Modern Australian Republicanism is predicated on the supremacy of the individual, and the government deriving their legitimacy to make laws from the consent of the people. The basis for this consent is void when individual rights are violated by the government. Rights exist for all individuals under the jurisdiction of the government's ability to make and execute laws - a right is not unique to a citizen, nor an individual from a majority - they are universal to all. Torture is a contravention of an individual's rights, and an individual's consent to the civil legal system; consequently it represents government tyranny. Torture is a vehicle of state oppression and intimidation. It has no place in an Australian Republic.
Torture
Torture is the affliction of severe physical or psychological pain for the purpose of intimidation, coercion or punishment. The
UN Convention Against Torture
describes torture as;
For the purposes of this Convention, torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.The conundrum with government in a liberal democracy is relinquishing the perfect freedom of the individual in a trade off for an ordered society. If all individuals are perfectly free, not only in their person and possessions, but also in their ability to inflict their arbitrary will on others, then it can lead to a chaotic society. The consistency in a society comes through the consent to the "rule of law". Individuals in a society, presumably consent to government in order to have their person and possessions free from the arbitrary will of others. To achieve this, government is granted a monopoly to create law and enforce it. Vigilante justice is frowned upon as it is the arbitrary creation, and enforcement of law. To ensure the consistency of the law, the enforcement and judgement are moved to separate arms of government, the police and judicial. This compact between government and people is done through an individual wilfully giving up their ability to impose their arbitrary will on another individual. While government is given a monopoly on coercion through legislation, it does not gain a monopoly on arbitrary legislation and enforcement. The government cannot impose their will arbitrarily, in the same manner that an individual cannot. If the government does, it has fallen into tyranny. With this step from the rule of law, the compact is broken and the individuals, whose consent gives the government legitimacy, do not need to follow the laws of the government any longer. With tyranny, the government is illegitimate. Inviolable Rights Modern Australian Republicanism contains in its doctrine the principle of inviolable rights. Inviolable rights, codified into a rule of law body of legislation, protect the individual from the tyranny of the state, and the arbitrary will of government. At its very core it is an individual being secure in their person and property. This includes freedom from torture by other individuals and the state. Any government which practices torture is practising tyranny. Australian Republicanism is about removing the capability of tyranny from government - that includes torture of anyone under the jurisdiction of the state. cam
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