We should be concerned

A speech by former Chief Justice Sir Gerard Brennan yesterday caught my attention for all the right reasons.
He spoke about two main issues that have always irked me - the death penalty and the rule of law in the context of the current terror laws.
He criticised both sides of Parliament for their stance on capital punishment in overseas countries - how can people campaign to free Australian citizens from the death penalty yet say it's okay for the Bali Bombers to die?
Yes it's a contentious issue, and Labor's foreign affairs spokesman nearly suffered for speaking his mind about the issue recently. And yes the two cases are very different in terms of the crimes committed.
But he's right.
You can't have it both ways - if Australian citizens do not deserve to die, then no one else does either. You're either against capital punishment or you're for it. Both parties need to stop pandering to how they think the masses will react.

Another point Sir Brennan raised was that of the anti-terror laws and the powers that Federal authorities now have to hold people without charge.
He likened it to that famous quote from Nazi Germany:

"They came first for the communists, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a communist.
"Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Jew.
"Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. "Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
"Then they came for me, and by that time, no-one was left to speak up."

The man has a point.