Dear Mr Beazley,
I hate the fact that for a moment just now, I considered using an alias to write this to you because I now fear speaking up in Australia could land me on a list of seditious intelligentsia.
I hate the fact that even writing that sentence evokes images of police states and fear of the knock on the door.
I hate the idea that we are becoming a culture where we spy on our neighbours and fear the stranger in our midst.
I hate the fact that you have betrayed the dream Paul Keating gave me as a young uni student of a multicultural nation, reconciled with its genocidal history, celebrating its indigenous heritage and looking forward to a future based in diversity.
I hate how angry I am with you and with the politicians of this nation for selling our freedom so cheaply.
I hate the idea that the terrorists have succeeded in changing our culture, thanks to you.
Please don’t do this.
Please say “Enough! I want to live in a world where even those suspected of terrorist acts have human rights and human dignity. I want Australia to stand proud on the world stage, upholding our international obligations.”
What do you believe in, Mr Beazley? Why did you join the Labour Party? Was it faith in the average person to do the right thing? Was it to champion the rights of the people to a better life?
Let’s get back to the fundamentals, Mr Beazley.
Every human being has a right to dignity. Weeks of detention without charge are not dignity. Are we to become a nation where dissidents just disappear? That sounds scarily like too many other places in the world. I was always proud Australia wasn’t one of them. Please don’t change that.
Yours sincerely and passionately in hope that you will see the sense of this,
Signed, me.