Reshuffling the head kickers

by Tom Pearson

A brief profile of the new Attorney-General provides an indication of the 
Howard Government's plans to step up its reactionary agenda. Philip 
Ruddock's credentials as a jackbooted reactionary prepared to grind human 
rights into the dirt are behind his instalment as the country's leading law 
officer. He now has at his disposal a raft of laws that in the name of 
anti-terrorism allow for the gross violation of the civil liberties and 
democratic rights of all Australians.

As Immigration Minister, Ruddock oversaw the imposition of a repugnant 
regime of punishment and incarceration of innocent people coming to 
Australia's shores seeking asylum.

In locking up men, women and children in a network of prison camps run by a 
US-based private prison corporation, he broke international laws. In 
setting up the "Pacific solution" he bribed and threatened a number of 
Pacific island nations to also lock up Australia-bound asylum seekers. 
Overall Ruddock has made Australia an international pariah for violating 
fundamental human rights.

As Minister for Indigenous Affairs, he led the Government's attack on the 
hard won rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This 
included the gutting of ATSIC and a vendetta targeting a number of 
Indigenous leaders through a malicious campaign of character assassination 
via the mass media.

Now Ruddock is in charge of the judiciary. This is the same judiciary he 
has publicly attacked with allegations of political bias against judges and 
court decisions that have come down in favour of asylum seekers and against 
the mandatory detention laws that form the basis of the Government's 
inhumane refugee policies.

There is every reason to expect his attempts to browbeat the courts to 
continue along with a concerted drive to install members of the judiciary 
whose politics are in line with those of the Government.

The other ministerial changes, including in industrial relations, health 
and welfare, reinforce this preparation for a stepped up period of 
privatisations and harsher austerity programs.

Hatchet-man Abbott

Hatchet-man Tony Abbott was obviously transferred to the sensitive health 
portfolio to push ruthlessly the Government's objective of privatised 
health services by destroying Medicare and the nation's public hospitals. 
Despite his attempt to defuse the immediate crisis over the insurance levy 
the main government objective remains the same.

Treasurer Peter Costello signalled that the appointment of Kay Patterson 
from Health Minister to family welfare and of Kevin Andrews to unemployment 
and industrial relations will involve even more ruthless cuts to the 
already poverty level payments to pensioners and the unemployed.

Just prior to Patterson's and Andrews' official instalment as Family and 
Community Services Minister and Employment and Workplace Relations Minister 
respectively, Costello announced that the Government would "make sure 
disability benefits did not become a non-work-tested waiting room for the 
aged pensions".

He defined those on disability pensions as mostly people "reportedly 
suffering from bad backs".

And Andrews slots into Abbott's union-basher seat as though it were tailor-
made for him. In his maiden speech to Parliament in 1991 he said: "Rampant 
unionism hinders the vaunted but little-recognised and little-realised 
micro-economic reform in this nation and continues to keep our economy 
uncompetitive with its wasteful work practices."