http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/civil-liberties/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-the-high-court-exposed-suburbia-to-biker-mayhem/ At a guess you could probably assume that none of our seven High Court judges lives in Merrylands, in Sydney’s west, where the Nomads and Hells Angels are engaged in what the police reassuringly describe not as a bikie gang war but merely “tit for tat violence”. It is also unlikely that any of these eminent jurists lives in Northmead, where an innocent woman had her house strafed with bullets while she was sleeping last week in a zany address mix-up by a bikie who was having trouble reading his UBD. Presumably, none of the judges lives in Adelaide’s north-western suburb of Semaphore where an 11-year-old boy, the son of a former member of the Finks, was shot in the leg while he slept during a home invasion last month. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-the-high-court-exposed-suburbia-to-biker-mayhem/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-the-high-court-exposed-suburbia-to-biker-mayhem/#item7090 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 The latest move by the Federal Government to make smoking a habit of the past is the latest salvo in the rapid expansion of the nanny state. Recently the Health Minister Nicola Roxon re‑announced the government’s intention to force tobacco companies to adopt plain packaging for all cigarette brands. From next year, smokers will be greeted with a standard olive‑green packet emblazoned with graphic health warnings screaming that “every cigarette is doing you damage”. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/nanny-states-thriving-on-tax-harvested-from-smokers/ The latest move by the Federal Government to make smoking a habit of the past is the latest salvo in the rapid expansion of the nanny state. Recently the Health Minister Nicola Roxon re‑announced the government’s intention to force tobacco companies to adopt plain packaging for all cigarette brands. From next year, smokers will be greeted with a standard olive‑green packet emblazoned with graphic health warnings screaming that “every cigarette is doing you damage”. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/nanny-states-thriving-on-tax-harvested-from-smokers/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/nanny-states-thriving-on-tax-harvested-from-smokers/#item5656 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 The latest move by the Federal Government to make smoking a habit of the past is the latest salvo in the rapid expansion of the nanny state. Recently the Health Minister Nicola Roxon re‑announced the government’s intention to force tobacco companies to adopt plain packaging for all cigarette brands. From next year, smokers will be greeted with a standard olive‑green packet emblazoned with graphic health warnings screaming that “every cigarette is doing you damage”. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-cigarette-police-are-coming-to-get-you-at-home/ Smokers. The unthinkable may become a disagreeable reality. Smoking may be banned in private homes and apartments. Scoff if you like about improbability of home smoking bans. How they would not only be unfair but unenforceable. Dismiss the concept as ridiculous. Huff and puff about civil liberties, individual freedom of choice and the home being the family castle. Thump the table about government interference and intervention. About the spidery intrusion of the nanny state. But ignore the looming reality at your peril. The smokers’ nagging fear, that their final bastion will be invaded by smoke police, is already here. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-cigarette-police-are-coming-to-get-you-at-home/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-cigarette-police-are-coming-to-get-you-at-home/#item5650 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 The latest move by the Federal Government to make smoking a habit of the past is the latest salvo in the rapid expansion of the nanny state. Recently the Health Minister Nicola Roxon re‑announced the government’s intention to force tobacco companies to adopt plain packaging for all cigarette brands. From next year, smokers will be greeted with a standard olive‑green packet emblazoned with graphic health warnings screaming that “every cigarette is doing you damage”. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-can-we-legislate-against-loveless-and-lawless-parents/ The recent call by Dr John Irvine to consider charging parents for crimes committed by children under the age of 10 highlights a fundamental social challenge.  Juvenile crime and delinquency is a growing problem within our schools and the wider community – costing millions of dollars each year.  Recent Bureau of Crime and Statistics research indicates a 44% rise in juvenile offences since 2001. Dr Irvine thinks that the ability to charge parents for the crimes their offspring commit “would help” and therefore it’s certainly worthy of debate and discussion. It’s hard to dispute his assertion that the Labor Government is too soft when it comes to dealing with the guardians of troubled children under 10. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-can-we-legislate-against-loveless-and-lawless-parents/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/how-can-we-legislate-against-loveless-and-lawless-parents/#item2260 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 The latest move by the Federal Government to make smoking a habit of the past is the latest salvo in the rapid expansion of the nanny state. Recently the Health Minister Nicola Roxon re‑announced the government’s intention to force tobacco companies to adopt plain packaging for all cigarette brands. From next year, smokers will be greeted with a standard olive‑green packet emblazoned with graphic health warnings screaming that “every cigarette is doing you damage”. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/moral-lectures-from-the-ethically-challenged/ Impartiality is everything in journalism but at the risk of sounding slightly biased it’s fair to say that if the NSW Government were a dog you would take it down to the bottom of the yard and shoot it. Discussing the innate and irreversible badness of the NSW Government is about the most banal thing you can do these days. If anything this may be its most evil legacy – the cruelling of casual political discussion. It’s like the inspired Gary Larson cartoon featuring nerds in hell - “Hot enough for ya?” – where remarking that NSW seems to be in political strife is as profound and insightful as noting that Germany has a bit of a chequered history, the Cuban economy could probably be doing better, or that Afghanistan has historically under-invested in infrastructure. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/moral-lectures-from-the-ethically-challenged/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/moral-lectures-from-the-ethically-challenged/#item2003 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 The latest move by the Federal Government to make smoking a habit of the past is the latest salvo in the rapid expansion of the nanny state. Recently the Health Minister Nicola Roxon re‑announced the government’s intention to force tobacco companies to adopt plain packaging for all cigarette brands. From next year, smokers will be greeted with a standard olive‑green packet emblazoned with graphic health warnings screaming that “every cigarette is doing you damage”. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-right-of-consenting-adults-to-really-tie-one-on/ REMEMBER this name - or if you’re drunk, get a friend to write it on the back of a beer coaster and stick it to your forehead for future reference. It’s going to be important later on. Not next week. Not in a month’s time. But in a few years, when shouts are banned, shots are illegal, when you are limited, by law, to a maximum of four purchases of spirits, liqueurs and/or fortified beverages within a 24-hour period at any licensed establishment. When it’s illegal to drink in the presence of minors. Illegal to drink at any sporting event. Illegal to drink at a picnic. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-right-of-consenting-adults-to-really-tie-one-on/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-right-of-consenting-adults-to-really-tie-one-on/#item41 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 The latest move by the Federal Government to make smoking a habit of the past is the latest salvo in the rapid expansion of the nanny state. Recently the Health Minister Nicola Roxon re‑announced the government’s intention to force tobacco companies to adopt plain packaging for all cigarette brands. From next year, smokers will be greeted with a standard olive‑green packet emblazoned with graphic health warnings screaming that “every cigarette is doing you damage”. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bash-a-cop-go-directly-to-jail/ There’s one civil liberty which is being glossed over In the debate over the response to street crime in the Melbourne CBD. The freedom to do your job without having the crap kicked out of you. The sickening attack on a plain clothes officer in Little Bourke Street early yesterday - the copper had his jaw broken by a drunken yobbo who king-hit him from behind - has prompted calls from the Victorian Police Union for mandatory jail time for anyone found guilty of assaulting police. The proposal will no doubt be criticised by civil libertarians as a draconian over-reaction. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bash-a-cop-go-directly-to-jail/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bash-a-cop-go-directly-to-jail/#item991 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 The latest move by the Federal Government to make smoking a habit of the past is the latest salvo in the rapid expansion of the nanny state. Recently the Health Minister Nicola Roxon re‑announced the government’s intention to force tobacco companies to adopt plain packaging for all cigarette brands. From next year, smokers will be greeted with a standard olive‑green packet emblazoned with graphic health warnings screaming that “every cigarette is doing you damage”. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-bikies-deserve-a-hearing/ I couldn’t agree more with David Penberthy’s claim last week that the National Press Club “damaged journalism” by giving a platform to motorcycle riders. The damage is not, as Penberthy thinks, to the grand institution of journalism.  After all, a profession that has survived, adapted and flourished over hundreds of years is hardly going to be scarred by the ramblings of a bloke from Blacktown. No.  The damage to journalism caused by Wednesday’s Press Club address is simply that the news media were not – at least for the 60 minutes of the live broadcast – able to control the public’s perceptions of bikers. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-bikies-deserve-a-hearing/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-bikies-deserve-a-hearing/#item863 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 The latest move by the Federal Government to make smoking a habit of the past is the latest salvo in the rapid expansion of the nanny state. Recently the Health Minister Nicola Roxon re‑announced the government’s intention to force tobacco companies to adopt plain packaging for all cigarette brands. From next year, smokers will be greeted with a standard olive‑green packet emblazoned with graphic health warnings screaming that “every cigarette is doing you damage”. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/devils-bikers-and-the-national-press-club/ What a sin! The National Press Club actually had the temerity to invite bikers and, an even worse devil, an academic, to address their members! After decades of weekly rants from pompous politicians and bloated businessmen they broke from tradition and dived into the dark side. Even worse the bikers and academic questioned the wisdom of politicians making stupid laws. As if our moral and upright legislators would ever push the “lock them up and throw away the key button” just to win over the law and order vote. But make no mistake the South Australian and New South Wales laws are particularly stupid. Forget about the blatant violation that these laws bring to the justice system and just think about their consequences. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/devils-bikers-and-the-national-press-club/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/devils-bikers-and-the-national-press-club/#item860 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 The latest move by the Federal Government to make smoking a habit of the past is the latest salvo in the rapid expansion of the nanny state. Recently the Health Minister Nicola Roxon re‑announced the government’s intention to force tobacco companies to adopt plain packaging for all cigarette brands. From next year, smokers will be greeted with a standard olive‑green packet emblazoned with graphic health warnings screaming that “every cigarette is doing you damage”. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bikies-spin-is-criminal/ The National Press Club has debased itself and damaged journalism by letting bikie gangs use its forum to indulge in an hour-long orgy of hysteria and lies about the proposed laws of criminal association. Central to this non-debate - led by a fellow called Ferret, from the Finks - was the laughable assertion that the media somehow over-reacted in its coverage of the sickening bashing murder of Hells Angel Anthony Zervas in broad daylight at Sydney Airport earlier this year. With a couple of exceptions among the journos - and with the audience heavily stacked with tattooed ratbags - Ferret and his friends were allowed to misrepresent this deserved coverage without challenge. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bikies-spin-is-criminal/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/bikies-spin-is-criminal/#item822 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000 The latest move by the Federal Government to make smoking a habit of the past is the latest salvo in the rapid expansion of the nanny state. Recently the Health Minister Nicola Roxon re‑announced the government’s intention to force tobacco companies to adopt plain packaging for all cigarette brands. From next year, smokers will be greeted with a standard olive‑green packet emblazoned with graphic health warnings screaming that “every cigarette is doing you damage”.