Muslims too sensitive, says His Eminence



Muslims are overly sensitive and are the only migrants to have plotted violence against Australia, Catholic Archbishop Cardinal George Pell has claimed. Dr Pell said Muslim leaders needed to develop more appropriate responses to criticism. "In a democratic society, every group is criticised - Prime Minister (John) Howard said quite rightly last year that if Catholics rioted in Australia every time they were criticised, there would be regular riots," Dr Pell said. "It's not appropriate that Muslims regularly reply to criticism with insults, denigration and evasions while avoiding the point of issue, and unfortunately we've seen too much of this from some Muslim public personalities." The comments came during Dr Pell's appearance on a panel about Muslims and non-Muslims in Australia as part of the national deliberative poll.

Dr Pell, who began studying Islam after the attacks of September 11, 2001 on the US, said he had met "many wonderful Muslims". "But there are Islamists who are at war with the Western world - most of the victims of these extreme Muslims are fellow Muslims," he said. "So its important to distinguish accurately your real friends from your enemies and from those who only seem to be friends."

Dr Pell said integration was a "key tool" for a harmonious and secular democratic society. "Equal rights however, carry with them equal responsibilities - problems arise when minorities demand special consideration that places them outside the law as it applies to other citizens," he said. "Flexibility and adaptability are called for when refugees and immigrants arrive in our country but there is a limit in (adopting) minority demands beyond which a democratic host society cannot go without losing its identity."

Dr Pell said there was a small minority of Muslims "who really don't identify with Australia at all and are hostile to it". "There seems to be some significant evidence that some of them are planning violence against us here and elsewhere - that doesn't seem to happen in any other migrant group," he said.

Sydney Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali sparked controversy last year when he compared immodestly dressed women to uncovered meat and suggested that rape victims who did not wear Islamic dress were as much to blame as their attackers. He later appeared on Egyptian television to say Westerners were "liars and oppressors" who had less right to live in Australia than Muslims.

Dr Pell said a fear of Muslims had been "created" by the September 11 attacks in 2001, the Bali bombings of 2002 and 2005 and the attacks on London transport in 2005. He said Muslims in Australia were offered the same rights as other citizens but he doubted non-Muslim minorities in the Muslim world were afforded the same equality. "I don't think that's the case. I don't think we could be having a meeting like this in Pakistan or Saudi Arabia," he said. "Christians are being harassed, they're being persecuted and even sometimes in the Sudan being sold into slavery. I would like to know where my Muslim friends stand on this issue."

Sheik Mohammed Omran, from Melbourne's Islamic Information and Support Centre, said it was important to consider why Muslims were fighting against the West. "Why has the youth of England betrayed England even though they are fifth or sixth generation?" Sheik Omran said. "We have to learn from the mistakes of others and not repeat it here." Sheik Omran said Australia had a responsibility to make Muslims feel welcome. "You are the host. When I come to your house as a guest and you welcome me with an open heart, I see your generosity as a human - it doesn't matter what I believe in, I will love you and care for you as much as you care for me," he said. Muslim countries had been great allies of the West during the fight against "our first enemy", communism, and Australia still had a close alliance with Indonesia, which has the world's biggest Muslim population, Sheik Omran said.

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Another suspicious hospital death

Queensland Health is about to become embroiled in another medical controversy. The details surrounding the death of Deborah Burgen, 49, will be heard in a coronial inquest today. The Mount Isa hearing is the first significant coronial inquest since Queensland Health was embarrassed by the Davies commission of inquiry in 2005. Paramedics took Ms Burgen to hospital, but she died from surgical complications on February 28, 2005. She was operated on for a twisted bowel.

Ms Burgen's family told The Courier-Mail that: "She was a person who lived for her family. "We feel absolutely robbed, robbed of everything." Unlike the furore embroiling Dr Jayant Patel - who is wanted on several counts of manslaughter, grievous bodily harm and fraud - more than one doctor was assigned to treat Ms Burgen. At least five doctors looked after Ms Burgen over two weeks. One of the doctors who treated Ms Burgen was overseas trained and will give his evidence via video link in India.

Dell Burgen said her sister loved her family and "spoiled them rotten". "She had so much to live for," she said. "She loved to laugh. She would throw her head back and let out a big roar."

State Coroner Michael Barnes, who will hear the case, said the purpose of an inquest was to put on the public record the facts and circumstances surrounding deaths. "It has to consider any changes to policy or practices that could reduce other deaths happening in the future," Mr Barnes said. "The material produced from the inquest can be referred to prosecution authorities of disciplinary bodies for failing to take action."

In yet more embarrassing news for the department, southeast Queensland public hospitals yesterday ran out of psychiatric beds, forcing mentally ill patients, some suicidal, to wait for hours in crowded emergency departments. Australian Medical Association Queensland president Zelle Hodge said hospital psychiatric staff were "almost at the end of their tether" with the huge demand. "The psychiatrists are telling us that they have to work out which are the least sick patients in hospital that they can move out," Dr Hodge said. "People are being discharged not on the grounds that this is an appropriate time for them to go but because they're the person who probably needs the bed least."

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A corrupt government "regulator" protected by its Leftist friends

Dumped Tasmanian deputy premier Bryan Green enshrined a monopoly enjoyed by two ex-Labor ministers days after bureaucrats complained that their firm was failing to deliver "essential" services. Documents obtained by The Australian under Freedom of Information show the builder-accreditation company was called to a meeting with senior bureaucrats on February 6 last year to respond to concerns about key failings. The meeting was called after a "formal measure-up" of the Tasmania Compliance Corporation identified failures in a raft of areas, some considered "critically important".

The assessment by the Government's Building Standards & Regulation (BSR) concluded that, after more than two years of operation, TCC had failed to investigate a single complaint against a builder. This was despite at least 12 complaints being made - including at least three that "should have initiated an investigation", according to conclusions of the Government's Director of Building Control, Robert Pearce, on February 1. BSR found the company had failed even to develop a complaints mechanism, despite this being an "essential" part of its role in protecting the public from dodgy builders. BSR also found the firm, run by former Tasmanian health minister John White and ex-Queensland prisons minister Glen Milliner, had failed to audit a single builder, even though this was a "critically important obligation". These and a long list of other failures came despite TCC collecting an average accreditation fee of $495 from 2994 builders and building professionals, giving it an annual income of up to $1.48million.

The 6 1/2-hour meeting between BSR and the company on February 6 addressed a range of "concerns" about TCC's performance. Three days later, on February 9, the outcome of the meeting - at which documents suggest TCC was told to "lift" its performance - was discussed by the Government's Building Regulation Advisory Committee. The committee had pushed for an audit of the TCC since September 2005, when minutes of a meeting show it expressed "concern that TCC is not doing (its) job". Minutes of the February 9 committee meeting show Mr Green's office was informed of the failings. "It was noted that the minister's office is aware of the current issues and difficulties in relation to the TCC's performance."

However, six days later, on February 15, Mr Green signed a secret deal allegedly guaranteeing to protect TCC from competition for three years, with compensation of two years' fee income should the monopoly be revoked. The deal was signed two days before the calling of a state election at which both Opposition parties promised to strip TCC of its role.

Premier Paul Lennon insists he and other senior ministers were unaware of the deal's existence until it was revealed in The Australian on June 13. Mr Green resigned in July. In October, Mr Green, his former adviser Guy Nicholson and Mr White were arrested and charged with conspiracy. All three have pleaded not guilty and Mr Green and Mr White are due to appear in court this month.

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NSW: Young criminals to be reined in?

The Left-leaning media might be huffing and puffing about the policy below but it is basically a ripoff of a policy of the British Labour government

Teenagers could be jailed for six months if they disobey antisocial behaviour orders the Coalition says it will introduce if it wins power. The Opposition Leader, Peter Debnam, said yesterday that under the plan youths could be prevented from going out at night, associating with certain people or visiting certain areas. Once a troublesome youth was brought to the attention of a magistrate by police, the magistrate could impose the orders, similar to an apprehended violence order, even though the youth had not been charged with anything. Juveniles who breached the orders would face sentences of up to six months.

The Opposition spokesman on police matters, Mike Gallacher, said the orders would be introduced in "certain areas" first. He did not elaborate on those areas, but said: "It'll be up to the police to determine . where they feel would be the best [area for a trial] based on their crime figures."

On Friday, Mr Debnam announced that he would make it easier for 10- to 14-year-olds to be locked up by overturning the concept of doli incapax, which prevents convictions of children unless prosecutors can prove the child knew his or her behaviour was wrong. And he said his government would allow courts to name children over the age of 14 once they had committed a serious offence. Mr Debnam also announced yesterday that if elected he would provide an extra 600 police, bringing his total promise for extra police to 1700. Last night the Premier, Morris Iemma, accused Mr Debnam, who is behind in the polls, of "desperate stuff" with his latest law-and-order announcements. "It was only on Friday he was locking up 10-year-olds; 48 hours later he's had another attempt to try and up the stakes on the law and order issue."

But Mr Debnam said: "Labor has said we want to send 10-year-olds to jail. What a lie. Our policy is for early intervention to rescue the kids, not lose them to a life of crime."

The president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, Cameron Murphy, said imposing antisocial behaviour orders could lead to children being trapped in households where there was alcoholism and violence. The president of the NSW Bar Association, Michael Slattery, compared the orders to anti-terrorism detention orders, and said the "current AVO system works very well".

The Opposition's plan is modelled on controversial antisocial behaviour orders in Britain. The British National Audit office recently found that 55 per cent of orders were breached, and many young people were found to consider receiving such orders as a badge of honour. On Thursday Mr Iemma said he would introduce "better behaviour orders" for youths. Mr Iemma's office said penalties for breaching those orders had yet to be decided. Mr Debnam said the Young Offenders Act would also be amended to allow only one warning and one caution to be given to a young offender "before they attend a youth conference or court for action".

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