Posted on 11/09/2005 7:48:07 PM PST by Aussie Dasher
(Australian) TREASURER Peter Costello said radical Muslims would not be allowed to turn Australia into an Islamic state.
Mr Costello said Muslims who wanted to live in a country governed by sharia law, which imposes strict limitations on freedoms, would be better off living elsewhere.
"If you are somebody who wants to live in an Islamic state governed by sharia law you are not going to be happy in Australia, because Australia is not an Islamic state, will never be an Islamic state and will never be governed by sharia law," Mr Costello said.
"We are a secular state under our constitution, our law is made by parliament elected in democratic elections.
"We do not derive our laws from religious instruction."
Mr Costello said anyone who was alienated by Australia's form of government, judicial system and civil rights and wanted something else "might be better advised to find the 'something else' somewhere else".
"There are Islamic states around the world that practise sharia law and if that's your object you may well be much more at home in such a country than trying to turn Australia into one of those countries, because it's not going to happen," he said.
"Oh oh, I think I sense a fatwa coming soon"
Your "sense" is a little late. The Aussies are with us in Iraq and have been a major fatwah target for awhile. The Bali attack mainly killed Aussies and they just broke up a major terror ring in Australia.
If you are somebody who wants to live in an Islamic state governed by sharia law you are not going to be happy in
AustraliaThe United States, because America is not an Islamic state, will never be an Islamic state and will never be governed by sharia law.We are a country under our unique Constitution, our law is made by
parliamentCongress elected in democratic elections.We do not derive our laws from religious instruction.
Anyone who is alienated by
Australia'sAmerica's form of government, judicial system and civil rights and wanted something else might be better advised to find the 'something else' somewhere else.There are Islamic states around the world that practice sharia law and if that's your object you may well be much more at home in such a country than trying to turn
AustraliaThe United States of America into one of those countries, because it's not going to happen.
In case President Bush needs it in the near future...maybe a mass mailing to all the Mosques in the USA?
bump!
This lead to calls for a total ban or near total ban on firearms, and some proposals were put forward for such a ban. But it did not eventuate.
What did happen was that efforts were made to try and ensure all state laws were consistent with each other, and as part of that, there were licence restrictions placed on semi-automatics and automatics. You need a special licence to have those. But those special licences really aren't that hard to get. And basic firearms licences - for basic rifles and shotguns - are easy to get.
At the same time as this was done, the government had a buyback program in which people could hand in any firearm - including totally legal firearms for which they didn't need a new licence - in exchange for cash. The idea was to remove unwanted and unused firearms from the community because these are the ones that most often fell into criminal hands. About 640,000 firearms were handed in under that buyback and were destroyed - but nearly all of them were legal weapons. There were small numbers which people had no choice but to hand in - but only a very small proportion and many of those belonged to people who were unable to get a high level licence for good reason (such as a criminal record - a minor criminal record more than ten years old doesn't disqualify you from a basic firearms licence, but it does make it a lot harder to get a higher level licence. Photos of the weapons purchased in that buyback were used to try and present a false impression that large numbers of weapons had been confiscated.
Since that time, some states have put some more restrictions in place, but in general terms, any Australian without a criminal record can own basic longarms with no difficulty, and semi-automatics and handguns without too much difficulty. Automatics take a lot of paperwork, but you can do it.
The laws are a long way from perfect - you have to agree to pretty strict rules on storing firearms, for example, and we do have universal registration. But we're not disarmed - not by a long way.
In fact quite a few people who sold their weapons in the buyback used the money to buy new firearms.
Costello just publicly stated what I think to myself everyday. I wish our politicians had backbones to not only voice this sentiment but to enforce it. It would be a good start for them to deny the Code Pink commies re-entry into the US after their trip to the Cuban paradise.
He's said it again today. Yes, he has said similar things before, but this is a new story.
God Bless Australia!!! This is exactly what the French should say but they don't appear to have the right anatomical parts.
And I don't mean the tongue.
Lesson to be learned by some freepers.
Speaking of Sharia law, I heard there was a muslim band that did a take off on the old 70's song by the Knack, "My Sherona" but they have changed the lyrics to "My Sharia."
I guess the mulims have their own weird al yancovic.
I wish President Bush would let ME give the speech!
Crickey! Wish U.S. politicians had the gonads to say that.
thanks for that info.
Pls cc your letter to the leaders of Britain's political parties. I fear that after Mr. Blair leaves, things will do downhill there in a big hurry.
I don't see the Brits as being much better than the French overall.
Having a stand-up guy like Blair in charge has disguised the underlying situation there.
Love our Aussie partners in the War on Terror.
We have them. It just seems too many Republicans don't think Tom Tancredo is electable.
See, therein is the problem: the government has the registration lists. I get quite skittish when the government knows how much armourment I've got at home.
At least we know where sanity still governs! Right on, Mr. Costello
They must be getting tired of those uppity Australian women.
Peter Costello just gave me yet another reason to like Australia! I'd gladly accept him as my President in 2008!!!!!! He singlehandedly has more big brass ones and tells it like it is than all the politicians in the US combined, with the exception of Tancredo! Bravo!
I have been thinking of a good slogan to put in the back window of the car, and I think this title meets my focus!
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