Barns: “prejudice” claims proven
HOBART — Disendorsed Liberal candidate Greg Barns appealed to the Liberal Party on February 14 to have his disendorsement overturned. Barns had accused the Howard government of playing the “fear and prejudice card” in the election campaign last year. Barns now argues that revelations the government deliberately lied about asylum seekers throwing children overboard have proven his claim correct.
Barns was quoted in the February 15 Mercury saying: “The prime minister's report on the issue has proven the government's policy was to demonise, make false claims and to perpetrate a myth that refugees were throwing children overboard.”
“We now have proof that was not true, that the government knew about it, but kept quiet during the election campaign.”
“If that's not playing the fear and prejudice card, what is?”
`Drug house' legislation for NT
DARWIN — Northern Territory police minister Syd Stirling confirmed on February 13 that legislation will be introduced to the territory parliament in May to give the police power to shut down “known drug houses”.
Stirling said, “We have to construct and enhance police powers in legislative terms to deal with the sort of situation which could have been [dealt with] under [the Country-Liberal Party's anti-social conduct laws].”
From Green Left Weekly, February 20, 2002.
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