NAP members excited about pending election victory

The Network Against Prohibition have today declared victory in their campaign for seats on the Darwin City Council. NAP has used the election campaign to accelerate the campaign against the “drug house laws” and against the inherently racist “War on Drug Users” in the Northern Territory.

NAP members continue to receive support from across the Darwin community, with a much higher than expected number of voters indicating that they will vote for the NAP team tomorrow.

Stuart Highway, the NAP candidate for Lord Mayor said “We have put the issue of drug prohibition firmly back on many dinner tables around Darwin. Thanks to the NAP campaign, more and more people are aware that the Liberal/Labor policy of drug prohibition is destroying our community”.

Highway said “Unlike the other candidates, NAP will continue to campaign past the election, and we will continue our campaign until the NT “Drug House” legislation is repealed. Then we will dismantle drug prohibition”.

NAP are quietly confident after the announcement that the NT Greens will preference bigots before Stuart Highway on the Lord Mayoral ballot paper.

NAP’s campaign facilitator Mick Lambe said “Things went as expected and that includes the NT Greens”.

Lambe thanked the other candidates for having a go.

Gary Meyerhoff, the NAP candidate for Lyons ward said “I am excited”.

For more information contact 0415 16 2525 or see http://www.napnt.org/pages/vote1stuart.html

Footnote: The drug house laws allow police to enter and search the sign-posted premises at any time without a warrant, conduct cavity searches on people on the premises, stop and question anyone within 200 metres of the sign and place restraining orders on people who visit the premises. Tenants can also be evicted before a house is even declared a “drug house”. As part of their ongoing campaign against the “drug house” laws, NAP has nominated 3 candidates in the Darwin City Council Election to be held on May 29. Stuart Highway is running for Lord Mayor, Robert Inder-Smith for Chan Ward and Gary Meyerhoff for the Lyons Ward.

NT Greens preferences ensure continued Racism and intolerance in Darwin

Members of the Network Against Prohibition have expressed their disgust at the allocation of preferences by the NT Greens in this weekends election for Lord Mayor of the Darwin City Council.

The Greens have preferenced Australian Labor Party and Country Liberal Party candidates before the Networks candidate, anti-racism campaigner Stuart Highway.

The Network Against Prohibition have not made any preference deals and will rely on the voter to make their own mind up about preferences.

NAP’s candidate for Lord Mayor, Stuart Highway said “The Greens have shown themselves to be the same as the other major parties. Unfortunately, the Greens have chosen to perpetuate the tweedledee, tweedledum state of politics in Australia”.

“Their decision not to tackle some of the major human rights abuses faced by Territorians, especially the long-grass community is an example that they are back-pedalling on social justice issues”.

“The War on Drug Users is another example of a Green retreat from human rights issues”.

Green Senator Bob Brown recently said that he would not strongly promote Greens drug policy at the next election.

NAP spokesperson Scott White said “The Greens have sold out on human rights issues to buy votes. It appears that the Greens are trying to emulate Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, with a blend of left, right and conservative politics.”

“They have preferenced candidates from parties that support the detention of refugees, including children, over a prominent anti-racism campaigner, and they have remained silent while the indigenous community is subject to a new wave of attacks”.

Vote 1 Stuart Highway for Darwin Lord Mayor.

For more information call 0415 16 2525 or see http://www.napnt.org

NAP call for pharmacotherapies for NT Politicians

The Network Against Prohibition has called on the NT Government to implement the full range of pharmacotherapies for drug-dependent members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly.

The call comes after the shock revelation by the Speaker of the House Loraine Braham that she abuses Codeine.

After a marathon debate on the Legislative Assembly Members (Random Drug Testing) Bill, Braham MLA said “I think I need a codeine after that.”

NAP spokesperson Gary Meyerhoff said “Due to the stigma associated with illicit drug use, many politicians in the Northern Territory are forced to hide their drug use and are reluctant to access health and welfare services.”

The Network Against Prohibition have called for an immediate amnesty for all Northern Territory politicians with drug dependency issues – licit or illicit.

Gary Meyerhoff said “Politicians are human beings and should be afforded the same human rights as everyone else.”

The Government strongly opposed the bill, introduced by Country Liberal Party member Steve Dunham MLA.

Arguing against the Bill, Minister for Essential Services Dr Chris Burns MLA said “Random drug testing in the workplace has not been demonstrated by properly designed, scientific studies to achieve any of the spectacular results so often attributed to it.”

“I strongly believe it is difficulty to justify such testing in work settings……. because it strikes at the very foundation of individual rights and our legal system which has as its basis the presumption of innocence.”

“I do not want to live in a big brother state, with a big brother mentality. Our forefathers went to war against that sort of thing and that is why I oppose it.”

NAP spokesperson Gary Meyerhoff applauded the NT Government for their stance on the Bill saying “I agree wholeheartedly with the comments of Dr Burns”.

The Bill was defeated.

For further information call 0415 16 2525

To view the entire Hansard transcript see: http://www.napnt.org/pages/ntpollies_on_drugs1.html

Click here to get to the napnt homepage

86% of Northern Territory prisoners are black

The human rights group Network Against Prohibition has called on international media present in Darwin for the Peter Falconio case to investigate the serious ongoing human rights abuses in the Northern Territory.

Indigenous Australians now account for 86% of the Northern Territory jail population despite making up only 30% of the population. This figure is rising, not falling.

Many Indigenous people are subject to apartheid-type conditions in the Northern Territory. In the cities and regional centres where refugees from remote Indigenous communities gather to escape poverty, unemployment, inadequate housing and essential services, disease and isolation, they are treated as second-class citizens.

The government funded and christian operated “night patrol” arrest indigenous people who are sitting in public places and who “appear” to be under the influence of alcohol. The people are detained in a cage on the back of a van and taken to the Watch-house or to the sobering-up shelter. Many are forced to return to a remote community, and the payment for their travel is taken out of their own welfare payments.

Rather than spend $8 million dollars on building houses and schools in remote communities, the NT Government made the announcement this week that they would build a new jail.

Drug laws are another tool used by the NT police and government to enforce the second-class status of Indigenous citizens. The recently enacted “drug house” laws which allow police to declare your house a “drug house” and signpost it with a 1.2 metre high flourescent green sign, have been used to target the indigenous community. More and more indigenous people are incarcerated for victimless cannabis offences.

NAP spokesperson Gary Meyerhoff said: ‘This anti-cannabis nonsense has been used to jail the 55-year old indigenous grandmother Margot Laughton, while white pot growers caught with kilos of cannabis, continue to be given suspended sentences. We are told that cannabis today is much stronger and more dangerous than the cannabis our politicians smoked while they were younger. We are told that “aboriginal people can’t handle it” and “it is devastating aboriginal communities”.’

‘Nothing could be further from the truth. The politicians need cannabis and petrol, and sometimes alcohol to whitewash the ongoing apartheid and genocide occurring throughout Australia.’

For further information contact NAP on 0415 16 2525 or see http://www.napnt.org

(+61 415 16 2525 from overseas)

Footnote: The drug house laws allow police to enter and search the sign-posted premises at any time without a warrant, conduct cavity searches on people on the premises, stop and question anyone within 200 metres of the sign and place restraining orders on people who visit the premises. Tenants can also be evicted before a house is even declared a “drug house”. As part of their ongoing campaign against the “drug house” laws, NAP has nominated 3 candidates in the Darwin City Council Election to be held on May 29. Stuart Highway is running for Lord Mayor, Robert Inder-Smith for Chan Ward and Gary Meyerhoff for the Lyons Ward.

For more information about the NAP election campaign see http://www.napnt.org/pages/vote1stuart.html

Darwin set to become Australia’s Amsterdam

The Network Against Prohibition’s candidate for Lord Mayor in the Darwin City Council elections has called on the NT Government to re-legalise all drugs to enable the promotion of drug tourism in the Top End of Australia.

Highway said “If elected I will use my position as Lord Mayor to accelerate the Network Against Prohibition campaign for the re-legalisation of all drugs. Once this process is complete, it is hoped that Darwin will become Australia’s Amsterdam.”

“Drug tourism will attract thousands of tourists from around the globe. Cannabis would be sold from local cafés and other drugs would be available from licensed sellers. Darwin’s nightlife and dance party scene would expand rapidly.”

Stuart Highway is also kean to reduce racism in the NT by fostering relations with our neighbours. The NAP team, if elected, will lobby for the introduction of a hydrofoil ferry service between Darwin and the cities of Kupang and Dili.

For further information contact the NAP media facilitator on 0415 16 2525 or see

http://www.napnt.org/pages/vote1stuart.html

NAP – Australia’s Amsterdam postcard

http://www.napnt.org/images/DarwinPotProtest.amsterdam.jpg

Contact Information:

Lord Mayor in waiting – Stuart Highway (08) 8948 2547

Chan Ward – Robert Inder-Smith (08) 8985 6334

Lyons Ward – Gary Meyerhoff (08) 8942 0570

Campaign facilitator - Michael Lambe 0408 893 142

Election candidates facing court for demonstrations

All three Network Against Prohibition candidates face the Northern Territory Supreme Court this month for their roles in peaceful demonstrations held during 2002.

Robert Inder-Smith and Gary Meyerhoff will appear in the Supreme Court tomorrow to appeal against their conviction for “failing to comply with the instruction of an authorised officer of the Legislative Assembly”. The 2 were charged after failing to leave the “People’s Embassy” on the 2nd of May 2002. The Embassy had been established the day before, as a protest against the ‘drug house’ legislation and other human rights abuses in the Northern Territory.

On the 21st of May, Lord Mayor in waiting Stuart (the Highwayman) Highway will join Robert and Gary as they face the full bench of the NT Supreme Court. The NAP activists are appealing against a conviction for trespassing, which resulted from a peaceful occupation of the NT Chief Health Officers office, also in 2002. The occupation of the NT Chief Health Officers office occurred after she had removed the prescribing rights of Dr Henry Pang, with the immediate result being that forty people lost access to medical treatment for drug dependency issues. Many families were forced to leave the Northern Territory as a result of the Chief Health Officers actions.

In June, Stuart, Rob and Gary will be joined by Michael Lambe, coordinator of PARIAH and facilitator of our Darwin City Council Election campaign. The group will try and stave off their imminent jail sentences by appealing against the conviction for “deliberately disrupting the Legislative Assembly whilst it is in session”. They have been sentenced to between 14 and 21 months jail and are currently on appeals bail.

NAP spokesperson Gary Meyerhoff said “we are used to running campaigns with the NT Police State breathing down our necks. These court cases are hard work, but we owe it to everyone in the NT who are effected by the Police state to fight these cases.”

For more info call our media facilitator on 0415 16 2525 or see http://www.napnt.org

Contact Information:

Lord Mayor in waiting – Stuart Highway (08) 8948 2547

Chan Ward – Robert Inder-Smith (08) 8985 6334

Lyons Ward – Gary Meyerhoff (08) 8942 0570

Campaign facilitator - Michael Lambe 0408 893 142

For more info on the Darwin City Council election campaign see http://darwin.indymedia.org

Darwin anti-Prohibition campaigner a few tokes closer to Mayoral robes

Stuart Highway, human rights activist and member of the Network Against Prohibition launched his campaign for election to the position of Darwin Lord Mayor by lighting a giant joint at today’s successful community smoke-in.

About 50 people, plus onlookers gathered in Raintree Park to protest against the Northern Territory Governments ‘drug house’ laws.* These laws are used by NT Police to target the indigenous community, who are already disproportionately affected by zero tolerance policing tactics. 86% of inmates in the NT Correctional system are indigenous.

Launching his campaign at the smoke-in today Mr Highway said ‘ If the racist NT police state wasn’t harassing us over drugs they’d be giving us a hard time over some other issue. We people - people on low incomes, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, long grass people, unemployed people, young people, the working class. They don’t usually go after people at the big end of town, except on the odd occasion when they make an example of someone, trying to make it look like their INjustice system is impartial. Yet the wealthy commit crimes against their own system, more than us, it’s just that they don’t get targeted.’

The NT Police employed at least four undercover officers for the operation, and as the event drew to a close, 3 patrol cars occupied by 7 police officers attended Raintree Park in an unsuccessful attempt to intimidate and harass the crowd.

The Network Against Prohibition are also running candidates in the Chan and Lyons wards. For further information contact the NAP media facilitator on 0415 16 2525 or see http://www.napnt.org

* The ‘drug house’ laws enable police to have a house declared a ‘drug premises’. It is then signposted with a 1.2 metre high flourescent green sign. Once the sign is erected, police can raid the house without a warrant whenever they choose, conduct cavity searches on people at the premises and stop anyone within 200 metres of the sign.

Contact Information:

Lord Mayor in waiting – Stuart Highway (08) 8948 2547

Chan Ward – Robert Inder-Smith (08) 8985 6334

Lyons Ward – Gary Meyerhoff (08) 8942 0570

Campaign facilitator - Michael Lambe 0408 893 142

For more info on the Darwin City Council election campaign see http://darwin.indymedia.org

Darwin City Council election candidates declare war on Drug Prohibition

Three members of the Darwin based Network Against Prohibition have been nominated to stand for positions in the Darwin City Council election to be held on the 29th of May.

Stuart Highway, long term human rights activist, has been nominated for the position of Lord Mayor.

Robert Inder-Smith, journalist and civil liberties campaigner will stand in the Chan Ward and Gary Meyerhoff, youth worker, injecting drug user and co-founder of the Network Against Prohibition will contest the Lyons Ward.

All three NAP activists face between 15 and 21 months jail for their role in a peaceful invasion of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in May 2002. The trio are currently out on bail and face a hearing in the Northern Territory Supreme Court in June. It is highly likely that they will be imprisoned.

The Network Against Prohibition are hoping to use the election campaign to highlight the plight of illicit drug users in the Northern Territory, who are subject to daily human rights abuses. NAP was formed in March 2002 to campaign against the Northern Territory Government’s ‘drug house’ legislation. Since its formation, members of NAP have been charged with more than 100 criminal offences by the NT Police Service.

Lord Mayor in waiting Stuart Highway said “ none of us can be really free in this city while there is an innocent woman languishing in Berrimah prison. Her name is Margot Laughton, a 55 year-old indigenous woman, the first victim of the ‘drug house’ laws, and targeted maliciously by the racist NT Police State for the victimless ‘crime’ of selling Cannabis.”

“Margot is one of many NT residents who are currently incarcerated in Berrimah prison for victimless drug offences.”

Stuart Highway and the NAP team will launch their campaign to seize control of the Darwin City Council at their 17th Community Smoke-in for Human Rights to be held at 12 noon on Saturday the 8th May. Stuart will light a giant joint in protest against the NT government’s ‘drug house’ legislation.

For further information contact the NAP media facilitator on 0415 16 2525 or see http://www.napnt.org

Contact Information:

Lord Mayor in waiting – Stuart Highway (08) 8948 2547

Chan Ward – Robert Inder-Smith (08) 8985 6334

Lyons Ward – Gary Meyerhoff (08) 8942 0570

Campaign facilitator - Michael Lambe 0408 893 142

Future Darwin Mayor slam dunks drug prohibition

Stuart Highway, the Network Against Prohibition’s candidate for Lord Mayor of the City of Darwin has slam dunked drug prohibition during an interview on Territory Radio - 104.1 Top Fm.

Speaking yesterday to ex-Country Liberal Party Minister Daryl Manzie, Highway said that if elected as Lord Mayor he would approach the Northern Territory Government about the failure of their current zero tolerance drug policy.

Highway said “most of the drug related harm in the community is because of prohibition of those drugs rather than because of the drugs themselves.”

“The authorities spend so much time and resources and money trying to stop people ingesting substances which people want to ingest, people enjoy using drugs and ultimately it is their decision and the authorities, the State should not be interfering in people’s private lives, as long as those people are informed.”

The Network Against Prohibition will launch their campaign to seize control of the Darwin City Council at their 17th Community Smoke-in for Human Rights at 12 noon on Saturday the 8th of May in Darwin’s Raintree Park. The smoke-in, a regular drug law reform event, will feature live music, a free barbecue and the standard giant joint.

Darwin City Council have agreed to provide a permit for the event, despite threatening to withhold permits for future NAP events.

For more information contact the NAP team on 0415 16 2525 or see http://www.napnt.org

You can view the entire transcript of Highway’s interview at http://www.napnt.org/pages/vote1stuart.html