Multiculturalism Slowly Dismantling the Australian Rule of Law By Bruce Bennett

     The idea of an Australian rule of law, is that there was supposed to be one set of laws for everyone, not a distinct set of laws for some ethno-racial group, even if indigenous … for where will this end – sharia law? It is coming.
  https://aifs.gov.au/publications/family-matters/issue-84/legal-recognition-sharia-law
  https://vision.org.au/radio-show/20twenty/the-push-for-sharia-law-in-australia/
  http://www.unswlawjournal.unsw.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/34-1-2.pdf
  https://amp.abc.net.au/article/12463602

“Question time was a mess as both major parties traded insults over whether taxpayers' money had been wasted on a Lego sticker in the foyer of the Queensland Children's Hospital. Looking down from the public gallery was a group of about 20 Torres Strait Islander elders and family, politely listening to the ruckus below. This jarring scene suddenly came to an end when question time concluded, and the only Torres Strait Islander Member of Parliament, Labor's Cynthia Lui, rose to her feet. Instead of sarcastic giggles and shouting, there was respectful silence across the chamber, the Torres Strait Islanders in the gallery all stood as a mark of respect for what was about to unfold — and then the tears started flowing. For the first time in Australian history, a standalone bill had been introduced to incorporate traditional lore into official law, recognising the Torres Strait Islander cultural practice of adoption and child rearing. "This has been an incredibly long journey," Ms Lui told Parliament. "This bill provides legal recognition of an ancient, sacred and enduring child-rearing practice and integral part of Torres Strait Islander practice since time immemorial." The practice — known as Kupai Omasker — allows for a child to be adopted by a relative or community member for a number of reasons that can differ between the region's dozens of different island cultures. But while it can strengthen community ties, it can also lead to complications when dealing with Government, creating problems with driving licences, passports and any other interaction with authorities. "As a child, I wondered why as Torres Strait Islanders we do not publicly discuss our traditional child-rearing practice," Ms Lui said. Visibly moved by the importance of the occasion, the Member for Cook struggled but eventually succeeded in delivering her most powerful words.

"Today I speak in my cultural truth that children who are raised under this practice deserve, love, respect, dignity and acceptance." The way the bill was introduced provides an insight into the complexities involved. First put before the Queensland assembly as Cynthia Lui's private members' bill, it was then adopted as an official government bill requiring amendments to a string of other laws including the Adoption Act, birth registrations, the criminal code, family violence protection, rules of evidence, integrity and industrial relations. The bill is the result of extensive consultation and advocacy stretching back decades. Ms Lui paid respect to the past elders, making special mention of her late uncle Steve Mam, who died in 2016. "[His] courageous heart led the Kupai Omasker working party to fight for legal recognition of over 30 years." Looking on from the gallery was Mr Mam's younger brother, Belza Lowah, who explained Kupai Omasker went to the heart of Torres Strait Islander culture. "There's not one Torres Strait family that hasn't done this, not one," he said. "If your sibling had 20 children, the sibling who is barren will get three or four, and you shall share it around, that's the beauty of how you keep the blood line running. "The magic is communication — it's how you keep the lines of communication open all the time."

     That may well be a good thing, but it is introduced as part of the multiculturalisation of the law, a law which should in a liberal democracy, be neutral and impartial, applying to all groups equally. Otherwise, why bother with the system at all and just divide the place up into tribal groups, which is what multiculturalism essentially does, as Blainey said in 1984. That would not be so good for the super-capitalists, and their sacred profits, would I, if the financial system was pluralised and diversified too? How about we do that next?