A chief justice who ignores the law, and the facts: On Thomas Bathurst CJ's warning that he will uphold his law against xenophobia,popular sentiment and Donald Trump
by Ganesh Sahathevan
As reported by this morning:
Chief Justice attacks governments' xenophobic populism
Judge swipes at governments' xenophobic populism in controversial rebuke
“It should give us pause that one of the most serious threats to the rule of law in Australia was grounded in xenophobia,” Chief Justice Bathurst was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.
The SMH report on the same:
In an observation that appeared directed in part at recent changes to US immigration policy, Chief Justice Bathurst also noted an 1888 order by the NSW government to prevent Chinese immigrants disembarking from a ship in Sydney Harbour was "grounded in xenophobia" and was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court.The case demonstrated "the role of the judiciary and the profession in promoting equality, fairness and the rule of law, in spite of popular sentiment", he said.
It is obvious that Bathurst has ignored both the facts and the law in the matter, a worrying sign in any judge, let alone a chief justice.
END
by Ganesh Sahathevan
Much is being said of President Trump's Executive Order Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States or “Refugee/Muslim Ban” , but precious little about the legislation which empowers it.
Examples of "expert" commentary:
President Trump's Muslim ban excludes countries linked to his sprawling business empire
As reported by this morning:
Chief Justice attacks governments' xenophobic populism
Judge swipes at governments' xenophobic populism in controversial rebuke
“It should give us pause that one of the most serious threats to the rule of law in Australia was grounded in xenophobia,” Chief Justice Bathurst was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.
The SMH report on the same:
In an observation that appeared directed in part at recent changes to US immigration policy, Chief Justice Bathurst also noted an 1888 order by the NSW government to prevent Chinese immigrants disembarking from a ship in Sydney Harbour was "grounded in xenophobia" and was ruled illegal by the Supreme Court.The case demonstrated "the role of the judiciary and the profession in promoting equality, fairness and the rule of law, in spite of popular sentiment", he said.
It is obvious that Bathurst has ignored both the facts and the law in the matter, a worrying sign in any judge, let alone a chief justice.
END
Reference
by Ganesh Sahathevan
Much is being said of President Trump's Executive Order Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States or “Refugee/Muslim Ban” , but precious little about the legislation which empowers it.
Examples of "expert" commentary:
President Trump's Muslim ban excludes countries linked to his sprawling business empire
Trump left countries with high terror risk off his banned list
What the Obama era legislation which binds Trump's executive order actually says:
What the Obama era legislation which binds Trump's executive order actually says:
(A)In general
The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of State, shall evaluate program countries on an annual basis based on the criteria described in subparagraph (B) and shall identify any program country, the admission of nationals from which under the visa waiver program under this section, the Secretary determines presents a high risk to the national security of the United States.
(B)CriteriaIn evaluating program countries under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of State, shall consider the following criteria:
(i)
The number of nationals of the country determined to be ineligible to travel to the United States under the program during the previous year.
(ii)
The number of nationals of the country who were identified in United States Government databases related to the identities of known or suspected terrorists during the previous year.
(iii)
The estimated number of nationals of the country who have traveled to Iraq or Syria at any time on or after March 1, 2011 to engage in terrorism.
(C)Suspension of designation
The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, may suspend the designation of a program country based on a determination that the country presents a high risk to the national security of the United States under subparagraph (A) until such time as the Secretary determines that the country no longer presents such a risk.
In other words,an Executive Order aimed precisely at US visa waivers. The matter of jihadis from Saudi Arabia ,Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries are not dealt with in this executive order, but that does not mean it is not being dealt with at all.
Posters of this sort do nothing to tell us anything at all about the Executive Order.
END
US travel ban: Why these seven countries?
The restrictions were part of wide ranging immigration controls that also suspended refugee arrivals. It appears that existing restrictions in place during the Obama administration informed Mr Trump's list.
These countries were already named as "countries of concern" after a law passed by a Republican-led Congress in 2015 altered a visa admissions programme.
The Visa Waiver Program allows citizens from 38 countries to enter the US for 90 days without a visa. The UK, France and Germany are among those countries allowed in under the waiver programme. Visitors apply for an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (Esta).
In December 2015 Congress passed a law - created by senators from both parties, and supported and signed by the White House - that removed waiver benefits for foreign nationals who had visited certain countries since March 2011. The countries were identified as having a terrorist organisation with a significant presence in the area, or the country was deemed a "safe haven" for terrorists.
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