~ ~ ~ AD HOC NEWS ~ ~ ~
1,500 people attended the Death in Custody Rally in Perth's Forrest Place. For conservative, laid back WA this was a significant turnout. The Death in Custody Rally, Saturday 20th June, 2009, was for Mr Ward but also for the very high proportion of our Aboriginal Australian brothers and sisters who die in custody, and for a cry to end systemic racism and attendant apathy. I note that 1,442 Australians died in custody from 1980 to 2000. 601 from 2000 to 2007.
There was an open mike session after the march and I was the last to say some words, which I did on behalf of Students Without Borders and for our common humanity.
"A right delayed is a right denied... Justice if it comes slow, for many it does not come at all.
For 239 years millions of our brothers and sisters have been denied freedom, peace and their rights; incarcerated in the cruelty of apartheid.
It was not that disgusting truck that killed Mr Ward. It was the bias of prejudice, discrimination and racism that killed him. We are here today because racism continues.
We hear that racism is often inadvertent in its systemic nature. I do not accept this notion that racism is inadvertent. Racism is always overt and intentional.
In the last several weeks I have been to State Parliament and spoken with many of our leading politicians. Many of them acknowledge that Western Australia, in terms of appropriate education in reference to formal and substantive equality, is the most backward state in Australia. One of them stated to me that Western Australia is one of the most backward in the world.
I replied, it is a relief to at least acknowledge this "...but why then do you not change thingsand redress the inequity?" "You are the ones with capacity and the coping mechanisms to ensure the working papers, implementation, allocation of funding, the right to self determination, the proposal of motions and amendments in the lower and upper houses."
We hear the language of 'social inclusion' but what we require is 'equitable social inclusion'.
We need formal and substantive equality training and education in all our public and private institutions, in our schools, primary and secondary, in our universities, compulsorily in our courts, with our magistrates and the police, and yes, the WA Police, in government, everywhere. Only then can we begin to work towards the elimination of all forms of racism.
In this country there is a horrible hostility by the many in admitting that we have a racist identity and history. Yes, you who are here today have acknowledged the wrongs and the need for change but the many have not. Otherwise we would not be here this day.
Justice will not arrive today. The pursuit of justice is an everyday experience and this rally must continue. People should not have to wait and beg for their rights. People are not the property of people rather people are the property of FREEDOM.
The Greens are here, but where are the Liberals and Labor? If change is still not coming then let us take go to West Perth. Let us take Tent Embassy to the steps of our State Parliament. TENT EMBASSY."
There was an open mike session after the march and I was the last to say some words, which I did on behalf of Students Without Borders and for our common humanity.
"A right delayed is a right denied... Justice if it comes slow, for many it does not come at all.
For 239 years millions of our brothers and sisters have been denied freedom, peace and their rights; incarcerated in the cruelty of apartheid.
It was not that disgusting truck that killed Mr Ward. It was the bias of prejudice, discrimination and racism that killed him. We are here today because racism continues.
We hear that racism is often inadvertent in its systemic nature. I do not accept this notion that racism is inadvertent. Racism is always overt and intentional.
In the last several weeks I have been to State Parliament and spoken with many of our leading politicians. Many of them acknowledge that Western Australia, in terms of appropriate education in reference to formal and substantive equality, is the most backward state in Australia. One of them stated to me that Western Australia is one of the most backward in the world.
I replied, it is a relief to at least acknowledge this "...but why then do you not change thingsand redress the inequity?" "You are the ones with capacity and the coping mechanisms to ensure the working papers, implementation, allocation of funding, the right to self determination, the proposal of motions and amendments in the lower and upper houses."
We hear the language of 'social inclusion' but what we require is 'equitable social inclusion'.
We need formal and substantive equality training and education in all our public and private institutions, in our schools, primary and secondary, in our universities, compulsorily in our courts, with our magistrates and the police, and yes, the WA Police, in government, everywhere. Only then can we begin to work towards the elimination of all forms of racism.
In this country there is a horrible hostility by the many in admitting that we have a racist identity and history. Yes, you who are here today have acknowledged the wrongs and the need for change but the many have not. Otherwise we would not be here this day.
Justice will not arrive today. The pursuit of justice is an everyday experience and this rally must continue. People should not have to wait and beg for their rights. People are not the property of people rather people are the property of FREEDOM.
The Greens are here, but where are the Liberals and Labor? If change is still not coming then let us take go to West Perth. Let us take Tent Embassy to the steps of our State Parliament. TENT EMBASSY."
Willagee November 28 by-election. This seat was held from 1996 to 2009 by the former Premier of WA, Alan Carpenter. I was the Greens WA candidate, endorsed, for the seat of Willagee from March to October 20, 2009.
I opened up my endorsement for its further consideration to the rank and file of the Fremantle/Tangney membership, of which Willagee arguably falls within. I did this with an investiture of good faith and goodwill to ensure that the membership had the member they considered most comfortable with. I was asked by one prominent Greens MP to consider this however rather than provide me with the truth she intentionally hid the truth from me and lied.
I do not want to spend my life living in or accepting the notion that honesty is a naive moral proposition.
In the lead up to the opening up of my pre-selection I was misled and deceived by the MP Lynn Maclaren, and one of the Greens State Upper House members. I believe that she rue the deceit that she weaved however she has never formally and publicly apologised to me or remedied the public misunderstanding and assumptions as a result of her deceit.
Lynn did not speak truthfully and did not advise me of the 'facts'. She had bought into false and distorted rumours and innuendo about my political and non-political outspokenness, and she was influenced by the most questionable sources. These unsound sources are untrustworthy and malicious types, people to whom I had stood up to in advocating for the rights of others and in achieving where possible civil and just remedies in the various public and private interests. However they chose to distort what little regard they had for their prescribed values with unfettered grievance and malice and revocative spite.
The Greens were approached by them in pursuit of undermining any opportunity for myself as a political aspirant with the Greens. They were concerned that I was considered 'high profile' in the electorate of Willagee where I had contributed various campaigns and projects during my time especially from Murdoch University and through Students Without Borders.
Greens, who consider themselves political aspirants and power brokers, from the Fremantle-Tangney Group, did the Chinese Whispers to the Greens MP. The whisperers included a now prominent Greens candidate and bona fide political aspirant and also one of the conveners of the Fremantle-Tangney Group.
I am forever bewildered why they just didn't tell me of their concerns, why they didn't ask me, why instead they had to set me up and consequently damage my standing and reputation and disregard my very humanity.
I would have been happy to undergo any robust scrutiny and review of my endorsement as the Greens WA Willagee candidate.
I may have stepped down if for some reason I viewed these bandied lies by malicious folk as damaging to our then prospects for Willagee.
I cannot forgive outright Lynn MacLaren, nor the Fremantle's current endorsed Greens candidate, nor one of the then Conveners of the Fremantle-Tangney Greens, nor those others who have since coalesced in silence at my expense to 'protect the party "brand"'.
Yes, I am disgusted in the Greens, and yes I believe they are no different to the ugy wills of pursuing power that all the other political parties strive and squander verity and principles for. I have lost faith in the Greens, the Greens WA and the Australian Greens discovering that they are merely a cascade of swirling petty personalities and careerists, and that the Greens are devolving from whom they once were or claimed to be about, and are fast becoming pretty much who they came in to challenge and change.
I asked Lynn MacLaren for an Apology - she is a coward who will not provide it in the public domain.
I asked Scott Ryan, then WA Greens convener, to assist in appropriate apologies, private and public, from Lynn and other involved parties. I am sure he worked towards this however Lynn went underground. She should not be in parliament - to her face, twice, and in email correspondence I told her that she "is a dirty politician."
The membership of the Willagee Greens were denied their right to everything that the Australian Greens purport - participatory democracy and social justice.
My endorsement was for at least 12 months and I allowed for its re-opening as to inspire participatory democracy and to actuate involvement amongst the grassroots, the members. I did not know that a very small undercurrent would ensure that I stood no chance of holding on to my endorsement. I am appalled that any Greens, be they parliamentarians or party apparatchiks, that they would lower themselves to this undermining hypocrisy.
Sadly, I do consider myself, and so did others, as the best candidate for Willagee, and I did stand a chance of achieving something special, however what I had looked for to foremost and was denied not only to me however to the electorate, was the opportunity to disseminate and bring a view of the world that matters.
I asked Giz Watson and the other WA Greens parliamentarians to consider the common good and speak to Lynn. I understand the damage done to me by Lynn has possibly to some limited extent remedied the type of behaviour by Lynn and others that led to this - this is good for those to come.
Except for Alison Xamon, no WA Greens has stepped up to remedy what occurred to me, or to pronounce the need for certain civilities and courtesies.
I am person with a tremendous capacity to forgive and understand others, however politics is a calling and I am usually very hard on parliamentarians - if Lynn MacLaren publicly apologised, and meant it, I believe it would be considered with great welcome by the Greens membership and inspire them to believe in the cause that argues itself as The Greens.
The Greens will continue to grow and attract voters - and I predicted this long before it became self-evident, however let us hope that The Greens become less and less of what many of us hoped them to be as they grow and grow in numbers.
I cannot bow down to wrong and instead my tenure with The Greens, thanks to Lynn and Kate and Jan and the cowardly silence of others, came to an end. I contested the elections forlornly as an Independent.
Refusing to conflict other Greens members with their support for me, I asked them to remain with The Greens, and I did the lonehand.
I did exceptionally well with 1,529 primary votes as an Independent and most probably the majority of number 2 votes. I returned 8.98% of the primary vote.
Had I run as The Greens candidate well who knows... I try not think of this because it does disappoint that much that could be done I could have set us on course for or highlighted. Yes, I do not consider most of the parliamentarians I have met, and I have met hundreds, as the best and brightest and most well-meaning.
Though it is likely The Greens and Lynn have soundly decimated any immediate hopes for me to achieve parliamentary tenure I know that someday, maybe now in ten or fifteen years, I may reconsider the 'political calling' I would love.
For now I have to let go as much of the hurt as possible, and where I can forgive, and just do the type of work I generally do and care about.
Primum Non Nocere - First Do No Harm. Kindly, Gerry.
New party to fight for Aboriginal voice
I opened up my endorsement for its further consideration to the rank and file of the Fremantle/Tangney membership, of which Willagee arguably falls within. I did this with an investiture of good faith and goodwill to ensure that the membership had the member they considered most comfortable with. I was asked by one prominent Greens MP to consider this however rather than provide me with the truth she intentionally hid the truth from me and lied.
I do not want to spend my life living in or accepting the notion that honesty is a naive moral proposition.
In the lead up to the opening up of my pre-selection I was misled and deceived by the MP Lynn Maclaren, and one of the Greens State Upper House members. I believe that she rue the deceit that she weaved however she has never formally and publicly apologised to me or remedied the public misunderstanding and assumptions as a result of her deceit.
Lynn did not speak truthfully and did not advise me of the 'facts'. She had bought into false and distorted rumours and innuendo about my political and non-political outspokenness, and she was influenced by the most questionable sources. These unsound sources are untrustworthy and malicious types, people to whom I had stood up to in advocating for the rights of others and in achieving where possible civil and just remedies in the various public and private interests. However they chose to distort what little regard they had for their prescribed values with unfettered grievance and malice and revocative spite.
The Greens were approached by them in pursuit of undermining any opportunity for myself as a political aspirant with the Greens. They were concerned that I was considered 'high profile' in the electorate of Willagee where I had contributed various campaigns and projects during my time especially from Murdoch University and through Students Without Borders.
Greens, who consider themselves political aspirants and power brokers, from the Fremantle-Tangney Group, did the Chinese Whispers to the Greens MP. The whisperers included a now prominent Greens candidate and bona fide political aspirant and also one of the conveners of the Fremantle-Tangney Group.
I am forever bewildered why they just didn't tell me of their concerns, why they didn't ask me, why instead they had to set me up and consequently damage my standing and reputation and disregard my very humanity.
I would have been happy to undergo any robust scrutiny and review of my endorsement as the Greens WA Willagee candidate.
I may have stepped down if for some reason I viewed these bandied lies by malicious folk as damaging to our then prospects for Willagee.
I cannot forgive outright Lynn MacLaren, nor the Fremantle's current endorsed Greens candidate, nor one of the then Conveners of the Fremantle-Tangney Greens, nor those others who have since coalesced in silence at my expense to 'protect the party "brand"'.
Yes, I am disgusted in the Greens, and yes I believe they are no different to the ugy wills of pursuing power that all the other political parties strive and squander verity and principles for. I have lost faith in the Greens, the Greens WA and the Australian Greens discovering that they are merely a cascade of swirling petty personalities and careerists, and that the Greens are devolving from whom they once were or claimed to be about, and are fast becoming pretty much who they came in to challenge and change.
I asked Lynn MacLaren for an Apology - she is a coward who will not provide it in the public domain.
I asked Scott Ryan, then WA Greens convener, to assist in appropriate apologies, private and public, from Lynn and other involved parties. I am sure he worked towards this however Lynn went underground. She should not be in parliament - to her face, twice, and in email correspondence I told her that she "is a dirty politician."
The membership of the Willagee Greens were denied their right to everything that the Australian Greens purport - participatory democracy and social justice.
My endorsement was for at least 12 months and I allowed for its re-opening as to inspire participatory democracy and to actuate involvement amongst the grassroots, the members. I did not know that a very small undercurrent would ensure that I stood no chance of holding on to my endorsement. I am appalled that any Greens, be they parliamentarians or party apparatchiks, that they would lower themselves to this undermining hypocrisy.
Sadly, I do consider myself, and so did others, as the best candidate for Willagee, and I did stand a chance of achieving something special, however what I had looked for to foremost and was denied not only to me however to the electorate, was the opportunity to disseminate and bring a view of the world that matters.
I asked Giz Watson and the other WA Greens parliamentarians to consider the common good and speak to Lynn. I understand the damage done to me by Lynn has possibly to some limited extent remedied the type of behaviour by Lynn and others that led to this - this is good for those to come.
Except for Alison Xamon, no WA Greens has stepped up to remedy what occurred to me, or to pronounce the need for certain civilities and courtesies.
I am person with a tremendous capacity to forgive and understand others, however politics is a calling and I am usually very hard on parliamentarians - if Lynn MacLaren publicly apologised, and meant it, I believe it would be considered with great welcome by the Greens membership and inspire them to believe in the cause that argues itself as The Greens.
The Greens will continue to grow and attract voters - and I predicted this long before it became self-evident, however let us hope that The Greens become less and less of what many of us hoped them to be as they grow and grow in numbers.
I cannot bow down to wrong and instead my tenure with The Greens, thanks to Lynn and Kate and Jan and the cowardly silence of others, came to an end. I contested the elections forlornly as an Independent.
Refusing to conflict other Greens members with their support for me, I asked them to remain with The Greens, and I did the lonehand.
I did exceptionally well with 1,529 primary votes as an Independent and most probably the majority of number 2 votes. I returned 8.98% of the primary vote.
Had I run as The Greens candidate well who knows... I try not think of this because it does disappoint that much that could be done I could have set us on course for or highlighted. Yes, I do not consider most of the parliamentarians I have met, and I have met hundreds, as the best and brightest and most well-meaning.
Though it is likely The Greens and Lynn have soundly decimated any immediate hopes for me to achieve parliamentary tenure I know that someday, maybe now in ten or fifteen years, I may reconsider the 'political calling' I would love.
For now I have to let go as much of the hurt as possible, and where I can forgive, and just do the type of work I generally do and care about.
Primum Non Nocere - First Do No Harm. Kindly, Gerry.
New party to fight for Aboriginal voice
19/May/2010
By Liam Croy, Stirling Times/Eastern Reporter
Pictured (L-R) Gerry Georgatos (interim Party Leader), Dr William Hayward, Glenn Moore (interim Party President), Marianne Mackay (interim Party Secretary) and Cassandra Riley.
A NEW State and Federal political party wants to give Aboriginal people the voice that party leaders say has been “sorely missing” from Australian politics.
The Ecological, Social Justice, Aboriginal Party (ESJAP) has applied for registration to the WA Electoral Commission and Australian Electoral Commission and intends to field candidates at this year’s elections.
Social justice advocate Gerry Georgatos, Dr William Hayward and Aboriginal activists Glen Moore and Marianne Mackay make up the party’s leadership.
The new party said Labor leader Eric Ripper and opposition spokesperson for indigenous affairs Roger Cook have approached them seeking to secure the party’s preferences.
ESJAP leaders met Labor representatives on February 8 at Parliament House, where Mr Georgatos informed them that party decisions on preferences would be merit-based.
“I told them that our preferences are going to be on a case-by-case basis. Many of them may go to the Greens or the Socialist Alliance, but I told Mr Ripper each candidate will be carefully considered and each decision will be merits-based,” he said.
Speaking at a meeting on Monday night, Mr Georgatos told the Community Newspaper Group and inmycommunitythat the party’s three core principles of ecological sustainability, social justice and the remedy of Aboriginal discrimination were inherently connected.
“The broader issues we’ll be looking at are those such as social and economic equity, redressing Aboriginal injustices, ecological economics and preservation of biodiversity,” he said.
“These issues do intertwine in many ways, but we’re not one of these parties that’s coming out with one specific agenda. We’ll be working to dispel certain myths and foster a national consciousness about these issues.”
Mr Hayward said he felt lucky to be in a position where he could help to empower his fellow Aboriginal people.
“I was lucky enough to be educated and to have very supportive, determined parents. They rubbed off on me, so the harder things got, the more determined I tended to get,” he said.
“But other Aboriginal people that try to improve their lot in life hit these barriers and can become understandably depressed or develop an inferiority complex. I’ve been in circles throughout my life where I’m the only Aboriginal and I’ve seen the inequality of opportunity.
“Other politicians may talk about indigenous issues, but they don’t do a whole lot. If one of us can get in there and be a grassroots voice, that’s going to make a much-needed impact.”
Mr Georgatos said one of the main features of the party would be the direct, uncompromising nature of its policies and dialogue.
“With the major political parties it’s often hard to enter a debate unfettered; sometimes it can seem things are said just for the sake of opposing each other,” he said.
“We’re aiming to get bona fide, undiluted representation. We're about disseminating information and being involved in discussions, not about doing the PR thing.”
Mr Moore said he was honoured to have the opportunity to “pick up the baton” and campaign for Aboriginal rights and equity.
“It makes me cry how many people have fought for this, gone through torture for this and died for this. This is the evolution of Aboriginal people now; this is the next step,” he said.
“We’ll still lobby and there will still be activists, but it’s time to have representatives in parliament. You can always have your own passion and your own heart, but there comes a time when you should use the tools at hand.”
A groundswell of support has taken the party from vision to reality in a matter of months, with the party now nearly 1000-members strong.
Founded in Perth, the ESJAP aims to be the first Aboriginal political party to have an indigenous representative in Parliament.
esjap.org.au - learn more.
The Aboriginal Party has arrived - find out more from Glenn Moore and Marianne Mackay and Dr William Hayward.
And don't forget you can join me at the Human Rights Alliance.
Social justice advocate Gerry Georgatos, Dr William Hayward and Aboriginal activists Glen Moore and Marianne Mackay make up the party’s leadership.
The new party said Labor leader Eric Ripper and opposition spokesperson for indigenous affairs Roger Cook have approached them seeking to secure the party’s preferences.
ESJAP leaders met Labor representatives on February 8 at Parliament House, where Mr Georgatos informed them that party decisions on preferences would be merit-based.
“I told them that our preferences are going to be on a case-by-case basis. Many of them may go to the Greens or the Socialist Alliance, but I told Mr Ripper each candidate will be carefully considered and each decision will be merits-based,” he said.
Speaking at a meeting on Monday night, Mr Georgatos told the Community Newspaper Group and inmycommunitythat the party’s three core principles of ecological sustainability, social justice and the remedy of Aboriginal discrimination were inherently connected.
“The broader issues we’ll be looking at are those such as social and economic equity, redressing Aboriginal injustices, ecological economics and preservation of biodiversity,” he said.
“These issues do intertwine in many ways, but we’re not one of these parties that’s coming out with one specific agenda. We’ll be working to dispel certain myths and foster a national consciousness about these issues.”
Mr Hayward said he felt lucky to be in a position where he could help to empower his fellow Aboriginal people.
“I was lucky enough to be educated and to have very supportive, determined parents. They rubbed off on me, so the harder things got, the more determined I tended to get,” he said.
“But other Aboriginal people that try to improve their lot in life hit these barriers and can become understandably depressed or develop an inferiority complex. I’ve been in circles throughout my life where I’m the only Aboriginal and I’ve seen the inequality of opportunity.
“Other politicians may talk about indigenous issues, but they don’t do a whole lot. If one of us can get in there and be a grassroots voice, that’s going to make a much-needed impact.”
Mr Georgatos said one of the main features of the party would be the direct, uncompromising nature of its policies and dialogue.
“With the major political parties it’s often hard to enter a debate unfettered; sometimes it can seem things are said just for the sake of opposing each other,” he said.
“We’re aiming to get bona fide, undiluted representation. We're about disseminating information and being involved in discussions, not about doing the PR thing.”
Mr Moore said he was honoured to have the opportunity to “pick up the baton” and campaign for Aboriginal rights and equity.
“It makes me cry how many people have fought for this, gone through torture for this and died for this. This is the evolution of Aboriginal people now; this is the next step,” he said.
“We’ll still lobby and there will still be activists, but it’s time to have representatives in parliament. You can always have your own passion and your own heart, but there comes a time when you should use the tools at hand.”
A groundswell of support has taken the party from vision to reality in a matter of months, with the party now nearly 1000-members strong.
Founded in Perth, the ESJAP aims to be the first Aboriginal political party to have an indigenous representative in Parliament.
esjap.org.au - learn more.
The Aboriginal Party has arrived - find out more from Glenn Moore and Marianne Mackay and Dr William Hayward.
And don't forget you can join me at the Human Rights Alliance.
