And where do you reckon Steve Fielding from (Soprano) Family First is likely headed on his holidays; to zoo visit /gawk at the asylum seekers on floating hulk detention centres perhaps... ah the liberal Dutch. yours in the barricaded attic etc. Anne Frankly

http://squat.net/

For the last three years a ban on squatting has been in preparation in Dutch politics. A new act that is to ban squatting in the Netherlands has passed through parliament on October 15th. Squatting empty houses that have been empty for over a year is currently still legal in the Netherlands.

The new act, an initiative by the Christian Democrats, the Christian Union and the conservative opposition party VVD, is to make squatting a felony punishable by at least one year and up to three years of prison when refusing to evict. Despite strong critique from the High Court, the union of city councils and even the Amsterdam police force, the christian/rightwing majority in The Hague is pushing this law through. http://www.indymedia.org/en/2009/10/930398.shtml