Australia prides itself as a country that is a Democracy where everyone is Equal, where Free Speech and a “Fair Go” is imbedded in our culture. It’s what our ANZAC’s fought for in WW1 and WW2 and still fight for in Afghanistan, Iraq and many other less talked about conflicts around the world. Australia through disasters is where we can see such spirit not like anywhere else in the world, the country as a whole come together to help those devastated by disaster.

My question here I guess, What sets us apart from Communism, Fascism, Socialism and what truly is Democracy?

Australia’s history is based on majorly on convicts coming here, populating this country, creating a society at the expense of Indigenous ownership for which we have only just said an apology for. For some historian’s, this was equalled to Australia’s own civil war, were major and bloodied battles were fought between the Aboriginal owners and White settlers. These are major events in our short history not recognised by the War Memorial in Canberra. It’s a disgrace to those who lived and fought those battles, not shared in our history books and is hidden part of Australia’s history.

Our judicial system is just a joke where a “Fair Go” is lost in political contamination, where the poor are more often discriminated against because they can not afford to pay for the “Fair Go” which often ends in imprisonment. The judicial system is suppose to be “Innocent until proven Guilty” but from my own experience your “Guilty until your prove yourself Innocent” and no matter how much you try and prove your innocence the task can seem impossible and often is. Even when you have paid for your crime by forfeiting your freedom or what ever penalty you have to pay to society you never really become free. You find when you apply for employment, entering a competition you never escape the past the crime committed and for which you have paid for and end up paying the high cost until you die. In the case of employment I must say if the business is involved in the area of where the crime was committed I can understand, e.g. stealing money by embezzlement, that person should not work in an area where they are dealing with money. I believe it is the right of the employer is to request a police clearance but only that information should be supplied relating to the type of employment, nothing else. No particulars of the crime should be disclosed.

Just goes to show, even if imprisoned and you served your time many freedoms and an individual’s privacy is lost forever. Well should say, unless your from the “big end of town” in which case more often than not, can prove their innocence even if sometimes they are guilty and have the money and connections to make that happen.

A recent example was in the television game show “Deal or No Deal” where a woman who committed and paid for her crime was asked on the application form about criminal history. What does it have to do with a television program anyway? After circling “NO” she was picked as the contestant. Was it a major factor in her being picked?, makes you wonder. Anyway, after playing and winning X amount of dollars she was made ineligible because she was convicted of a criminal offence many years earlier. Way I see it, her past is none of television stations business and had nothing to do with any crime she may of committed, for which she already paid a penalty for. She didn’t profit from the crime committed she just played a game. Her mistake was circling NO in the first place but still comes down too her freedoms and privacy. How the television station knew she had was not disclosed from memory. All I am aware of she suffered an addiction to gambling and stole money to pay for that gambling addiction. After conviction she was given help to overcome that addiction. In her case the mental health system was able to help her.

However, overall our mental health system has failed, often resulting in terrible crimes being committed that if the system was there for them in 99% of criminal and other cases would of been avoided. The closure of mental health centres, the under-staffing and reduction in mental health services have attributed to major crimes increases. Known mental health patience suffering schizophrenia, abandoned by the mental health services committing murders which as been the case most recently.

In the 80’s I was seeing a psychiatrist, I have no shame in shame in saying that, he helped me come to terms with much of my childhood and other emotional problems. In my case though it took a disgusting crime committed by me on another, which I totally accept responsibility for, even to the point of attempting a failed suicide attempt which I believed I deserved. But, that lead to the help I needed, which I believe helped me enormously. BUT once my bond was over so was the help I needed stopped too. That goes to show that the mental health system was and it has continually declined more and more over the decades.

South Australia, where I live, is only a small part of the wider Australia but is more and more becoming a police state where freedoms and the addict “A Fair Go” for all is lost. Take the case about a Thomas Easling subjected to false allegations. This was no ordinary case but was filled with police falsifying evidence, inducements to witnesses, witness intimidation even government interference. However after a long, drawn out and expensive criminal case the case was dismissed but what Tom Easling fights for now is a Royal Commission to look into the case with little interest by the government. It is not a matter of cost, the victim in this has offered to pay for it himself, of course there is no response from the government. If he didn’t have some substantial backing of well known friends and supporters he might of been a statistic of those innocent person’s convicted of crimes they didn’t commit. The case of Thomas Easling was a prime example of falsified evidence, political contamination and a certain department of the police force strived to get him convicted of a crime he was innocent of. He was one of the lucky ones, the majority do not have the representation and backing as Tom Easling did. Now the call for a Royal Commission is not going far we have a government with something to hide. Only with the Royal Commission can this injustice right be righted and see what extent of corruption lays hidden in South Australian system.

These are not isolated cases, there are many quite questionable cases out there. Another was a man arrested and charged with murder. During the court case the prosecution lead witness was found to be the actual murderer but the court case still went ahead and it was reported that this was known by the prosecutor and police involved in the case.

After lengthy researched by me I am unable to find out the result of that case but it was highlighted in a Current Affairs program but since it seems it has been swept under the carpet. I hope not as it’s a great injustice that I believe many have faced within our court system, where your “GUILTY” until you prove yourself “INNOCENT”. What does this say about a so called Democratic Society where just the basic human rights and the “Fair Go” becomes just a myth something we boast but doesn’t really exist ANYMORE.

Well hope my bitch didn’t bore you too much. Just to make it clear, I love my country and believe its one of the best in this small world but until Australia becomes a signatory of the UN mandate on human rights we have no right to criticise other countries on their poor records.