Posted on 07/04/2011 5:11:43 PM PDT by AustralianConservative
Finally. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports:
New South Wales police conducting routine car stops will be given the power to demand the removal of head coverings for identification.
Premier Barry O’Farrell says cabinet approved the move on Monday so police could properly identify motorists or any other people suspected of committing a crime.
“I don't care whether a person is wearing a motorcycle helmet, a burka, niqab, face veil or anything else, the police should be allowed to require those people to make their identification clear,” he said in a statement.
“I have every respect for various religions and beliefs but when it comes to enforcing the law the police should be given adequate powers to make a clear identification.” Mr O’Farrell says there has to be a balance between religious customs and a police officer’s ability to do their job.
Incidentally, the new premier, Barry O’Farrell is from the right-of-center Liberal Party of Australia, NSW. Under the former leftwing Labor government, there was a policy of appeasement, although I understand they’ve changed their tune after massive poll defeats.
I’ve advanced the following position here:
Further to the burka “debate,” I support the rights of all private businesses to write their own rules, within reason. The state for example shouldn’t tell a bank that they can’t ban bikers with helmets and women cloaked, from head to toe. Safety matters.
Nor should taxpayers have to tolerate massive healthcare bills, because one extreme version of one religion is beyond question. It’s a statement of fact (not medical opinion) that doctors are constantly dealing with Vitamin-D deficient Muslims because of their clothing “choices.”
My express hope is to see a wider burka-ban culture in Australia, based on the French model: the separation of mosque and state, period.
(Excerpt) Read more at weekendlibertarian.blogspot.com ...
Little muslim kid got lost in a supermart. Clerk asked him what his mother looked like. He said; How the hell should I know?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.