Scott Parkin

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Scott Parkin (b. 1969) is a US peace activist, history teacher, and a founding member of the Houston Global Awareness Collective. He has been vocal in his criticism of the American invasion of Iraq, and in particular the profiteering of Halliburton, with its close connections with Dick Cheney.

During a visit to Australia, ASIO requested an interview with Scott, which he declined after being advised that it was not compulsory. He was detained by Federal police on 10 September 2005 and kept in solitary confinement in a Victorian prison until he was forcibly deported on the September 15 on the grounds that he was "a threat to national security", although no further details have been given by ASIO either to Scott Parkin or the public. The Australian newspaper reported that sources alleged Scott Parkin may have intended to advocate techniques such as throwing marbles underneath police horses, but Scott denied he would ever encourage such behaviour. A subsequent report issued on December 6 (see below) by the Inspector-General or Intelligence Services said that these claims were "not a reliable guide to the ASIO assessment".

Despite the lack of details being provided by ASIO, it has been suggested that Scott Parkin may have been deported to test the Australian public's reaction to anti-terror laws being introduced around the same time as the deportation, a claim that has been denied by Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock. Australian newspaper The Age claims that techniques Scott Parkin was teaching in workshops while in Australia were what led to his deportation. The subsequent appeal process will test the powers of the Attorney-General under the National Security Information Act, which has been suggested as another possible motivation for his deportation.

Scott Parkin has not been charged with any offense. However, he has been charged almost AUD$11,700 for the cost of his detention, the flight back to the US for himself and two Australian Government escorts and their accommodation in Los Angeles for 4 nights (15th September - 19th September). He had not been charged for breaking any laws while in Australia. His visa was cancelled immediately by the Department of Immigration following advice of an adverse security assessment by ASIO, which led to his automatic detainment under the Migration Act, and subsequent deportation. Under the Migration Act, his detention was at his own expense, as was his removal. While the nature of the claims against him remain unknown, Parkin has defended himself, claiming to be a peaceful activist, not involved in violent activity, and not to have advocated the use of violence.

Scott Parkin’s barrister is Julian Burnside, QC. In an interview on Radio National, Burnside said it may be difficult to appeal the adverse security assessment, and showed concern for the degradation of due process and transparency:

The difficulty that confronts us, potentially, is that the Attorney-General has got power under the National Security Information Act to certify conclusively that revealing the contents of the report would adversely affect Australia’s national security interests. And if he certifies that, then any court hearing our challenge will have to hold a private hearing in which the court considers whether or not to allow the evidence to be produced in court. And in that process the statute directs the Judge to give primary weight to the conclusive certificate of the Attorney, which looks (and it’s never been tested) but it looks as though it gives him the chance to stymie the process of examining the basis for the report.

Parkin, a native of Houston, Texas, USA, participated in an anti-war profiteering protest outside Halliburton in Sydney on August 31, and was also reported to have attended the 2005 Forbes Global CEO Conference protest. On the day of his arrest, Scott Parkin was due to give a workshop titled: Bringing Down The Pillars - People power strategies against war and capitalism.

On October 31, 2005, the Director-General of ASIO, Paul O'Sullivan, acknowledged that Mr Parkin was not involved in any violent activity in Australia.

On December 6, 2005, the Attorney-General released a report by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Ian Carnell, detailing his investigation into the circumstances of Scott Parkin's deportation. That report claims that the deportation was in accordance with the law. However, the veracity of the report cannot be tested as the relevant facts were withheld from the published document on account of secrecy provisions.

The reasons for Parkin's deportation remain unknown.

In December 2005, lawyers acting for Parkin lodged a Federal Court challenge seeking to quash the adverse security assessment. Parkin's lawyers are also acting for two Iraqi refugees, Mohammed Sagar and Muhammad Faisal, who have been held in immigration detention for over five years after receiving adverse security assessments from ASIO.

In January 2006, Newsweek magazine reported that the Pentagon's Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA) agency had monitored and filed a report on a June 2004 protest organised by Parkin's group, Houston Global Awareness Collective.[1] According to Newsweek, CIFA filed a report on the protest in its database after ten members of Parkin's group distributed peanut butter sandwiches to employees at Halliburton's Houston headquarters, in protest at allegations that Halliburton overcharged for military food contracts in Iraq.

On 3 November, 2006, the Federal Court ruled that ASIO allow Parkin and his lawyers to access the adverse security assessment.[2]. On 28 Novemner, ASIO was granted leave to appeal to this decision after lawyers for the security agency argued that simply providing a list of documents relevant to the Parkin, Sagar and Faisel case would cause "irreparable harm" to Australia's national security.[3]