hand full of dollars from the guilty who employ them. What is truly disturbing is that this goes a lot deeper …

The corruption of our legal system being condoned by those in authority, is a shameful disgrace and, is the worst possible form of social oppression. A legal system that shows bias towards money and power encourages unlawful and illegal activity to the detriment of society. The Australian public expect high standards from their elected representatives.

More importantly, we demand even higher standards again, in our state and federal jurisdictions and from our career public servants! We pay their way, we put a roof over their heads and we feed their children … It’s our right to be protected that supersedes all else and, their obligation to protect our legal system so that we not only have justice but also, that justice is seen to be served!

Don’t get me wrong, people are entitled to defence but, it’s not defence if it corrupts our law, clutters the legal process to the point where the truth is buried and then persecutes those seeking justice. Then it becomes a vicious attack on the individual and society.

If it’s any consolation – Knowing how the world works makes it easier to navigate.

18 comments

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  1. AJ O'Grady

    Everything that is wrong and deplorable with Australia can be traced back to John Howard.

  2. Lejolie

    Here here re John Howard; Ned Kelly was a finer man.

  3. Phil

    Good article and all depressingly true. Neoliberal dogma has penetrated and infected every facet of our culture. Australia sits amongst the highest literacy rates in the world yet despite this Australians by and large seem incapable of rational thought.

    Evidence the nation wide cognitive dissonance around the science of climate change. This dissonance is a cultivated phenomena – it allows a majority to acknowledge the science while supporting a politics of denial in national leadership. Why? I think it’s a mechanism to avoid changing how we live. We get to pursue a climate destroying lifestyle without guilt or sense of complicity.

    Evidence the widespread failure to understand the pernicious ideology of neoliberalism despite glaring evidence of its malignancy at every level of society. The Liberal Party has just emerged from a civil insurrection to elect a full frocked high priest of muscular evangelical neoliberalism and still there are voters who will support such naked chicanery.

    The ALP at least shows a degree of awareness of the destructive nature of neoliberalism but since global western capitalism is fully captive to the system we can hope at best that some of its more destructive impacts can be mitigated under an ALP government

    An end to the madness of privatisation of monopoly services, and a huge injection of public money and labour into national infrastructure program – a new ‘new deal’ – an end to the debt trap of fee paying education, Prosectute and imprison guilty bankers, a new public ownership common wealth bank, a new commonwealth employment service, an end to the hopelessly corrupt private employment agencies, and so much more – all this is urgently needed.

  4. SteveFitz

    Phil – Very few people have a clear vision of the big picture. A starting point to effect change is a Labour government and, Bill Shorten promised a national corruption watchdog if elected.

    Our adversarial legal system needs an overall to filter out the corruption. Get rid of shonky defence lawyers, get rid of cross referencing to previously corrupted decisions or authorities and, replace that with a panel of magistrates or judges – If you would like to restore some justice to the system you need to remove what’s blocking it.

  5. paul walter

    Speaking of outrages, how long before Xtian Porter’s persecution of Timor gasfields whistleblower Bernard Collaery bites the man of god back, the fascist thug.

  6. corvus boreus

    In 2015 Bill Shorten denied any demonstrated need for a Fed ICAC, but indicated a willingness to sit down and work with Tony Abbott ‘in a bipartisan fashion…to provide the best possible defence against the public perception of corruption”.
    Knowing that one effective defense against perception is the employment of camouflage and concealment, I was unimpressed.

    In 2016, Bill Shorten again denied the demonstrated need for such, but allowed that he ‘wouldn’t necessarily rule out the idea’.
    My disgust was diminished from the absolute, but I still remained somewhat uninspired

    In 2017, reputable polling indicated public support for an independent anti-corruption body to be around 80% (5% opposing).
    http://www.tai.org.au/content/support-federal-icac-poll

    Early in 2018, Bill Shorten announced that, although he was unaware of the existence of any corruption in federal politics, the establishment of a National Integrity Commission had become an ALP election promise (provisional to gaining government).
    Catch the fire, Bill!

    ‘What do we want?’
    ‘A National Integrity Commission!’
    ‘When do we want it?’
    ‘Preferably to be instituted within a 12 month time-frame of Labor achieving governance, strictly provisional upon the ALP obtaining a HoR majority in the next federal election!’

  7. SteveFitz

    Our two-party preferred political system presents us with two choices “Left or Right”. Both sides are constantly under pressure to bend to the whims of the top end of town and the financial elite. We already know that the Libs are a bunch of self-serving greedy bastards happy to give corporates whatever they want and screw the rest of us.

    The Labour Party however, are more inclined to consider the needs of the average Australian and what’s best for Australian society. So that’s where we look to push for social change, we have no choice.

    In the lead-up, Transparency International and prominent QC’s, retired from NSW ICAC, where given irrefutable evidence of corruption in federal jurisdictions. At the same time, MT was pressured and publicly opposed a federal corruption watchdog, telegraph to the world that the intention was to protect those involved in corruption.

    With leverage and perfect timing, pressure was applied to Bill Shorten and he had little option. As a political manoeuvre, openly supporting a national Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) suggests that the Liberal Party, who opposed it, are corrupt and, the Labour Party, who support it, are not.

    Touché… A win for the people – We now have an election promise and we are one step closer to putting a leash on those who would wilfully involve themselves in federal corruption. Corruption of our elected representatives by unscrupulous corporations driven by greed. It’s called protecting society.

  8. SteveFitz

    Since the topic is justice – Once established, a national ICAC will be seen as “some justice” for those already abused by a corrupted system. A system where there is no recourse even when corruption is proven. The objective is to protect innocent people, and society, from that same corruption and abuse in the future.

    As an example, the Fair Work Commission has been over-run and corrupted by corporates and, at this point in time, there’s nothing we can do about it. Corporates are dictating our labour laws to the detriment of Australian working families. Hence the cry “We want justice”. To get that, there are mechanisms that need to be put in place and, a national ICAC is one of them.

  9. Andreas Bimba

    So true and good comments as well. Hawke and Keating may have kick started neoliberalism in Australia but many of their reforms such as reducing (but not removing) trade protection and better targeting welfare support actually made some sense IF that was as far as it would go. And yes Little Johnny greatly accelerated and worsened the neoliberal fraud hence our current disaster.

    Totally agree that our legal system does not deliver justice and that it has been corrupted by the rich and powerful.

    Bill Shorten and the Labor team have a lot to repair when they win the next federal election. If only they ditched their right wing neoliberals like Chris Bowen as without proper fiscal policy they won’t be able to fund very much and we will be forever cursed with high real levels of unemployment and underemployment.

  10. v

    Thankyou, yes the so-called Justice Legal system is the bane of our society, as it is now only a Reflection of Corruption not the Mirror of Just and Fair Conduct, it now reflects a corporation of Greed,Egotism and Lies.WE must ask ourselves that making New Prisons in the Corporate world is GOOD for US or just another Money making Business that is more than likely to imprison US for just crossing a state with a six pack and paying the judge to imprison me, so it must be asked if Imprisoning People is a money making Business to what lengths will they go to imprison someone? ask the man who never even had a fine got incarcerated for taking a six pack over the state line and didn’t even know it was crime, let alone punishable by Goal!

  11. vicki

    The so-called justice/legal system is now just the Bane of Society and only a reflection of Corruption not anything remotely resembling Fair and Just,Equal and Truth,Balance and Honour.If Corporations can make MONEY out of people being incarcerated, WHO do you think is going to come out BEST? HOW we let out LAWS get so mumble jumbled is beyond me and how our Legal representatives let G’ment Lawyers (politicans) do this to US is inexcusable.

  12. SteveFitz

    Vicki, it was worth repeating. The Liberal agenda is privatisation and, look at what happened with electricity prices when privatised. It became a money-making machine with every member of society open to exploitation.

    The prison system is no different – Once privatised the driving force becomes profit. The corporates involved lobby for mandatory sentencing to increase the prison population to drive that profit. As an example, the American prison system is privatised, America has 4.4% of the worlds population and 22% of the worlds prisoners. This costs Americans $75 billion a year. It’s big business and what we see is American tax payers paying to incarcerate themselves to make a few people filthy rich.

    It is low and despicable and worse than slavery and, could only happen in the land of the free. Unless you go down the same path with prison privatisation. Inside Australia’s ‘powder keg’ private prison, Brisbane’s Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre the population is beyond saturation point. This has resulted in a spike in violence, sexual abuse and suicide attempts. Whenever corporate greed becomes part of the equation, that system is open to corruption and abuse.

  13. Egalitarian

    Yes Steve Privatisation is legal theft of Citizen’s /Tax Payers assets. We are pretty dam stupid to let this happen.

  14. vicki

    Yes Steve Privatisation has NOT only make the majority of US POOR it has Corrupted our whole Society and it is now Clear to every Australian that politicians are Bought by Multi Corps and Media corps and as soon as they leave their post they get a JOB with either the Bank’s, Electricity co’s ,Food Corps,Media..they are up there within the High flying corps, YET they SOLD US out and where is the Accountability and the LAW that States in the Constitution that NO Politician can SELL off the People’s assets without a Referendum nor can they institute LAWS without the peoples Consent by a legal Vote, nor can they accept Corporate Donations that will sway their Actions against the Australian people.YET all these have happened, so We now accept that there is corruption in the Prison system along with the Legal and Political system, so WE now ask ourselves what lead to this Debacle , First Lawyers in the Political arena who Scrambled the whole Legal system, next Lawyers in the political arena that used the scrambling of the Legal system to their OWN advantage and finally Lawyers in the political system that used their POSITION to fund their Lifestyle. This Tells All Australians it is TIME for a reboot of ALL those who grace the floor of OUR Political Floor.

  15. SteveFitz

    What are we told – “We live in a free and democratic society”. And, what have we got?

    [1] A corrupted media set up to favour the financial elite with strictly enforced censorship
    [2] A corrupted legal system manipulated to protect the wealthy and feed their shonky lawyers
    [3] No federal corruption watchdog so our politicians can be corrupted with impunity
    [4] No human rights protection, in Australian law, so we can be abused with impunity
    [5] Climate change deniers playing into the hands of the fossil fuel industry to drive massive wealth creation
    [6] A society plundered by corporates and the financial elite driven purely by mindless greed

    Clearly, freedom has suffered along with democracy and common sense, as the masses are distracted and brainwashed to vote for the people who covertly use and abuse them.

    Thank God for the modern era and social media. Good people are now in with a fighting chance to swing the pendulum back in favour of the Australian people.

  16. Gra Gra

    All good Steve just leave out the God bit. Because it aint a coming.

  17. Brian Squibb

    This so-called government is legally unconstitutional. We are not cargo floating on a land mass. The government knows full well but will never tell the public they have no legal rights to claim our constitution is binding. Worse, it will lead us to become a republic. Traitors every one of them. Ever wondered why judges no long sign documents? The Queen never signed for changes in the Whitlam era.

  18. Stephen Fitzgerald

    Have your say – If you have landed her you may have already read
    “ARTICLES: Our Children’s Future – Oil Wars and Ice Melt”.
    https://www.hootgallery.com/steve-fitz-articles

    It’s themed on the raging wars for control of oil and natural gas and, the global consequences if we burn it all. The solution is to remove the demand for fossil fuels with a rapid transition to renewable energy.

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