Increased ASIO powers and terrorism

Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock has introduced a new anti-terrorism Bill into Parliament. The Senate has referred the Bill to the Legal & Constitutional Legislation Committee, which has called for public submissions.

The Anti-Terrorism Bill will:

• extend the time a suspect can be held before being charged from 8 hours to 24 hours
• recognise in Australian law the US President's Executive Order setting up the military commission to try the non-US detainees in Guantanamo Bay, like Mamdouh Habib and David Hicks

You can read more about the Anti-Terrorism Bill 2004 on the Parliamentary website. You can also read the Committee's final report on the Bill, in which they rejected the idea of recognising US President Bush's Executive Order.

What YOU can do

The Senate Legal & Constitutional Legislation Committee has called for public comment on the Bill. Deadline for submissions is 19 April 2004.

If you want to protect civil liberties, you should write to the inquiry. Your submission need be no more than a few lines explaining why you think the Bill infringes on civil liberties. You should also talk to or email your local member of the House of Representatives or the Senate to register your opinions.

Other Recent News

Sydney (25 March 2004): The federal Attorney-General continues to float the idea of increased powers for ASIO. Most recently Mr Ruddock has drawn upon a recent discussion paper from the UK Home Office entitled "Counter-terrorism Powers: Reconciling Security and Liberty in an Open Society". (779kb)

London (18 March 2004): In the UK, the Lord Chief Justice of England has delivered a spirited defence of liberty and the rule of law in the face of increasingly repressive measures in the UK. You can read his comments in the English Court of Appeal case of Secretary of State for the Home Department v M [2004] EWCA Civ 324 (18 March 2004).