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Top Oz cop busted!
by budgie Tuesday, Jun 3 2008, 8:51am
national / injustice/law / commentary

Let it be a warning to all governments that favour harsh and pervasive regulatory powers, especially those without adequate oversight and accountability that ‘human frailty’ poses the greatest threat to the best-laid plans of social regulation!

Mark Standen, assistant director of the NSW Crime Commission -- previously of the Federal Police and Commonwealth Customs -- has been busted conspiring to import large quantities of precursor drugs used in the manufacture of ‘ice.’ The AFP, which had been monitoring Standen’s illegal activities, estimated that the quantity of pseudoephedrine involved would have produced $120 million of ‘ice.’ All the arguments against increased powers granted to regulators have been validated with the arrest of Standen – when temptation increases proportionately with the increase of powers, who is watching the watchers or regulating the (corrupt) regulators?

A week prior to Standen’s arrest a clear indication of misguided policing and an inflated sense of authority appeared in the form of NSW police storming an Art Gallery and closing an exhibition by acclaimed Australian artist, Bill Henson. A rabid arch-conservative and philistine originally lodged the complaint claiming the works were pornographic. Police should have taken advice; however, with increased powers comes increased arrogance; half the works were confiscated by police -- the last organisation in the country qualified to evaluate the Arts!

The current government, led by conservative PM, Kevin Rudd, announced it would filter Internet content at provider level and allow bosses to snoop on the private emails of their employees.

I hope recent events have made it abundantly clear that conservatism and over-regulation are undesirable.

Conservative ideology is responsible for most of the world’s current wars and social problems -- I am reminded of the chorus of an old song, “when will they ever learn?”

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/06/03/1212258796852.html

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