History of New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties
New South Wales Council for Civil
Liberties: A Brief History
by Scott and Dot Campbell
The NSW Council for Civil Liberties (CCL),
established in the closing months of 1963, came into being in
response to a police raid on a Kings Cross party, a raid without
a warrant and carried out for no good reason. In so doing the
police unwittingly sowed the seeds of an organisation committed
to combat the abuse of power by authorities over the individual
– an independent watchdog, nipping at the heels of government
authorities. It quickly became an organisation whose activities
spread well beyond protest against police behaviour to almost
all aspects of bureaucratic, legal and legislative practices
that affect the civil liberties of citizens. As Justice Michael
Kirby of the High Court – once an active lawyer in the CCL –
once said, “councils for civil liberties must never become parts
of the establishment. Their role is to challenge, to criticise
and to help reform.”
The fledgling organisation rapidly expanded
its interests to matters relating to invasions of privacy, censorship
and to a whole range of individual freedoms which were seen
to be under threat. It was, for example, largely responsible
for the changes in censorship in the early seventies by campaigning
to gain entry for many books which were readily available in
the UK, US and many other countries but which were denied entry
into Australia. Sometimes the decision to censor was made by
officials who had read only the title. The book Fun in Bed was
banned, for example, even though a brief reading would have
revealed it to be about entertaining sick children. Once a book
had been printed in Australia, it was a different ball game,
so the CCL arranged to have several books printed here and the
dyke was broached. An era of paternalistic and bureaucratic
censorship effectively came to an end and while there were battles
still to be fought they were on new terms. Film censorship was
harder to fight and is ongoing but the CCL’s strong support
for new film classifications in the seventies contributed greatly
to today’s adults being able to see films they would not have
been allowed to see even as late as the 1980s. Nevertheless,
the war against censorship continues, particularly on the new
fronts presented by the Internet.
The 60s and 70s were stirring times, dominated
by demonstrations and protest. It was a time of reaction against
the conformity that had characterised the previous post World
War II decade. Vocal non-conformism among students, artists
and writers, the emergence of sexual liberalisation with the
production of the Pill; the vocal non-conformism of “The
Push”, and the feminist movement all troubled the establishment.
Clashes were inevitable, and many people were attracted to an
organisation which defended civil liberties. The founders
of the NSW CCL were socially aware lawyers, academics, the clergy
and politicians with a common concern for the rights of individuals,
their right to privacy and their right to freedom of expression,
association and action. Prominent among the founders was Ken
Buckley, Senior Lecturer in Economic History at the University
of Sydney and outspoken academic radical.
Demonstrations against the Vietnam War and
resistance to the conscription laws introduced by the Menzies
and later governments prompted suppression, violence and wrongful
arrests by police. A strong campaign was mounted by the CCL
to condemn such actions and to defend the protesters in court.
The Council made a point of not supporting the politics of the
protesters and conscientious objectors but of defending their
right to protest in a democratic society. It set up a network
of observers to witness police actions and provide evidence
in court hearings. The effect was immediate in a change in the
behaviour of police and a growth in the profile and reputation
of the CCL as a guardian of people’s rights. Recent clashes
between protesters and police in Melbourne and law changes to
permit the involvement of the military in civil disturbances
indicate that the battle for the right to protest is not yet
won.
The NSW CCL was not the first organisation
in Australia with such a mission but it has been the most enduring
by establishing and steadfastly maintaining a non-political,
non-religious and non-sectarian position on all issues,
championing the right of all to express their views and beliefs
without suppression. Since its beginnings the CCL has been prominent
in advocating law reform and has supported many causes.
It advocates the introduction of a Bill of Rights to entrench
human rights and liberties in the Australian Constitution; believes
that the abuse of drugs is primarily a health problem and that
public resources should reflect this policy. In particular the
CCL believes that the use of '‘soft'’ drugs such as marijuana
should be decriminalised; and believes that government responses
to rising crime rates should not be harsher penalties, more
gaols, surveillance and increased police powers while they ignore
the real causes of crime. The NSW CCL has been prominent in
championing the rights of prisoners, promoting feminist issues
and the rights of children as well as demanding police accountability.
The Council was in the vanguard of the campaign against the
introduction of the Australia Card in the eighties and continues
actively pushing for laws to protect individual privacy.
Probably the most successful early actions
of the CCL were those relating to Aborigines. They were, at
the time the CCL was formed – and still are – the most scrutinised,
victimised and judged community in Australia, subject frequently
to police persecution and vilification, principal victims of
unjust and repressive laws. In the year 2000 indigenous people
are the main victims of mandatory sentencing laws, and throughout
the country are the dominant group in prisons despite their
proportionally low population numbers. In the early 60s they
had no voice, few possessions and limited voting rights. There
was, therefore, good reason for the Council’s early interest
in their welfare. Their defence of Ken Brindle in 1964 with
a team of top lawyers was a landmark victory for the organisation.
In that year a young Aboriginal man was shot by a railway detective
on St Peter’s Station and died of his injury a few days later.
Ken Brindle, an Aboriginal community leader, became involved
when he sought an explanation of the shooting at Newtown police
station. He ended up being called a “cheeky black bastard”,
punched in the jaw and charged with using insulting words. With
the help of CCL lawyers acting on a voluntary basis, the
case was dismissed and in a subsequent hearing when Brindle
took action for assault against one of the policemen, he again
won with CCL support – a shock for the police and a victory
for the new champions of civil liberty.
As the Council’s reputation grew, it became
more and more involved in assisting people whose civil liberties
it considered were being disregarded, providing advice and often
direct legal representation. Most of these people fell
foul of such repressive laws as the Vagrancy Act, the Summary
Offences Act and the Crimes Act - acts which the CCL believed
disadvantaged the underprivileged, and which, through
its influence with politicians, the CCL sought to change – with
some success. The CCL assumed an unofficial ombudsman role until
such an office was established in each state and in the Commonwealth
after much pressure on government from civil liberties and other
organisations. The CCL soon made police and magistrates aware
that if they abuse a person’s civil liberties, arrest and charge
him/her for one of the many quasi-criminal offences in these
acts, it is not a foregone conclusion that the matter will go
undefended. The CCL’s function was something more than just
the winning of a case.
The role of lawyers in the Council for Civil
Liberties has always been of paramount importance and it has
always sought to attract lawyers with a conscience, particularly
those who had experienced the dishonesty of many police in court
and who were prepared to assume a pro bono role on behalf of
those unable to defend themselves. Well known solicitors and
barristers defended many who had been wrongfully arrested by
police. Prominent lawyers such as Michael Kirby, Jim Staples,
Bob St John, Caroline Simpson and many others gave their talents
freely to civil liberties cases. Many subsequently became judges
– state and federal, and have contributed significantly to the
legal scene.
The Council has had no position on partisan
issues such as conscription, logging of forests and uranium
mining but it strenuously and actively supports the rights of
those who demonstrate against them. It has remained free from
any party political affiliations, devoting all its energy to
issues of civil liberties. Many civil liberties issues which
were concerns of the sixties are still with us today. Racism,
while less overt, is still apparent; government classification
of what we see and read still exists and law and order issues
are dominated by penalties and increased powers for the police.
In the years ahead the CCL will continue as
a watchdog over legislature and the actions by authorities,
particularly as technological developments facilitate crime
control, affect youth street rights, but threaten our privacy
and freedoms with electronic surveillance, phone taps and smart
cards. These may all solve administrative problems or provide
for efficient administration, but have the potential to tell
others what we do, say and pay. Recent laws on DNA databanks
and their use open up new issues for concern by civil libertarians.
Access to justice remains largely the prerogative of the privileged
as legal aid becomes less accessible, and government protection
is being replaced by self-regulation. An efficient Council for
Civil Liberties ensures the defence of people, especially underprivileged
and minority groups, against the encroachments of bureaucracies
exceeding their roles, breaching civil liberties on the way.
It has a broad range of members who participate in many different
ways, depending on their time, interests and skills. The broader
its membership the greater its strength.
© 2001 Scott
& Dorothy Campbell All rights reserved
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