 |
| File photo: Prime Minister Julia Gillard at Adelaide University. |
The Hon Julia Gillard, MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
Canberra – ACT 2600
22 December 2010
Dear Ms. Gillard,
(December 22, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) I refer to today’s news reports that Dr. Haneef is getting a substantial payout for the pain and loss he suffered due to wrongful arrest by the Australian Federal Police. Unless this is based on Common Values, we read this as Government’s weakness due to excessive political investment which works against a Clever Australia.
As per Bigpond news ‘The compensation claim, described by his lawyers as unique in Australian legal history, also sought damages for lost earnings, the interruption to his medical career, damage to his reputation and emotional stress.’
What do we Australians gain from this payout? What lesson have we learnt through our mistakes? If you do not share your discoveries with us, through lessons learnt which would influence new policies, this payout would make negative contribution to dilute the common values that we, including other victims of unlawful Police arrests, have made to make our system common to all. I was also arrested and sent to prison by the Police and I also lost all of the above earned benefits and more. To me the value of the loss is relative to our investment when taken on individual basis. It is common when taken on the basis of Common Principles and values. Unless our Government is more efficient than it was in 2007, we need to take it that the settlement is politically motivated.
Ms Gillard, there are two main ways through which we show the value of our work:
1. Outcomes
2. Due Processes
If our standards are similar our outcomes would be of similar value even though they may ‘look different’. Facilitating these standards to be expressed on Equal footing would promote diversity.
Due Processes of similar standards would lead to outcomes of similar value. When we consolidate the processes, we get the outcome and when we unravel the outcome we see the process.
As you would know, in our legal system we could appeal to the higher courts only on the basis of process and not on the basis of outcome delivered. The same matter would be heard differently by different environments and where outcome is limited, it’s Due Process that must drive the appeal. Discretionary powers of judges has much to do with this.
Like with Dr. Haneef, there was no lawful basis for the Police to arrest me. I was thus denied the value of my investment not only in the Public Administrative system but also in the judicial system. I naturally exercised my earned rights well within the limits of the law, at my earned level which do seem to be much higher in Australian society than the level earned by Dr. Haneef. But the University system and the Federal Government did not seem to know what to do with me. To my mind, the natural thing for them to do is to resort to action that would show the difference in our respective status as per ‘their’ assessment which largely was subconscious to them, denying me my earned status as a worker. Hence, by instructing the Police to arrest me, they showed their lack of investment in Equal Opportunity principles. Habitual actions would continue to manifest so long as custodians of power fail to consciously use merit basis or facilitate the two sides to ‘show’ their outcomes independent of the Police. In my case, the Police and the Federal Government colluded with the Administrators of the University of NSW to damage all our investments in Equal Opportunity as well as Diversity principles and values. Had they followed Due Process they would have prevented the wrongful arrest.
After taking action at the highest levels as per my assessment of my work – just like the principles underlying ‘my bus’ ‘my train’ and ‘my key’ – I accepted that this was my reality as an Australian migrant. To me, my investment in Australian Government was largely through Public Administration at the highest levels. Hence they were equal to the value of the position of CEO – the Prime Minister. Hence I sued Mr. Howard for failing to return my investment at least through status, despite my work to bring it to the attention of his position. To my mind, if Mr. Howard had invested in Public Administration and Service as much as I, he would have been my equal partner in the issue over which I took him to court. Instead, Mr. Howard handed the matter to external barristers just as Dr. Haneef appears to have done.
Those who desire wins would fear defeat and those who fear defeat often lose opportunities to participate through process.
Through this compensation, your system is rewarding those who depend on lawyers over those who actually practice the law. Your decision to reward Dr. Haneef is as much politically driven as Mr. Howard’s decision to defeat me through hired barristers. What can those lawyers to do improve our Police Administration towards preventing further injustice?
This may result in more migrant votes but at what cost? More ignorant Police who say ‘yes Ma’am’?
As per the above mentioned report ‘Dr Haneef said he looked forward to putting the past behind him now, and possibly returning to his old workplace, the Gold Coast Hospital’
As per the last known court orders, I am a criminal banned from entering the University of NSW - the University in whose system I invested with belief; a University in which majority in my immediate family invested, to carry the name of the University into their workplaces and wider society towards taking up their earned places. To the extent of my contribution to their educational pursuits – I am owed credit from that University and the Government responsible for the outcomes of the University ‘seen’ by others. In the case of migrants – it is not only the Australian Public but our regions of origin that would be ‘seeing’ these outcomes.
If Dr. Haneef is able to return to Australia without needing special permission, at a time when I am still bound by the above ban, that to me is possible only through unjust Politics - which then brings the status of Australia close to the status of Sri Lanka where politics is killing Public Administration.
To the extent I invested genuinely in the high standards expected of a professional, I take the value with me wherever I go. Your payout to others above the compensation received by me would go towards preventing them from becoming global and therefore rob them of naturally preventing terrorism. Without people no amount of money could prevent terrorism beyond a short period.
Post a Comment