Court seeks return of death penalty
By Stephen Robson
PERTH — The Western Australian Liberal government of Richard Court is pushing a "law and order" campaign that prominently includes a call for the return of the death penalty.
Already put into practice is Operation Sweep, in which police arrest young people in Fremantle and Northbridge they consider in "moral danger".
Court began the capital punishment campaign following the death of a WA police officer in a March 2 bomb attack at the Adelaide-based National Crime Authority.
State labour relations minister Graham Kierath then promised to introduce a death penalty bill in parliament and gave a personal undertaking that he would "pull the lever" on a murderers sentenced to death.
A few days later Court proposed that a referendum be organised on capital punishment.
The third part of Court's campaign is "boot camps" for juvenile offenders. On March 17, Court announced that military-style work camps would be established. "Often", he declared, "it is just a matter of discipline being instilled. They then gain more responsibility, behaviour patterns can be turned around and work camps will be one of the ways of dealing with that problem."
Western Australia has already been the subject of misplaced law and order campaigns in the past few years. The Lawrence Labor government introduced juvenile legislation in March 1992 following several deaths involved high speed car chases.
The deaths were attributed to young people. A series of lynch-mob rallies were organised to support the legislation, with a noose being prominently displayed at one.
The legislation was subsequently condemned by the federal Human Rights Commission for its violation of liberties.
Labor and the Liberals fell over themselves at the 1993 state election in their haste to show support for increased police numbers, with the Liberals vowing to employ another 800.