Our state politicians - those people who are supposed to keep us safe - have let us down badly. They are directly responsible for the death of two innocents who were killed when a Muslim fanatic took hostages at a Sydney cafe on Monday. They wrote the bail laws that allowed madmen like Sheik Haron to walk the streets of Sydney.
When it was all over, a petition with 40,000 signatures surfaced, calling for immediate changes but the government said we have to wait until the end of January 2015 before it takes affect.
Man Haron Manis 50, was born in Iran as Manteghi Bourjerdi and came to Australia in 1996 as a refugee. He wrote hate mail to relatives of fallen Australian soldiers who served in Afghanistan and was a serious sexual predator. He used taxpayer's money to try and get his conviction overturned and took it all the way to the High Court, but last Friday his appeal was denied.
Monis, who called himself Sheik Haron, was charged with helping his live-in girlfriend Amirah Droudis murder his ex-wife and set her body alight in a stairwell last year and two months ago, he was charged with over 40 sexual offences. So it's fair to say his past was finally catching up with him.
On 12 December 2013, Magistrate Darryl Pearce gave Haron and Amirah bail at Penrith Local Court. On 26 May 2014, bail was given by Magistrate Joan Baptie at Parramatta Local Court under the same bail conditions given by Magistrate Pearce.
All Monis had to do was surrender his passport, report to a police and promise not to go near witnesses in the upcoming murder trial. But even more bizarre - his girlfriend - charged with the actual murder, also got bail and is still walking around Sydney as free as a bird.
But will these new laws be tough enough? For serious offences, the onus will be on the accused to "show cause" why their detention is not justified. I don't see how this hollow statement will not be easily manipulated by clever lawyers.
"Islam is the religion of peace, that's why Muslims fight against the terrorism of America and its allies" Monis tweeted recently.
His facebook page, which was shut down during the siege, had 14,754 "likes" so there are plenty more still out there just like him.
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