The NSW Council for Civil Liberties is gravely concerned that doctors, teachers and social workers employed in Australia’s immigration detention network could face jail for speaking out about their experiences.

With the Border Force Act 2015 coming into effect, employees working in various capacities face a two year sentence for recording or disclosing “protected information” they come into contact with as a result of their work.

As the Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians have noted, this restriction on free speech will prevent doctors from following their professional and ethical obligations to advocate on behalf of their patients.

“This legislation is particularly troubling given the history of poor care in immigration detention,” says NSWCCL President Stephen Blanks.

“It is telling that doctors who have worked in these centres at the highest level have previously decided to go public with their concerns. Systemic failures have led to gross human rights violations.

“These public disclosures have put pressure on governments to improve conditions in the centres.”

A steady flow of leaks to the media about sexual assaults in the Nauru detention centre eventually forced the Department of Immigration to order an independent review in October 2014. It found credible evidence of sexual assaults, which the government has now been forced to acknowledge and act upon.

“While forcing government action is one important outcome of such disclosures, it must also be remembered that the public has a right to know what is done in their name,” says Blanks.

Detention centres have always been places lacking in public scrutiny where civil liberties are overlooked. Successive governments have made sure to keep the people detained out of public view, hiding the trauma and lasting damage indefinite detention inflicts.

While the CCL notes the assurances that the new Border Force Act will not cancel out existing safeguards in the Public Interest Disclosure Act, we are unconvinced this legislation is sufficient. It sets too high a bar for whistleblowers, and circumscribes too tightly the situations in which they may share information with the public.

Furthermore, the existence of this legislation is a danger even before any doctor, teacher, or humanitarian worker is dragged before a court. Its mere existence is a threat to would-be whistleblowers, an attempt to intimidate Australian workers who see something wrong into staying quiet about it.

We know that this government has a particularly ugly tendency to target those who try to bring abuses in detention centres to the public’s attention, as seen by the unrelenting attacks on Australian Human Rights Commission President Gillian Triggs.

“Australia’s immigration detention network has been made a dark place,” says Stephen Blanks.

“With this new act, the government is trying to blot out the small rays of sunlight still getting in.”

If enacted, the Bill would amend the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth) (“the Act”) in an untested and radical way. It presents a significant threat to the separation of powers and the rule of law. Indeed, the Bill is founded on a significant reconceptualisation of the relationship between the State and the citizen.

View submission

NSWCCL committee member Lydia Shelly has expressed deep concerns following a consultation on the Government’s plans to remove Australian citizenship for citizens found guilty of terrorist related activities.

"As lawyers, mothers and Australian Muslims we are committed to the rule of law, civil liberties and social cohesion. We do not believe the proposed amendments to the Citizenship Act are necessary, proportionate or productive. Existing legislation gives the government many ways to tackle terrorism," Lydia argues in her article co-written with Mariam Veiszadeh.

Article: Scapegoating minorities may reap a bitter harvest

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

NSWCCL President Stephen Blanks recently appeared on ABC radio's PM program, condemning the Australian government's reluctance to admit Khaled Sharrouf's wife and children back into Australian society. He suggested that turning a cold shoulder toward vulnerable children, who have been exposed to traumatic events, may lead to further alienation.

"It's very important that we don't make these children the next generation of terrorists. We have to bring these children into our society and show them through our actions that they are part of our society and should be proud to be," Stephen said. 

Audio: Sydney's Muslim community reacts to news of Sharrouf/Elomar deaths

Source: ABC Radio

NSWCCL's Hannah Ryan recently spoke to FBi radio's Backchat program, expressing concerns over the Government’s Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill that passed the senate last week. It is feared that the vague wording of these laws may result in an "internet filter" and blanket bans on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).

"Our concern, from a civil liberties point of view, is that (the Government's Copyright Amendment) is a really disproportionate response (to internet piracy). The way that the legislation is phrased means that any overseas site, with the primary purpose of facilitating copyright infringement, might be blocked. Our concern is that this could lead to a lot of collateral damage," Hannah stated.

Audio: Hannah Ryan on this week’s new internet piracy laws (Link no longer available)

Source: FBi Radio

NSWCCL President Stephen Blanks has argued that the Abbott government is withholding more information from the public than previous administrations. He has suggested that its attempts to prevent the flow of information about key internal decisions and proceedings are more pervasive than the previous Coalition government and its more recent Labor predecessor.

He told the Saturday paper, “This government is building a multi-level approach to stifle the ability for people to know what is really going on. Hand in hand with being secretive is a set of other measures designed to stifle free speech and stop people speaking out.”

Article: Abbott government weakens FOI and public service disclosure

Source: The Saturday Paper, 20/06/2015

NSWCCL has warned that use of drones by law enforcement, including NSW Police, must have clear guidelines about how the information collected will be used, and who has access.

While acknowledging the benefits for criminal investigations, President Stephen Blanks drew attention to the 'grey area' around privacy issues in relation to drones, and that individuals who may be unrelated to investigations could have their images and activities captured by these kind of devices and stored. 

"There are obvious benefits for crime investigation as long as guidelines are in place which clearly say how the information is going to be used and how inappropriate access is going to be prevented," Stephen said.

Article: Drones may be future of law enforcement but will they compromise civilian privacy?

Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 17/06/2015

The proposal by NSW Police to have warrantless access to bank records is another example of the pervasive creep of law enforcement powers, NSWCCL President Stephen Blanks has told CNET, calling it "appalling". 

"One of the terrible aspects of the anti-terrorism laws that have been introduced is we just see them creeping and creeping into every other field of criminal investigation," Blanks said. "What was justified originally as extraordinary powers for investigating the very worse of crimes which threaten national security...[are now] to be used for financial matters and investigations of all kinds. 

"That is one of the great dangers of giving executive agencies extraordinary powers."

He also continued: "I think it's terrifying to think that law enforcement can have access to banking information, which can be hugely revealing, without any independent oversight. Traditionally, this is through the warrant system -- if police want access to information, they have to persuade a judge to give them permission.

"That's a very important safeguard to ensure that police are not making indiscriminate requests to access data and that they're having to promptly justify the requests which they do make."

Article: Critics shocked as NSW Police push for bank data access

Source: CNET, 17/06/2015

NSWCCL this week has written to Minister for Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion and the Prime Minister Tony Abbott calling for the Federal Government to continue its funding of the Custody Notification Service (CNS).

The CNS is a telephone hotline providing personal and legal advice to indigenous people taken into custody. Under NSW legislation it is compulsory for the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) to be notified if an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person is detained, and the CNS is the practical service that allows this to occur. Since its implementation, no indigenous deaths in custody have occurred in NSW/ACT.

CCL previously supported the campaign to 'Save the CNS' in 2013, and it is extremely disappointing that this essential notification service for indigenous people in custody is once again being threatened - particularly in the context of the recent report by Amnesty International that showed Australia incarcerates indigenous children at one of the highest rates in the developed world. It would reflect poorly on the Government's commitment to Closing the Gap and reversing the shameful over-representation of indigenous people in Australia's prisons if the CNS was to cease.

Letter to the Minister for Indigenous Affairs

See also: NSW ditches another protection for Indigenous people in custody, The Conversation, 10/06/2015 (Author: CCL member Eugene Schofield-Georgeson)

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties has condemned the secrecy surrounding negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement and the Trade In Services Agreement (TISA), and called on governments involved in the negotiations to release the full draft texts of the deals.

CCL President Stephen Blanks stated that “the draft agreements must be released immediately so that the Australian public can engage in a comprehensive debate about their proposals."

“The current generation of free trade agreements are being negotiated with a complete lack of democratic accountability, and have largely failed to consult non-corporate stakeholders,” Blanks said.

But for leaked drafts released by Wikileaks, the Australian and global public would have no knowledge of the contents of these two agreements.

Guardian Australia revealed on Tuesday that Australian politicians have been told that they can view the TPP text, but must sign a non-disclosure agreement before doing so. DFAT public servants involved in the TPP negotiations have also been made to sign non-disclosure agreements.

Some of the leaked proposals from the TPP, particularly investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clauses, as well as intellectual property and environmental regulatory changes, have provoked significant controversy in Australia and other countries involved in the negotiations.

The TISA documents, leaked on Thursday, show that the agreement would involve sweeping regulatory changes in the Australian finance, health, transport, telecommunications and e-commerce sectors.

Blanks said that the wide-reaching nature of the changes in the TPP and TISA made a rigorous public debate all the more important.

“We have serious concerns about the civil liberties implications of some of the specific measures in the TPP, like the potential criminalisation of copyright infringement,” he said.

"But the drastic nature of many of the measures, regardless of one's position on them, makes a thorough and transparent debate in the parliament and civil society absolutely crucial."

NSWCCL has condemned the Government's proposal to strip citizenship from Australians involved in terrorism as against the rule of law, and a particularly cynical attack on fundamental principles of the due process of law given the 800 year anniversary of the Magna Carta this month. 

President Stephen Blanks spoke to The Wire, claiming that by stripping either dual national or sole Australian citizens of their citizenship will subject those individuals to arbitrary detention "without any trial, without any evidence being presented to a court, without any judicial decision". He labelled this an "unacceptable and outrageous idea that should be rejected firmly by the community". 

The Sydney Morning Herald has revealed that Transport for NSW has provided both police and the Department of Immigration with the data from Opal cards in over 50 cases, including relating to proceedings of an offence, reasonable grounds of an offence, and missing persons.

The department also stated that it has denied requests in about 70% of instances. NSWCCL President Stephen Blanks warns that this suggests that police were attempting to abuse their access to Opal card information: "I'm concerned that police are not exercising the necessary degree of restraint in asking for personal information where it's not appropriate."

NSWCCL again called for warrants for access to Opal card data. "It's unsatisfactory that it's left to the Department of Transport to decide whether or not this personal information should be handed over," Stephen said. "That decision should be in the hands of a judge, or a person who issues a warrant."

Article: Opal card data surrendered to police and immigration authorities

Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 22/05/2015

See also:

No warrants needed to access Opal Card records, Sydney Morning Herald, 15/07/2014

NSW Council for Civil Liberties has joined with a number of other rights groups arguing that if Australia wants its opposition to the death penalty worldwide to be credible, it is important that Australian laws consistently reflect that opposition.

They spoke on the issuance of a blueprint for change entitled “Australian Government and the Death Penalty: A Way Forward”, which details four steps the government should take to build on the current momentum to end the death penalty.

NSWCCL joined with Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International (AI), the Human Rights Law Centre, Reprieve Australia, Australians Detained Abroad, Civil Liberties Australia and Uniting Justice Australia.

Article: Australian laws must reflect opposition to death penalty: Groups

Source: Jakarta Post, 21/05/2015

NSW Council for Civil Liberties has joined with a number of other human rights groups calling for an overhaul to the way the Australian government campaigns to end the death penalty, today launching a new strategy document: ‘Australian Government and the Death Penalty: A Way Forward’.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Human Rights Law Centre, Reprieve Australia, Australians Detained Abroad, NSW Council for Civil Liberties, Civil Liberties Australia and UnitingJustice Australia have joined forces to launch the blueprint.

National issues | 'Chilling' ASIO secrecy law | Taking CITIZENFOUR to Parliament House 

NSW issues | CCL defends free speech on Sydney Uni campus | The State of NSW | The NSW Police Lobby 

CCL News | Professor Gillian Triggs to speak at CCL Annual Dinner | CCL sponsors cryptoparty! | Action Group Profile: Free Speech, Privacy and Open Government

Download May 2015 Newsletter

NSWCCL President Stephen Blanks spoke to SBS News welcoming the 12-month trial of a smoking ban in Sydney's Martin Place. 

He did say, however, that it was important for the change to be introduced gradually. "It is very important that the enforcement of this ban is done in a sensitive way. It would be wrong for Council officers to be fining people in a heavy handed way." Stephen said.

Rangers will walk around Martin Place asking smokers to put their cigarettes out, and will not fine anyone at this stage. Smokers could face a $110 fine at the end of the trial.

If the trial is successful, it could be expanded to other areas such as the Pitt St Mall.

Video: SBS World News 11 May 6:30 - part 2 (The content we linked to is no longer available)

Source: SBS World News, 11/05/2015

NSWCCL recently made a submission to the NSW Sentencing Council’s Review of proposals relating to sentencing provisions for alcohol and drug fuelled violence. The review was initiated by proposals made from the Thomas Kelly Youth Foundation. 

The Attorney General has asked the Sentencing Council to examine issues raised by the section 21A of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999. NSWCCL's submission outlines a number of concerns relating to the proposed changes, including:

• There is no demonstrated need to introduce a mandatory aggravating factor where the offender was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. This should not be introduced since it would fetter the discretion of a sentencing judge, who can already take intoxication into account in sentencing, and the definition as proposed is unnecessarily broad. 
• The concept of vulnerability should not be expanded as proposed with a new definition. This is unnecessary as CCL considers that vulnerabilities as defined in the proposal are already covered under the Act. 
• In relation to any other sentencing measures that might be considered, CCL highlights that mandatory sentences for offences committed under the influence of alcohol already in place in the Northern Territory appear to have been unsuccessful in reducing their incidence.

Finally, NSWCCL urges the Government to provide a response to the recommendations made in the NSW Law Reform Commission 2013 Report on Sentencing given its relevance to the proposals in this review.

Read the full submission here. 

NSWCCL President Stephen Blanks has spoken to 7 News expressing concerns about how Apple and Google are tracking mobile phone users' every move and storing this information.

"I think we’re going to get to the stage where we will have consumer legislation that recognises those kind of terms as being unfair," Stephen said. 

Both Apple and Google track and store this data. Apple stated it uses it to provide personalised services. 

Video: Smart phone security explained The content we linked to is no longer available

Source: 7 News, 30/04/2015

This event was held on Wednesday 29 April.

Read President Stephen Blanks' address to the meeting, and also the related media. 

NSWCCL President Stephen Blanks will be speaking at this meeting at the University of Sydney. NSWCCL are participating in this event because of the importance of protecting free speech and the right to protest on university campuses - read more about our position in the media coverage of the event. 

On 11 March, students and human-rights activists interrupted a speaker at a campus talk. Now the students and a staff member, Jake Lynch, are facing disciplinary action that could see them suspended. NSWCCL is appalled at the use of the code of conduct to discipline staff and students in the context of legitimate protest.

Other speaks at the event include: Senator Lee Rhiannon (Australian Greens), Prof. Stuart Rees AM (Founder, Sydney Peace Foundation), Kyol Blakeney (President, USyd SRC), Michael Thomson (President, USyd NTEU), Fahad Ali (President, USyd Students for Justice in Palestine), Nick Riemer (English and Linguistics, USyd). 

More information and to RSVP please go to the Facebook event - Defend USyd civil liberties - staff and student meeting

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that over a hundred people attended the Staff and student meeting 'Defend USYD civil liberties' at the University of Sydney campus on Wednesday 29 April. NSWCCL President spoke at the event, defending the right of free expression on campus, and criticising the university's use of its Code of Conduct in disciplinary proceedings. 

NSW Council for Civil Liberties president Stephen Blanks told attendees, "Universities, which have been a hotbed of free speech for centuries, are threatening staff and students with disciplinary action for expressing themselves."

Article: Protest fallout: University of Sydney under fire for 'restricting free speech' Article no longer available. 

Source: Sydney Morning Herald, 30/04/2015

See also: Read the full speech made by NSWCCL President Stephen Blanks