Scipio

The Rudd government is attempting to build bridges with Islamic communities because of angst in the judiciary over the Howard government's terrorism laws. The legal community has "widespread reluctance" to support the legitimacy of the counter-terror laws. There was a political war between the Howard government and the judiciary over this, but under Rudd, it looks like the judiciary has won.

One of the severe flaws in our system of government and law, is the common law system, which is effectively a rule by lawyers. Courts under the disguise of interpreting the law, make a vast body of law. This is known as case law. Where there is silence about the law in a statute (made by parliament), the courts fill it in. The High Court even decides the meaning of the Constitution. As far as I can see, nothing in the Constitution gives them this power (my opinion, all lawyers of course disagree.)

The failure to support terror laws, any laws restraining immigration/illegal aliens, is a common failure of the rule of lawyers across the West. We have a big problem here, so deep I believe that it cannot be solved within our existing system. If we can build a new Nordic society somewhere in Russia, let us not make the mistake of giving so much power to lawyers.