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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-

Smoking ban, fitness tests for healthier nanny nation

2008-04-19

(Australia) SMOKING would be banned for everyone born next year, junk food would be taxed and everyone would be subjected to a fitness test by 2020. By comparison, the cost of healthy food, including fruit and vegetables, would be reduced to reflect its low environmental impact and obvious health benefits. These are just a few of the ideas from 100 of the nation's health experts who discussed the best way to combat obesity, reduce illness and promote a healthy lifestyle. Health Minister Nicola Roxon said one idea put forward in a submission was an annual national fitness test where citizens would receive a financial incentive if they pass. Health stream participants in the 2020 summit also discussed increasing public education about how death can be a "positive experience" to avoid patients panicking when they reach hospital emergency departments. Health participant, Meredith Sheil, a former Westmead Children's Hospital pediatrician, said many participants had suggested a ban on cigarette sales by 2020. "A lot of the health submissions suggested a ban on smoking by 2020," she said. "You would say, 'OK, from now on everybody born after 2008, you are not allowed to sell cigarettes (to)'." Nutritionist Rosemary Stanton suggested increasing the cost of artificial and packaged food. "I actually think we need to price foods according to their environmental and health impact, rather than harping at people to eat this or that," she said. "All the artificial foods would become very expensive and the healthy foods would be cheaper." The health stream of the 2020 summit also discussed sharing patient medical records nationally, to allow a hospital in a regional area to effectively treat an inner-city patient. NSW Premier Morris Iemma, who sat in on the health stream, said there should be a shift towards preventative health and warned that health expenditure could consume the entire State budget by 2037. Mr Iemma listened to suggestions from participants that state health departments be scrapped and replaced by regional wellness centres. He conceded a new approach was needed towards health and education issues, such as truancy, in each regional area as well as an increased focus on aged care. "Hospitals in rural areas are de facto nursing homes," he said. "Another option is to have not four levels of health care, but an integrated system." Ski champion Alisa Camplin suggested expanding the active after-school communities program to ease the burden on the health system. "Creating a national program focused on physical activity would provide a pro-active framework for Australians to attain greater general well-being and receive preventative, rehabilitative and curative health support," Camplin wrote in her submission.

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Australian Christians call for halt to Muslim immigration

2007-03-11

The New South Wales election campaign has been drawn into a debate about immigration after the Christian Democrats leader Fred Nile called for a decade long halt to Muslim arrivals in Australia. State Premier Morris Iemma avoided questions about whether he would continue to work with the Christian Democrats if re-elected while addressing a small crowd while on the campaign trail. Reverend Nile earlier argued that there has been no study of the impact of Muslims in Australia and there needs to be some breathing space. "It would be best if we had a moratorium on Muslim immigration into Australia as I have suggested for 10 years," he said. But Mr Iemma says he opposes the idea. "I don't agree with those statements, I don't see what the connection is with the state government," he said. Meanwhile, opposition leader Peter Debnam says Reverend Nile can debate the issue if he wants, but he is not focussed on it. "I'm dealing with the issues where I can make a real difference to the people of New South Wales," he said. But Mr Debnam would not comment on whether the coalition would agree to preference deals with the party.

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Aussie Attorney-General rejects ban on Hizb ut-Tahrir

2007-01-28

An unlikely alliance of radical Muslims and the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, has rejected Morris Iemma's call to ban the Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir. The call, which included a claim by the Premier that Hizb ut-Tahrir was declaring war on Australia, came as the group held a conference on how to established a pan-national Islamic state under sharia law. Speakers at the conference yesterday warned there would be a call to arms to establish and defend a caliphate but they made it clear they did not see Australia as part of their fundamentalist society. The distinction was lost on Mr Iemma, the MP for Lakemba where the conference was held, and where he is facing a challenge by Muslim candidates in the state election. "This is an organisation that is basically saying that it wants to declare war on Australia, our values and our people," the Premier said. "That's the big difference and that's why I believe that they are just beyond the pale. Enough is enough, and it's time for the Commonwealth to review this organisation's status and take the lead from other countries and ban them." A Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman, Wassim Doureihi, said calls for the group to be banned were misplaced: the group was opposed to terrorism. Hizb ut-Tahrir says it is non-violent but it has been proscribed in many Middle Eastern, European and central Asian countries after being deemed a threat to national security. Mr Ruddock said Hizb ut-Tahrir had been closely monitored by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation but had been found to have done nothing in Australia to warrant it being banned. He said the NSW Government should stop playing politics and if it had any evidence helpful to the security agencies, it should give it to them. Concerns about terrorism, violent crime and integration have prompted a bidding war between NSW Labor and the Opposition about who can sound tougher on Muslims, a theme that is expected to continue until poll day on March 24. At yesterday's conference, there were harsh words for the West's policies in the Middle East and their role in propping up "corrupt dictatorships" in the Muslim world. "Muslims are the most humiliated among the earth's peoples," Sheik Issam Amera said. "The West treats them like slaves and their lands as their backyard gardens." Indonesia's Ismail Yusanto said an Islamic state was coming and that "Western powers will likely attack the newly formed caliphate. We must mobilise for an impending conflict," he said.

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Cleric urges Islamic super-state

2007-01-28

A RADICAL Muslim cleric has urged hundreds of supporters meeting in Sydney's south-west to join a global push to create an Islamic utopia. Indonesian firebrand cleric Ismail Yusanto outlined his plan for instituting Sharia law, the absolute form of Islam, to a crowd of about 500 people gathered at the Khilafah Conference in Lakemba. The meeting was organised by the Australian arm of the extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, a group widely known for its anti-democratic, anti-Semitic views. The group believes in a dystopia in that it can reduce suffering around the globe by introducing Sharia law and creating an Islamic utopia. The NSW government has called on the Commonwealth to follow several European and Middle Eastern countries and ban the group. Dr Yusanto called on followers to denounce capitalism, warning that if Islam was not followed in his Islamic super-state, jihad would follow. From the nationalisation of utilities for the on-going funding of a jihadist army to fighting off an ensuing American-led invasion, he told the audience never to let pessimism enter their minds when seeking a utopian state of Islam not seen since 1924. "Once the program is ready it must be implemented as soon as possible," Dr Yusanto said. "Once successful, the new order would be just the beginning of the new era in the application of Islamic ideology. The cleric went on to remind his listeners of the ultimate sacrifice in achieving a utopian Islamic state. "There is no victory and glory without sacrifice and hard work," he said. "No pain no gain." Hizb ut-Tahrir is already banned in several European and Middle Eastern countries. It has also been linked to the 2005 London bombings. NSW Premier Morris Iemma called on federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock to join countries including Britain and Germany and ban the group. "This is not a case of someone being different, someone advocating a different point of view," he told Sky News. "This is an organisation that is basically saying that it wants to declare war on Australia, our values and our people. That's the big difference. "And that's why I believe that they are just beyond the pale, enough is enough and it's time for the Commonwealth to review this organisation's status and take the lead from other countries and ban them." But federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said government agencies were monitoring Hizb ut-Tahrir, although its activities in Australia did not warrant it being banned. "Proscription of terrorist organisations is an issue that is dealt with by the Commonwealth after a referral of powers from the states," Mr Ruddock said. Opposition immigration spokesman Tony Burke called on newly appointed Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews to consider cancelling Dr Yusanto's visa. "There are clear character provisions in the immigration act that mean that if the government didn't want Ismail Yusanto here it could have stopped him from coming," he told reporters. "The only reason we have someone in western Sydney right now preaching Sharia law is because the federal government chose to allow him to be here. "My question and my comment to anyone from around the world who hates Australia is simple - if you hate the place, don't come here." Yes, but how would they try to slo-mo colonize it, then?

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Sheik Hilali returns for Australia Day, plans to run in state elections

2007-01-25

SHEIK Taj al-Din al-Hilali today denied that he was forced to sneak back into the country when he arrived in Sydney last night - just in time for Australia Day. The sheik avoided waiting media at the airport yesterday, and was ushered through a VIP exit after his plane touched down. He's a VIP? Gotta keep your cat food covered, or else the media flies will swarm...and who can blame the media flies? It's only their nature, after all. Meow. Media reports said police protection was waiting for him, and one airport worker said the mufti was accompanied by two quarantine officers as he left the building and had no baggage with him. But the mufti's spokesman, Keysar Trad, today said he had simply followed the advice of uniformed officers who were at the airport. "I don't believe he snuck in," he said. "I spoke to him last night. He said it was a long, tiring trip and he had been advised by officers at the airport on the best way to come out, via discreet exits. The mufti took their advice." Mr Trad said Sheik Hilali, who was travelling with his family, would conduct Friday prayers at the Lakemba mosque in southwest Sydney tomorrow. "Health permitting, that's what's likely to happen. He's been away for three months and everyone wants to hear his voice, to bask in his spirituality, as well as to receive comments on the present situation." During his absence, Sheik Hilali sparked outrage in Australia with comments in an interview on Egyptian TV. He called Westerners liars and said that Muslims were more entitled to live in Australia than the descendents of Anglo-Saxons sent here as convicts. The comments followed the stir he caused last year when he compared immodestly dressed women to "uncovered meat". Senior politicians from both the Labor and Liberal parties reacted to the latest outrage by urging him to stay away from Australia if he didn't like it. The mufti has also made headlines in recent days over suggestions he would challenge Premier Morris Iemma for the Lakemba seat in the New South Wales state election. A spokesman later clarified that the plan was to recruit and endorse Muslim candidates in at least three western Sydney seats in the NSW Parliament, though Mr Iemma said he was keen to take on Sheik Hilali himself. The mufti's plan was also described by one Islamic leader as "about as helpful as Pauline Hanson getting back into politics". Despite the controversy he generates, Sheik Hilali regularly says that he loves Australia. Mr Trad said he was keen to address national issues now he was back in the country. The mufti planned to speak on the water crisis and a wide range of issues, he said. "It's a big issue for us. We 'll do what we do best, pray for the water shortage to be alleviated." Mr Trad also said Sheik Hilali hoped that politicians would abandon their "Islamophobic platform" for Australia Day. "I wish that politicians would take advantage of Australia Day to reaffirm the rights of every Australian citizen. But that's a big call for politicians, especially."

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'Jihad' sheik to face new probe

2007-01-18

The firebrand cleric who went overseas just days before some of his cohorts were rounded up in the nation's biggest counter-terrorism raid is the subject of a new police investigation, after a call for children to join jihad as holy warriors appeared in a DVD being sold in Australia. Sydney-born Sheik Feiz Mohamed's radical sermons - available on the internet and on DVDs and videos - have become popular with Muslims around the world. In one video, running on the hugely popular website YouTube, he admonishes his followers in English for not "sacrificing a drop of blood" as martyrs. Australian Federal Police said yesterday they had begun inquiries into Sheik Feiz's DVD encouraging jihad, which is believed to be unclassified in Australia and illegal to sell. NSW Premier Morris Iemma accused the cleric yesterday of inciting terrorism. "This DVD goes a lot further than vilification," he said. "The sort of incitement that the DVD encourages is incitement to acts of violence and acts of terror." Sheik Feiz, a member of Sunni Islam's fundamentalist Wahhabi sect, left Australia for Lebanon in late 2004, just days before federal and state police and ASIO conducted raids in Sydney and Melbourne, arresting 23 people on terror-related charges. The cleric calls two of the accused terrorists close friends and knew all of the Sydney men arrested. He has links to almost every notable member of Australia's Islamic community and continues to direct his Global Islamic Youth Centre - the nerve centre of Islamic youth in Sydney, setting the tone for 4000 youths, their families and fraternities.

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Banning race riot game 'complicated'

2006-10-17

THE Federal Government says it is examining ways to ban an online game glorifying a violent Sydney race riot, but the patchwork of laws regulating internet content is complicating the issue. The object of Cronulla Monopoly –; designed to be printed from the internet and played with a dice – is to buy property in the Sutherland Shire in order to donate money to right-wing groups to "win back Australia". The game includes photographs of last December's violent clashes at Cronulla, in southern Sydney, and is "dedicated to all those who stood up for fair dinkum Aussies". Federal Communications Minister Helen Coonan today promised to refer the game to internet content regulator the Australian Media and Communications Authority (AMCA). "The Australian Government is committed to doing everything possible to protect Australians on the internet," Senator Coonan said. "This includes protecting them from inappropriate and offensive material online including racially motivated material. "The Government has a strong legislative and regulatory framework to deal with complaints about offensive and illegal material online." The game was referred to Senator Coonan by New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma in the hope that she could ban it under Commonwealth law. If the game breaches classification guidelines, which broadly include racial vilification, Senator Coonan and Attorney-General Philip Ruddock may be able to take it down. However, if the site is hosted overseas, they may be limited to blocking the game locally. The game appears to be hosted on an anonymous US-based site, accessed from a link on the website of nationalist group Australia First. The AMCA and Australian Federal Police must be convinced the website hosting the game has broken a law before any legal action can be taken, a spokeswoman for Senator Coonan said. But as the game, which features racist slogans such as "We grew here, you flew here", appears to incite racial violence, it could be a matter for federal Justice Minister Chris Ellison. The overlapping jurisdiction of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC), concerning breaches of the Racial Discrimination Act, further muddies the issue of who has responsibility for dealing with the game. HREOC would attempt conciliation of any complaints but if unsuccessful the matter could go to the Federal Court. A spokesman for Mr Ellison denied authorities were unable to act because the game fell into a legal grey area. "In fact, there are a range of mechanisms at the Commonwealth level that could be used to deal with concerns raised about the 'Cronulla 2230' website consistent with the government's strong opposition to discrimination in all its forms," the spokesman said. The NSW Community Relations Commission says all Australians should be appalled at the hatred in the game Mr Iemma dubbed "racist garbage". Australia First says on its website that it did not create the game, but the group did not respond to requests for comment today.

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Agencies investigate Hizb ut-Tahir jihad group

2006-08-26

GOVERNMENT security agencies are reviewing the terrorist status of Islamic extremists allegedly distributing pamphlets calling for a holy war to destroy Israel. Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said Australian security agencies examined the group, Hizb ut-Tahir, when it came to their notice a year ago, and considered whether to list it as a proscribed terrorist organisation. "And the decision that was taken by competent agencies at that time was there was insufficient evidence for the legal criteria for proscription to be satisfied," he said today. With alleged links to the London bombings, Hizb ut-Tahir is reportedly distributing pamphlets through suburban Sydney calling for a holy war. The leaflets call for a jihad to destroy Israel and use key dates in the Muslim calendar to signal the coming destruction of the Jewish state, News Limited newspapers have reported. The group is banned in Germany and British Prime Minister Tony Blair has called for it to be outlawed in the UK. But it remains legal in Australia despite calls for it to be banned. "I am certainly aware of the additional material that has been circulated." Mr Ruddock said. "I've drawn it to the attention of competent agencies and if they form a view that that alters their opinion as to whether or not it constitutes a terrorist organisation, that matter can be brought to our attention and we can have a look at it." NSW Premier Morris Iemma earlier urged the extremists to leave that sort of hatred overseas. Mr Iemma said legitimate debate, free speech and opinions were welcome in Australia. "However, the sort of inflammatory language about conflicts in wars overseas, leave them behind," he said. "Leave the conflicts, the old wars and the hatred behind." You're asking them to leave the Master Religion™ behind and become Aussies. I don't think that's going to happen.

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Community is paying for inaction

2006-05-30

Not only in Australia. Pretty much SOP in many western countries. Winter came early to Cronulla and its chill is spreading, writes Paul Sheehan. It was a 16th birthday party, a big one. About 100 teenagers were at a house in Clump Place, Green Valley, on Saturday night last week. Several adults kept an eye on proceedings. At 9 o'clock came the beginning of the nightmare dreaded by anyone who holds a big party - several carloads of uninvited young men arrived and wanted in. Most of the guests assembled at the front of the house to watch the verbal confrontation unfold. The unwanted visitors, described by numerous witnesses as appearing to be Lebanese, withdrew but certain things were said and threats made. With a depressing predictability, the Lebanese got on their mobile phones and began to gather numbers. More cars assembled. Police later estimated the size of the war party at about 60 men and 15 cars assembled in Clump Place. At 11pm one of the Lebanese walked to the front door of the house and yelled inside: "Anybody who has got balls, get outside." Once again, with depressing predictability. Once again, a large number of the party-goers went outside to see what was going on. A brawl soon erupted. The fighting spilled into nearby Stella Drive and Rodeo Drive. About 100 young people were involved. Three were later admitted to hospital. Knives and broken bottles were used. Two 16-year-old guests were treated for stab wounds at Liverpool Hospital. With depressing predictability, the injured had been stabbed in the back after being swarmed. Few of these details were released by the police, certainly not the disturbing scale and premeditation of the brawl. Yet it was the largest such attack since the Cronulla revenge raids by hundreds of young Lebanese men on December 11, 12 and 13. Almost six months after those December revenge attacks, not a single significant arrest and conviction has been logged in response to the self-styled "intifada" by groups of young Muslims who assembled in Punchbowl and Lakemba - inside the electorate of the Premier, Morris Iemma - to launch attacks on eastern beach suburbs. Even now, the Iemma Government remains in denial about the extent of what happened on those nights, as entire convoys were able to assemble, attack and escape while screaming racist threats. One woman, Wendy R, said she and her husband were driving along Canterbury Road on the night of Monday, December 12, when they encountered carloads of men with Lebanese flags hanging out the windows and heard one man screaming, "Do it for Allah!" This left a deep impression, though not as disturbing as the inability of the police to notice what was happening, let alone deal with it. On Friday, police released an identikit photo of three "men of Middle Eastern appearance" wanted for the attack on Dan, a 26-year-old mechanic, stabbed five times and seriously wounded after four men leapt from a car outside Woolooware Golf Club on the night of December 11. As usual, women were involved. The men had shouted insults from the car at two women leaving the club with Dan. As usual, the stab wounds were in the back. As usual, it was four on one. The undertow of hate crimes and menace is continuing, with the proverbial "men of Middle Eastern appearance" (MOMEA) constantly appearing on the crime log of the NSW Police: May 21: a MOMEA charged with the murder of Bassam Chami and Ibrahim Assad, two Lebanese men who were known to police. May 21: a group of MOMEA involved in stabbings in Green Valley. May 26: an off-duty police officer insulted and assaulted by two MOMEA in The Rocks. May 26: two MOMEA arrested in Riverwood for possession of heroin and a handgun. And that's just the past week, and only crimes logged on the police website. In Cronulla itself, the impact is continuing. On Saturday, I met several former detectives at Cronulla. Two of them dined with me at Yasou, a Greek restaurant overlooking South Cronulla Beach. It is a good restaurant (the spanakopita, spinach and fetta pies, were superb) but also a sparsely attended one. When I asked the owner, Ray Bradbury (his wife is Greek Cypriot), how business had been, he said: "Normally, I have 30 staff during the summer season. After December 11, I had to go down to five or six because the place was empty ... "Since December 11, most of the customers are coming from within five kilometres. The business from outside visitors is gone. There is a perception of danger here ... The police lock-down [after the revenge attacks] was the wrong thing to do. It created the impression they had lost control, and they barred everyone from coming into the area." The former police at the table nodded in agreement. They described a culture of denial by police over innumerable incidents of sexual intimidation of young women by young Muslim men congregating at Cronulla, and also at Brighton-le-Sands. All the former police I spoke to on Saturday, and others I have interviewed, believe the civil disorder that eventually exploded was symptomatic of a larger, deeper problem: the politicisation of the NSW Police, accompanied by the systematic dismantling of elite and specialist units and a loss of esprit de corps. It has been a long winter in Cronulla. It began on December 11. The large numbers of Lebanese Muslim families who used to gather at Gunnamatta Park, and the young Lebanese men who gathered at the car park at North Cronulla, stopped coming on December 11. They have not returned. On Saturday, I encountered five uniformed police at Cronulla station in mid-afternoon. On the promenade, two women police officers patrolled in a beach buggy. The stable door has been double-locked at Cronulla, but the horse bolted long ago.

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Australian leaders divided over citizenship comments

2006-02-24

Some state leaders are divided over Treasurer Peter Costello's claims that people should be stripped or refused their citizenship if they do not embrace Australian values. New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma says he agrees with Mr Costello and has suggested taking the action even further by applying it to people on temporary or long-term visas. Treasurer Peter Costello has been accused of being deliberately divisive, and preparing for a return to racist immigration policies after comments made in a speech last night. Islamic groups say it is an appeal to conservative voters but Mr Iemma says it is completely reasonable. "No matter what your religion or the colour of your skin, this is a warm and generous and welcoming country - leave the extremism and leave the fights behind," he said. Victorian Premier Steve Bracks says Mr Costello is playing politics. Mr Bracks says Mr Costello is trying to divert people's attention from the Government's role in the AWB scandal. "The reality is that people coming into our country come in accepting our values," he said. "It's self evident, they come in accepting democracy, accepting of course the rule of law more broadly, accepting freedoms that we have here. "That's what they accept when they come in and they sign on to that, of course they do, so Peter Costello's intervention is really about diversion from the Federal Government." Queensland Premier Peter Beattie says Mr Costello's comments were a cheap shot for populist approval "If Peter Costello is trying to appeal back to the 1950s to become the Prime Minister, I think that's a retrograde step," Mr Beattie said. "I just think sometimes leaders have got to stand up - and I know what I'm saying will not be popular in some places - but someone's got to have the guts to say to Peter Costello, if you want to be prime minister, find the things that bring us together, not the things that divide us." But NSW Opposition Leader Peter Debnam says he also endorses Mr Costello's comments. "One of the things I think we need to get rid of is the political correctness and Peter was certainly putting his foot on that last night," Mr Debnam said.

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Sydney riots strike force Chief stood down

2006-01-20

THE Cronulla riot strike force chief was yesterday stood down as police faced new embarrassment over the bungled investigation. One day after police released video footage of a riot revenge attack by Middle Eastern youths, The Saturday Daily Telegraph was able to identify a witness who may hold the key to identifying the thugs. Former junior rugby league coach Ahmed Jajieh, 24, was last night confirmed as a central figure in the gang attack on 35-year-old Steve B at Cronulla on December 12. The revelation came as police split ranks over the removal of Detective Superintendent Dennis Bray, who was axed for failing to inform Commissioner Ken Moroney of the CCTV footage. The family of Mr Jajieh admitted he was among the throng of up to 30 men of Middle Eastern appearance captured on CCTV camera when Steve B was set upon outside the YHA Hostel. But Mr Jajieh's brother, who did not want to be identified, told The Saturday Daily Telegraph: "If you see the video you can see he went in to help the guy." An informant told The Saturday Daily Telegraph she called Crime Stoppers on Thursday night, naming Mr Jajieh as one of the people in the footage. But as of last night, police had yet to contact Mr Jajieh. The footage, released on Thursday night, showed up to 20 youths kicking and bashing electrician Steve B on The Kingsway as gangs rampaged through Cronulla in retaliation for the riots. Police faced further criticism over their delay in releasing video of the attack. Mr Moroney and Premier Morris Iemma yesterday announced that strike force Enoggera, which is investigating the riots, will be increased from 28 to 100 officers. Mr Moroney expressed his "concern, disappointment and absolute annoyance" at not being told a video existed. He said as a result, he had replaced Supt Bray with Superintendent Ken McKay. One informant also told police some of the players from the under-17 Mt Prichard football team Mr Jajieh coached were also involved in the attack. Some of the boys are current or former students at Ashcroft Boys High School and come from the Green Valley area. All of the players identities are kept by the Parramatta Junior Rugby League. However, police have yet to make contact with the association and yesterday afternoon, Mr Moroney still did not know that someone on the video had been identified. Asked if anyone had come forward, Mr Moroney said: "No, not as a result of viewing the video on television. Not to this point in time."

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Aussie Riot row over 'PC policing'

2006-01-17

A BRAWL has broken out over suggestions the NSW Government has been too politically correct to arrest the people responsible for revenge attacks in the wake of the Cronulla riot. NSW Opposition Leader Peter Debnam yesterday repeated his attack on the Iemma Government for being soft on ethnic crime and criticised police for failing to arrest people of Middle Eastern descent. Premier Morris Iemma denied telling police to go soft on people of Middle Eastern descent and responded angrily to the comments. Inspecting the state's new anti-riot squad, Mr Iemma promised a crackdown on antisocial and riotous behaviour. "We're on the side of the police in this, he's (Mr Debnam) not. The hooligans and thugs have got no respect. No wonder, when the example is being set by the Leader of the Opposition," Mr Iemma said. Mr Debnam's comments last week that the NSW Government had been soft on ethnic crime for the past 10 years prompted Mr Iemma's outburst and criticism from police Commissioner Ken Moroney. "The statistics would suggest the Government is simply not putting the resources into rounding up these Middle Eastern criminals and thugs. The Labor Party seems to be indebted to certain ethnic groups," Mr Debnam said last week. Yesterday, he refused to back down. "Thugs on the streets of Sydney that should be in jail. That's the issue." Mr Debnam said the Government was too "politically correct" to act against ethnic gangs. "The community wants these people locked up and I'm going to keep raising this issue every day until those couple of hundred Middle Eastern thugs are behind bars." Police have charged 20 people with offences relating to the December 11 Cronulla riot, during which people of Middle Eastern descent were chased and attacked. Middle Eastern youths carried out violent revenge attacks at Cronulla, Maroubra and Brighton-le-Sands in response to the riot. Hadi Khawaja, 24, of Peakhurst, was last week jailed for three months for burning an Australian flag stolen from the Brighton RSL Club.

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