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CHOGM is the sound of a spluttering Commonwealth

Malcolm Farr

by Malcolm Farr

27 Oct 05:55am

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Filed under: Australia, Colonial, Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth Ii, Sri Lanka

44 comments

Britain’s colonial era, now represented by the modern Commonwealth of Nations meeting in Perth, can only be looked back on according to its good bits and its bad bits.

I'm pretty sure we still own all of this. Anyway, did you bring a tiffin? Pic: AFP

The good bits included rule of law, a public service, democracy, language and cricket.

The bad bits included economic exploitation, cultural genocide, brutal subjugation and cricket.

It is extremely important that the CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) in Perth bats away the negatives and concentrates on the good bits of the British legacy.

Because, sadly, the institutions and values which are the best of British (or have been suitably modified by former colonies) are not exactly in over-supply around the world.

If there is a chance that the CHOGM could preserve and spread these standards then the Commonwealth has a vital function.

We can’t be coy about having a colonial past; we can’t hold some sort of childish grudge against Britain. That’s the job of the cricket team.

We can join as allies in supporting movements which aim to create representative democracies with transparent and protective laws and strong dedication to basic freedoms.

The Commonwealth still has clout in this area.

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday pointed out that Fiji doesn’t take casually its exclusion from the Commonwealth following the army takeover of government.

These issues of enforced shared values and the role of the Commonwealth will be at the centre of talks at the Perth summit, a summit which had people yawning before it even started.

A report by an eminent persons group which includes former High Court judge Michael Kirby has assessed the Commonwealth and warned it is in decay and rather speedily heading for irrelevance, if not extinction.

There will be closed-door discussions on the report and the fate of the organisations, but the simple question will be this: Should the Commonwealth continue? Or should it fold?

If the decision is to keep on going, it might involve a few countries leaving the Commonwealth.

The problem is that not all Commonwealth members are counted as exemplary exponents of Commonwealth values.

Some of them - such as Sri Lanka, which has just endured a tragic civil war - are opposed to the creation of a Commonwealth human rights commissioner.

Member states from Africa also are opposed to some of the report’s recommendations touching on governance.

Michael Kirby has pointed out that of the 80 countries which still consider private, consensual homosexuality a criminal matter, 41 are members of the Commonwealth.

“The whole world knows that the Commonwealth of nations has a problem securing action on the legal issues of sexual orientation and gender identity,” Kirby wrote in a newspaper article.

“It is a specific Commonwealth problem, let there be no mistake.”

It won’t be an easy debate in Perth over the next few days.

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44 comments

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    • acotrel says:

      05:08am | 27/10/11

      ‘The bad bits included economic exploitation, cultural genocide, brutal subjugation and cricket. ‘

      Apart from cricket, the other things are not on the agenda of western nations these days, so we’re only left with the good bits !

      Reply

    • Ghost says:

      06:27am | 27/10/11

      You and John Howard are so alike acotrel!!!!

    • jay-ded says:

      06:46am | 27/10/11

      Come on, acotrel, I’d class Gillards carbon tax as brutal subjugation.  smile

    • acotrel says:

      08:13am | 27/10/11

      @Ghost
      You really know how to hurt a guy !

    • Peter says:

      06:06am | 27/10/11

      The Queen should do us all a huge favour and sack this disgraceful and pathetic excuse for a Government. If the queen was serious about wanting the best for Australia she should sack this disaster called the Labor party today. Australia has curretly has the most dishonest, most incompetent and worst Governmnt in our history and the gulible and ignorant fools who voted for this disaster are having trouble living with themselves. Please put Australia out of it’s misery.

      Reply

    • Nathan says:

      07:15am | 27/10/11

      The fact is Australia is leading the developed world economically doesn’t count for anything? yes they inherited a surplus and all the rest but they have guided the country through one of the worst global recessions thus far but not to many people will acknowledge that….....except for the experts who actually understand how economies work (not just the recent award) who don’t listen to an opposition leader.

      In short hardly the worst government Australia has ever had and as far as dishonesty goes what about Abbott changing his message depending on who is talking to or the votes he can get or the fact he lied about spending at the last election or that its only a promise if its written down? Both sides are full of crap its as simple as that.

      If you are saying Australia is in dire straights look around and see what you are complaining about. The strong wording was completely over the top

    • Tell It Like It Is says:

      07:44am | 27/10/11

      Well Gillard has already given advice to the Europeans, hasn’t she. Let’s see what was it? Told them to pull their fingers out I think. That translates in a listenable English dialect to “make sure that you follow a conservative government which leaves you a large surplus. And, oh, don’t forget to position yourself in the best geographical position with desireable natural resources. That helps too”.

    • acotrel says:

      08:16am | 27/10/11

      @Nathan
      ’ Both sides are full of crap its as simple as that.’
      That in itself is a lie.  The Labor party is only half full of crap !

    • acotrel says:

      08:16am | 27/10/11

      @Nathan
      ’ Both sides are full of crap its as simple as that.’
      That in itself is a lie.  The Labor party is only half full of crap !

    • Peter says:

      08:30am | 27/10/11

      Nathan is obviously one of the few gullible fools out there still being sucked into spin and lies. Stalin had a name for fools that promote the propaganda and spin, he called them “Usefull idiots”  Nathan is one of those useful idiots. Your Communist comrades are proud of you Nathan. You sound a lot like the compulsive liar Wayne Swan Nat but then again the dishonest loony camp seem to be all singing from the same hym sheet. Do you fools all receive the same propaganda message or do you just listen to the liars and then run around repeating the BS ? Maybe you get paid to push the BS or are you so stupid you do it for free ?  How you can live with yourself Nathan is beyond me but then again I’m not a coward and a fool like you obviously are.

    • Nathan says:

      08:36am | 27/10/11

      @Tell it like it is
      Well the US was a conservative government when most the damage was done.

      Closer to home though don’t forget the mining profits go both ways and helped the previous governmentsmiling didn’t start 5 years ago selling Telstra didnt hurt to run surpluses. when u spend nothing and public services go down hill you can run surpluses…...the lnp also did well out of the previous governments spending on infrastructure and changes to work place relations. You can’t say that the only reason labor is doing well is because of the lnp without thinking about some of the measures they benefited from as well. If you honestly believe that labor is always wrong and the lnp is always right I can tell you now you will be wrong allot…....both have benefits and both have negatives

      Here are the facts Australia is in a good position because of measures taken over the last 20years not just one side but both sides of politics

    • Knemon says:

      09:41am | 27/10/11

      @ Nathan - “what about Abbott changing his message depending on who is talking to”

      Dr Joseph Goebbels was also a master of propaganda…and look where it got him!

    • James says:

      09:55am | 27/10/11

      George Bush, the indefensible buffoon, how I miss him.

    • RyaN says:

      09:56am | 27/10/11

      @Peter: Write her a letter, as a subject she should listen.

    • Jet says:

      10:52am | 27/10/11

      Nathan | “The fact is Australia is leading the developed world economically doesn’t count for anything? yes they inherited a surplus and all the rest but they have guided the country through one of the worst global recessions thus far but not to many people will acknowledge that….....except for the experts who actually understand how economies work (not just the recent award) who don’t listen to an opposition leader.”

      Name your experts who think this government has guided us so well through the GFC. I could then give you lots of experts who say that didn’t (my experts are university professers). Even Treasury papers show that the stimulus had minimal effect on economic recovery. The IMF figures certainly show the stimulus had minimial effect on G20 countries.

      “worst global recessions thus far” Really, I seem to remember reading something about a thing, what was it again, ohh yeah - the Great Depression.

      “work (not just the recent award) ” you mean the current award that was given out by a magazine, the one who also gave Lehmanns an award for being such an outstanding company the year before it failed.

    • acotrel says:

      10:57am | 27/10/11

      @Peter
      ’ You sound a lot like the compulsive liar Wayne Swan Nat but then again the dishonest loony camp ‘

      Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent ? Exactly which political party are you talking about ? - Look in a mirror ! Abbott is a pathological liar ! Every comment he ever makes is laced with deceit and innuendo.

    • JulesG says:

      11:20am | 27/10/11

      Peter, both your comments (7.06am and 9.30am) have nothing to do with Mal’s article which is about the viability of the modern Commonwealth and its place in the world.

      The moderators haven’t said anything, so I will. You have hijacked this conversation about the Commonwealth with your blinkered and narrow political views. You are rude, bombastic and pompous toward other posters that have a legitimate point of view.

      If you can’t say anything relevant or constructive about the article then - shut up!

    • The Civet says:

      11:56am | 27/10/11

      It’s a pity your bile isn’t matched by your knowledge of the Oz constitution. There is no way bum-face could dismiss a functioning government out of hand. You’ve probably read something about Gough Whitlam’s dismissal. This was to do with a crooked Governor General and a double dissolution.

      Ill informed rants like yours betray an ignorant mind. Put in three or four years on the subject of Oz history. Then loose off your rants.

    • Mexican Beemer says:

      12:05pm | 27/10/11

      Jet asks for experts.

      The IMF
      Every economist worth his salt

      Also lets take a trip back to the 2009 budget, it predicted

      8% Unemployment
      Growth in 2010-11 to slow to 3%

      Today Unemployment is 5%+
      Growth came in at over 3%

      Current Federal Budget revenue is higher now than it was in the budge before the GFC

    • andye says:

      01:19pm | 27/10/11

      @Peter walks into a shop.
      THIS IS THE WORST SHOP IN THE HISTORY OF SHOPS!

      he buys a pie.
      THIS PIE IS A DISGRACE AND A LIAR!

      he eats the pie.
      THIS FOOD IS BEING REDISTRIBUTED TO MY STOMACH JUST LIKE HOW THE DIRTY COMMIES ARE REDISTRIBUTING MY WEALTH!!!

    • jacko says:

      06:27am | 27/10/11

      what time does acotrel (is that a new motor fuel?) get up?

      Reply

    • Super D says:

      06:57am | 27/10/11

      He gest up early yet never opens his eyes and wakes up.

    • Eric The Red says:

      07:35am | 27/10/11

      Before you jacko, and Super D, it’s a terrible thing jealousy. Acotrel gets it right, most of the time.

    • Geez... says:

      09:10am | 27/10/11

      @ Eric The Red

      Acotrel gets it right, most of the time.

      Bahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!......OMG..just pissed myself laughing.

    • RyaN says:

      10:03am | 27/10/11

      @Eric The Red: “Acotrel gets it right, most of the time. ” You are right, he gets fantasy right most of the time.

    • Eric The Red says:

      10:24am | 27/10/11

      @Geez…, you need to get that pissing yourself in check old son and Peter, your Communist comrades rant is getting a bit stale, thats a typical Menzies/ joh for PM qoute and is way past its use by, find something original and new will ya.

    • acotrel says:

      11:03am | 27/10/11

      @Peter
      ‘Peter, your Communist comrades rant is getting a bit stale, thats a typical Menzies/ joh for PM qoute and is way past its use by’

      Peter does George Pell support your stance?  Doc Mannix is dead, do we now have an enthusiastic replacement in the Archbishop of Sydney? I get a really bad feeling that we’re going to get a new DLP arising from the ashes of the Howard government.

    • Dr Jake says:

      06:58am | 27/10/11

      I’m struggling to see how British history (or any other colonialising history) should be blotted out because we have conceived other ways to offend future history, or that the situation today means a need for dismantling the idea of a “commonwealth” (= amalgam),  or that there is a human breed called “eminent” persons, or that there are any good data to support Kirby’s suggestion that a commonwealth, per se, is antagonistic to homosexuality tolerance. HELP.

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      08:15am | 27/10/11

      Who said that the Class System was on a token only to money and birth ?
      (The aristocracy must have spent more time hiding their fags than they did their gin.)

    • Rose says:

      09:27am | 27/10/11

      Comprehension a problem? The article does not suggest blotting out history, in fact it quite clearly states the Commonwealth can only be “looked back on according to its good bits and its bad bits” and “We can’t be coy about having a colonial past; we can’t hold some sort of childish grudge against Britain.” Both statements acknowledging our history and nowhere is any suggestion of re-writing history. What the article is talking about is deciding where to go with our future, whether the Commonwealth will continue to be relevant or whether its past its use-by date.
      It also is quite clear the being a member of the Commonwealth is no protection for the citizens, with several Commonwealth countries having problems with human rights and more than half still treating homosexuality as a criminal offence.
      If we are to continue to be members of the Commonwealth we can’t just look at the warm, fuzzy bits. We need to acknowledge that there are some deeply entrenched problems in many Commonwealh countries and we need to decide whether we continue to be a part of a group that has those countries as members.
      I think this debate is entirely reasonable and if we can use membership of the Commonwealth to encourage other member nations to join us in the 21st century well and good, if we can’t, do we still want to be associated with them through the Commonwealth.

    • acotrel says:

      08:25am | 27/10/11

      @Dr Jake
      Conservatism for its own sake is idiotic, however the Commonwealth does serve a purpose in that it coordinates a British mindset amongst former members of the empire.  I believe that mindset existed in Roman times, and has a good and a bad side, however it is worth maintaining. We tend to keep our actions well away from being mean-spirited, act with humour and justice, for the common good.

      Reply

    • MarkS says:

      08:27am | 27/10/11

      I find it interesting that nations that where never part of the British empire are now joining the commonwealth. Makes we wonder if it is more relevent then I had considered.

      Reply

    • John Oh says:

      08:33am | 27/10/11

      The queen is here due to her shares in the Commonwealth, and Rio Tinto, and the proposed mining tax, where her interests in banks will make a killing. Her ability to switch from roundabouts to swings makes her the worlds biggest insider trader it seems.
      The protesters know more about this than the general public it seems. Wool pulled over the sheeps eyes once again….

      Reply

    • NGS says:

      09:16am | 27/10/11

      You can be sure our Kevin is taking it seriously! I await with baited breath the pronouncement still to come from Julia and Kevin, both trying to out do the other with taxpayer funded aid to 3rd World dictatorships. We have already had the world shaking announcement from the Bogan Queen that Europe should do something! At least the “entertainment” industries will do wonderfully

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      11:13am | 27/10/11

      @Sigh
      The White Australia policy was a creation of the ALP in the 1800s, in response to pacific islanders taking Australian jobs.  We had a bunch of conservatives with a plantation mentality, who wanted to undermine wages and conditions.  Some of the recruitment of the islanders was done through outright abduction, and enforced slavery.  The policy was ended by Harold Holt in the 60s, when we ceased to discriminate openly.

    • Singh says:

      10:30am | 27/10/11

      This is a good opportunity to deconstruct the myths around the so called “White Australia Policy” which was at the end of the colonial era.  The myths around the White Australia Policy has been carefully constructed over the years to establish white guilt by the University Academics, Business Interest Groups and advocates for Multicultural change.

      The evidence is clear that the

      - from 1901 to 1945 - It was the Anglo Celtic Australia Policy.  Evidence is that of the 900,000 Australians born overseas, over 750,000 were born either in Britian, Ireland or New Zealand.  For the German or Italian immigrants in Australia it certainly didn’t feel like the White Australia Policy.

      - from 1946 to 1970 - This is when Australia opened itself up to immigration from continental Europe and it is the true white Australia policy.  It was after WWII and Australia moved from the UK/Ireland and started to follow the immigration policies adopted by the United States.  Canada and New Zealand also had similar immigration policies at the time.

      Why did our forefathers do what they did?  They had a view of what constituted a functioning society and they used immigration to achieve this.  Many countries which have been Australia’s most staunchest critics in relation to immigration obviously have similar views, eg Japan.  Singapore obviously uses immigration to keep its ethnic Chinese majority.

      Given the dismal failure in the UK of these University Academics, Business Interest Groups and to create a functioning society with their immigration and multicultural policies it is little wonder people are now beginning to question the wisdom of such schools of thought.

      Reply

    • Tony The Toilet says:

      11:23am | 27/10/11

      The British Commonwealth means different things to different nations involved.
      The British Commonwealth Games are important to Australia’s morale and Australia’s positive optimistic psyche as Australia is the greatest sports nation in the British Commonwealth Games and Australia always wins lots of medals!
      The British Commonwealth shows up Australia as a political slow coach and as a outmoded outdated dinosaur as Australia is one of the few British commonwealth nations that is not a Republic!

      Reply

    • Kika says:

      01:58pm | 27/10/11

      Too Right Rajapakse would be against it! He doesn’t want to be exposed for war crimes… you can take it back to the JVP days in the 80’s too… Ask him about that and his involvement in the abduction of Tamils and being burned alive whist stuck in the middle of a stack of car tyres.

      The Commonwealth is the best thing in the world, and was the best thing to many countries. Look at Kenya… has becoming a republic been the best thing for them?

      Reply

    • Marilyn Shepherd says:

      02:14pm | 27/10/11

      Well all Gillard is prattling about is trying to trade and traffic refugees and the SMH is allowing the Malaysian PM to peddle his lies and propaganda while they fete the President of Sri Lanka, accused of genocide, while they have 474 Tamil refugees in our refugee prisons going insane and killing themselves.

      http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2011/164232.htm


      Refugees, particularly from Burma, were especially vulnerable to trafficking, and Malaysians from rural communities and indigenous groups were also vulnerable. The People’s Volunteer Corps (RELA) continued to conduct raids targeting illegal migrant communities and detained refugees, asylum seekers, and trafficking victims along with allegedly illegal migrants, though this practice has reportedly decreased compared to previous years. Although they did sign an Letter of Intent (LOI) to amend their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the Indonesian and Malaysian governments have not amended or replaced a 2006 MOU covering the employment of Indonesian domestic workers in Malaysia, which authorizes Malaysian employers to confiscate and hold the passports of domestic employees. The government reports that there are approximately 300,000 female domestic servants employed in the country, many of which may be trafficking victims. According to NGOs, the number of domestic servants legally employed in Malaysia has fallen from 300,000 to 230,000 during the past year. These NGOs estimate that for every domestic servant legally employed in Malaysia there is one working in the country illegally. Ninety percent of these domestic servants are from Indonesia. A small number of Malaysian citizens were reportedly trafficked internally and abroad to Singapore, China, and Japan for commercial sexual exploitation. “

      So the country that is trafficking humans but claim that we need to give them $300 million to traffic more gets to have their propaganda published as truths.

      There is this other small point of law

      L&C 122 Senate Monday, 8 February 2010
      LEGAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
      which you sighted this boat but surely you are able to tell me at what point you believed, or
      you were given direction, that it was not your responsibility anymore.
      Mr Carmody—It is a bit hard to talk about responsibility. Ultimately Border Protection
      Command can only intercept vessels on the contiguous zone around Australia, which is about
      20 nautical miles around Australian territory. So to that extent it was a lon

      Reply

    • Getinvolved says:

      02:54pm | 27/10/11

      It’s too easy for bystanders to toss off the Commonwealth and CHOGM as irrelevant unless you are involved.  Surrounding the political meetings is a host of valuable international collaboration including business / export development, youth issues, gender & women’s empowerment, culture, economic development, health, human rights, human settlement and habitation, environment and world peace.  This is all within a framework of a common language and similar legal, social and cultural backgrounds, flavoured by the diversity of individual countries and cultures.  It is an amazing opportunity to develop dialogue amongst people in a way that can not happen without a common bond.  For us and other Commonwealth nations it is a wonderful advantage.  Be careful not to throw out our advantage because others can’t share it.

      Reply

    • Gordon says:

      05:25pm | 27/10/11

      My mind fused at theimage of a bystander tossing off the commonwealth. All of them or just CHOGM?

      Reply

    • Brad Shirma says:

      08:32am | 28/10/11

      Stop CHOGM!

      Reply

    • Jaison says:

      11:42am | 10/02/12

      Graham JonesAugust 3, 2011 @ 7:48 pmSo bcisaally the average WA Joe wants a larger share of mining taxation revenue in the hope that it will trickle down into their own bank accounts while forsaking the rest of Australia? Talk about sense of entitlement… Best of luck.

      Reply
 
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