Since the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States, the Australian Government has enacted laws that confer extraordinary powers upon government and their agencies. Such laws may be directed to protecting the community, but they undermine the very freedoms we are seeking to protect from terrorism. Thankfully, no similar act of mass violence has occurred in Australia, despite this, successive governments have expanded powers and increased resources associated with terrorism offences.
These counter-terror measures have, and continue to, reshape Australians' understanding of the proper limits to government power and minimum democratic protections. Over time the counter-terror laws have become normalised and often passed with bipartisan support, this has extended to undermine even the most basic rights, including the power to strip someone of their citizenship.
