My country, my shame

Forst also condemned the secrecy requirements of the Australian Border Force Act, elements of which he said contravened human rights principles, including freedom of expression, and called for the laws to be reviewed.

He also condemned the anti-protest legislation in Tasmania, NSW and before the West Australian Parliament. Academics condemn this legislation as an "ominous sign of the times".

But these new attacks are not new indictments of Australia's neglect, even refusal, to adopt 20th century moral positions. We have many issues apart from border control. – Gay marriage, inequity in the distribution of wealth and income, treatment of aborigines, protecting, even encouraging, those who speak out against wrong-doing

Gay marriage has been put off, possibly for months, even years, despite the government knowing full well that the majority of Australians support same sex marriage.

Human induced global warming has had a rough ride in Australian politics. And is still contested by segments of our current government.

The issue of speaking out against wrongdoing is, in this writer's opinion, the most fundamental ethical failure of all. We can go back many years to outline a series of attempts to pass modern whistleblower protection laws. Such laws protect people who expose illegal or unethical actions committed by their organisations. Whistleblowers in the past have usually been crucified. Even in Australia. Modern legislation sets jail sentences and massive fines for anybody who retaliates against a whistleblower. Close to 70 countries world-wide now have introduced legislation people. The G20 has its own system.

Australia however, has never adopted a full whistleblower protection system. The first attempts at introducing a law were initiated in 1994. The Federal Parliament conducted two inquiries: one in 1994 and the Senate Select Committee on Unresolved Whistleblower Cases in 1995. Neither resulted in successful legislation. A very incomplete proposal was adopted in 2014 after much agitation. The current 2014 legislation is totally inadequate. It exempts politicians, and has seen no successful whistleblowing exposures. Australian legislation in the private sector is also virtually non-existent, which is why those whistleblowers who have exposed the wrongdoing in the banks and financial sectors have paid a heavy price. They have not had the protection available in other countries.

Other Australian moral issues stand out, apart from the treatment of refugees and questionable activities by the banks and financial sectors. Our treatment of aboriginals is appalling. Evidence of the 'torture' of children held in the Don Dale detention centre is only the most recent of the many instances of discrimination against the original Australians. The stolen generations is a concern that is still revisited.

The increasing gap between the wealthy and ordinary citizens is another issue. It gets no attention. A person in the top 20% income group receives around five times as much income as a person in the bottom 20%. A person in the top 20% wealth group has a staggering 70 times as much wealth as a person in the bottom 20%. Andrew Leigh reminds us in his readable new book, Battlers & Billionaires, the latest figures show Australia having the ninth-highest level of inequality among 34 rich countries. This inequity is a world-wide issue. Hillary Clinton raised this same issue in the United States to a national level. She has said that she will back the Warren Buffet system, which uses the tax system to limits the wealth and income that a person can earn. Unfortunately she lost. No major party, only minor parties have addressed this proposal for Australia.

Australia has no Bill of Rights It is condemned internationally on this issue. The Australian Human Rights Commission states that we are unlike most similar liberal democracies. It does add, however, that a statement of our rights may be found in the Constitution, common law and legislation, and sets out this coverage on its website. Victoria and the ACT provide State or Territory human rights legislation.

Australia under the Gillard government initially opposed voting for Palestine being given observer status in the United Nations. Gillard only partially caved in when facing opposition in her Cabinet There were 138 nations in favour to 9 against. Australia in one of its less glorious moments, abstained.

NSW Premier Mike Baird just rammed through a bill that sacked the sitting Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (who has a long track record of fighting corruption) and reduced the power of the Commission.