Some self-appointed “patriot” had a go at Senator Sam Dastayari in a Melbourne pub, calling him a “monkey” and suggesting Sam go back to Iran. Such a genius!
Not my idea of patriotism, not at all! See my post from last September Just a simple 70-something old patriot, me… And you may care to read Danny Tran on ABC concerning the total knobs abusing the word “patriot” these days. I note that the Revenant rather backed them up in this instance: no surprise there! Tells you everything about Pauline, and zero about Sam.
And as a telling contrast to our “patriots” read this:
The family of an eight-year-old boy killed when a car crashed into his Greenacre classroom this week say they have forgiven the driver charged over his death.
Jihad Darwiche and another eight-year-old boy – his best friend – were killed after a two-tonne Toyota Kluger crashed into their classroom at Banksia Road Public School on Tuesday morning.
And it will do you good to visit SBS’s The Mosque Next Door. I did, and am glad. Try 7 questions Muslims are tired of hearing.
Sadly, our “patriots” are so devoid of the Aussie “fair go” attitude that they are highly unlikely to look at any of those! But you should.
Back during World War 1 Australian patriotism seems to have been rather different. I have just read an excellent account of the Western Australian 28th Battalion by Herbert Brayley Collett (1877-1947). Back in the early years of last century:
The outbreak of the South African War in 1899 brought to the surface, in the people of Australia, that innate love of the Old Country which so marks the British race in whatever part of the world its members may happen to reside…
The reverses to the British arms which occurred during the opening months of the campaign roused in Australia a spirit of intense loyalty and patriotism, which was exemplified by renewed offers of assistance to the Government in London. These offers received an early response, with the result that across the Indian Ocean was maintained a steady stream of troops during the whole two and a half years of operations…
When Europe burst into the flame and smoke of war in August, 1914, Australia was unified in Government and a nation in sentiment—but still a British nation. Her offers of assistance had been expected and were graciously and gratefully accepted. The Western Australians once more responded and, this time, in their thousands. Again the quota was exceeded—reinforcements being supplied even for Eastern States’ units—and in all some 32,028 soldiers and nurses enlisted for service overseas during the period of 1914-1918. Over 6,000 of these laid down their lives for Australia and the Empire, and many thousands more were wounded and maimed….
The next weirdness concerns the ongoing saga about eligibility to sit in Parliament and dual citizenship. Core to this is the Australian Constitution, which memorably begins thus:
The legislative power of the Commonwealth shall be vested in a Federal Parliament, which shall consist of the Queen, a Senate, and a House of Representatives, and which is herein-after called “The Parliament,” or “The Parliament of the Commonwealth.”
Ties in rather with the way Collett saw “patriotism”. Now there is a curious section that has lately been interpreted quite literally by the High Court of Australia:
Australian Constitution – Section 44 – Disqualification
Any person who-
(i.) Is under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights & privileges of a subject or citizen of a foreign power: or(ii.) Is attained of treason, or has been convicted and is under sentence, or subject to be sentenced, for any offence punishable under the law of the Commonwealth or of a State by imprisonment for one year or longer: or
(iii.) Is an undischarged bankrupt or insolvent: or
(iv.) Holds any office of profit under the Crown, or any pension payable during the pleasure of the Crown out of any of the revenues of the Commonwealth: or
(v.) Has any direct or indirect pecuniary interest in any agreement with the Public Service of the Commonwealth otherwise than as a member and in common with the other members of an incorporated company consisting of more than twenty-five persons:
shall be incapable of being chosen or of sitting as a senator or a member of the House of Representatives.
But sub-section iv. does not apply to the office of any of the Queen’s Ministers of State for the Commonwealth, or of any of the Queen’s Ministers for a State, or to the receipt of pay, half pay, or a pension, by any person as an officer or member of the Queen’s navy or army, or to the receipt of pay as an officer or member of the naval or military forces of the Commonwealth by any person whose services are not wholly employed by the Commonwealth.
Rather than going over the saga I refer you to Jim Belshaw and to ABC’s rolling coverage. It has indeed been all very odd. Now when I was young an Oz Passport looked like this — not that I had one!
Indeed when the Australian Constitution was written there wasn’t actually such a thing as Australian citizenship. I was born in 1943 as a British Subject here in Oz.
At Federation in 1901, ‘British subject’ was the sole civic status noted in the Australian Constitution. The Australasian Federal Convention of 1897–98 was unable to agree on a definition of the term ‘citizen’ and wanted to preserve British nationality in Australia. An administrative concept of citizenship arose from the need to distinguish between British subjects who were permanent residents and those who were merely visitors. This was necessary for the Commonwealth to exercise its powers over immigration and deportation. Motivated by the nationalism of Arthur Calwell, the Minister for Immigration 1945–49, this administrative concept was formalised in the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948. In 1958 the Act was amended so that naturalisation could only be revoked if obtained by fraud. This prevented a naturalised person being stripped of citizenship and deported.
Throughout the 1960s, Australian citizens were still required to declare their nationality as British. The term ‘Australian nationality’ had no official recognition or meaning until the Act was amended in 1969 and renamed the Citizenship Act. This followed a growing sense of Australian nationalism and the declining importance for Australians of the British Empire. In 1973 the Act was renamed the Australian Citizenship Act. It was not until 1984 that Australian citizens ceased to be British subjects.
One could have a lot of fun going back through 20th century Australian politicians of all types trying to establish which of them may have been “ineligible” by strict application of Section 44:(i) — assuming you can work out, given the history of the concept, what exactly they were citizens of in the first place!
Updates 12 November
See Jim Belshaw’s latest: Chaos, confusion and the evolving Section 44 mess .
I also abhor what happened to Tony Abbott’s sister, Christine Forster — whose track record on the same sex marriage postal survey has been so exemplary.
Violent scenes have erupted at a Sydney fundraising event for Tony Abbott, with protesters clashing with police and guests, including the former prime minister’s sister.
Several hundred protesters outside the event in Redfern confronted invited guests, including Mr Abbott’s sister Christine Forster, whose jacket was ripped as she struggled through the crowd.
Ms Forster was forced back from the entrance until police formed a ring around her and pushed their way through the crowd.
I am not impressed with the justification of the violence from the likes of Ian Rintoul and Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon, despite the fact that on the issue of Manus Island I am rather more on their side.
Neil's Commonplace Book 