On Tuesday 8th March, 2016, the Inclosed Lands, Crimes and Law Enforcement Legislation Amendment (Interference) Bill 2016 was proposed in the NSW Parliament. The aim of the bill is to "amend and clarify the laws in relation to unlawful interference with mining and other businesses", however concern has been expressed over the expansive powers given to the police, with some commentators referring to it as the 'Anti-Protest' Bill. 

The New Matilda reports that these proposed 'anti-protest laws' follow on from undertakings like those made by Premier Mike Baird at a mining industry dinner in late 2014, where he said his government would “crack down” on civil disobedience and “throw the book” at people who “unlawfully enter mining sites”.

In response to the media release of the proposed amendment, President of the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties, Stephen Blanks spoke to The New Matilda, and noted that what the state government is proposing appears to be “completely unnecessary and disproportionate” to the challenges thrown up by protests against big mining.

"If criminal activity does take place and miners or coal seam gas proponents suffer loss, then they’ve always got the ability to sue the protestors to claim damages. That should compensate them for whatever loss they’ve suffered. That’s a perfectly adequate remedy. It’s been pursued a number of times and there’s no reason to expose people to draconian fines in addition to claims for compensation,” he said.

“Where people are trespassing,” Blanks said, “the law concerning trespass is perfectly adequate to deal with any activity and there’s no need to change them.”

“Police powers which are based on their assessment of a person’s intention are very easily able to be abused and undoubtedly will be abused in many cases – police shouldn’t have those kinds of powers,” Blanks said.

With the full extent of the bill still uncertain, Blanks said that there’s a broader issue within that “police may be seen to be one-sidedly supporting mining interests where there is a legitimate protest going on, which is just going to cause the community to lose confidence in the police”.

He said that “the lessons of history are that very often protests which start this way generate a level of community attention to the issue which causes a complete change in community attitudes against the interests of miners and other commercial interests such as forestry”.

“Protest has on occasion involved civil disobedience and breaches of laws, and there are very, very many cases where the protestors – even though they’ve been engaged in illegal activities – have had widespread or overwhelming community support,” Blanks said.

Read More about this bill on our website:

Anti-protest Bill: community outrage grows

Government and conservative parties force through outrageous anti-protest law

A recent federal court prosecution over evidence to the Australian Crime Commission has revealed some of the practices that take place in its closed interrogations. It notes that the commission has the power to force people to give evidence against their friends and family in secret. This can later be used to help build criminal investigations.

The article in the The Guardian follows ZZ (pseudonym), who is just one of dozens of people being compelled to give evidence against their friends and family in relation to terrorism matters. His case is the latest in a string of people who are often described as “linked to” or “closely connected” to terrorism investigations – although they may have committed no offences themselves – brought before the commission or its state equivalent, the New South Wales Crime Commission.

“The Australian Crime Commission regime where they have very draconian powers to force people to give evidence is a great concern. These powers are now obviously being exercised frequently and regularly,” said Stephen Blanks, the president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties.

“There is almost no scrutiny or accountability with how the ACC works. And it is entirely possible that its activities are a significant factor in deterring people in the Australian community from cooperating with law enforcement agencies because of the fear that draconian powers will be used against them.”

Article: ‘A form of intimidation’: inside Australia’s most secretive law enforcement body

Source: The Guardian

A woman whose privacy was breached in a NSW hospital said current laws hampered her from taking action after a nurse took explicit photographs of her while she was undergoing surgery at Norwest Private Hospital in late 2014.

A New South Wales parliamentary inquiry has been examining whether legislation was needed to deal with serious invasions of privacy.

It has handed down seven recommendations, which include introducing laws that allow victims to take legal action if an individual has recklessly or intentionally breached their privacy.

Stephen Blanks from the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties said any legislation needed to include provisions to ensure that there were not undue restrictions on matters that were in the public interest.

"If there are overriding public interest considerations then they have to be allowed for," he said. "So I think that it's a very important element of any scheme that is brought in."

Article:Victim of NSW hospital privacy breach calls for change to Government legislation

Source: ABC News Online

A 20-year-old Australian who alleged he was tortured by a foreign intelligence agency was forced to undergo a coercive interrogation before the Australian Crime Commission and questioned more than five times by Australian Security Intelligence Organisation operatives.

The ACC can compel people to attend hearings in secret and force them to answer questions.

After refusing to answer a series of inquiries to the ACC’s satisfaction, ZZ was charged and found guilty of contempt by the federal court and imprisoned for a month until he agreed to answer questions.

The president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, Stephen Blanks, told Guardian Australia the “draconian powers” of the ACC were of great concern.

“There is almost no scrutiny or accountability with how the ACC works. And it is entirely possible that its activities are a significant factor in deterring people in the Australian community from cooperating with law enforcement agencies because of the fear that draconian powers will be used against them,” he said.

“We need to return to a system where people cannot be forced, against their will, to give evidence which incriminates themselves or their spouses, children or parents. The privilege against self-incrimination is a fundamental freedom. Any government concerned with fundamental freedoms would turn their attention to the operation of the ACC and reduce its powers.”

Article: Crime commission secretly interrogated Australian who was allegedly tortured by foreign agency

Source: The Guardian

The Australian Parliament is currently debating a Bill to reform the Senate electoral processes. It is very dismal listening: much abuse, much nonsense, and very little intelligent analysis.  And all happening in a last-minute dash.  

Not Parliament at its best.

NSWCCL supports immediate reform of the distorted and undemocratic Senate electoral processes. We have urged this since the 2013 elections so dramatically illustrated the undemocratic processes and outcomes of this broken system.  We have made a submission to the Joint Committee on Electoral Matters supporting a Bill which, if amended on one key matter, will deliver that reform.

Culture guru Tyler Brûlé has doubled-down on his previous criticism of Australia's "nanny state" laws, arguing they sacrifice the sort of freedoms that terrorist groups like Islamic State want us to forgo.

Speaking to Fairfax Media for the launch of a special Australia edition of his lifestyle magazine Monocle, the influential editor and critic said regulations such as Sydney's 1.30am lockout and tough liquor laws were "curbing fun" in a similar way to ISIS.

But the president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, Stephen Blanks, did not share Brûlé's degree of concern about nightlife. He said the style icon was focused on "entirely the wrong losses of freedoms" compared to the more serious issues of free speech and police overreach.

"It's not the thin edge of the wedge," Mr Blanks said. "The wedge is splitting up families and detaining people without charge, without reason, on national security grounds. That's scary.

"Having police come in to Paddington wine bars is bad and shouldn't happen, but it's not on the same scale."

Article:  'Nanny state' laws are what ISIS wants, says Tyler Brûlé

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

 COPS Database Forum: October 21st 2015

On October 21st 2015, the NSW Council for Civil Liberties in conjunction with the Law Society of New South Wales held a forum on the Computerised Operational Policing System (COPS) database.

The panel comprised  Jackson Rogers, the NSW Council for Civil Liberties’ Convenor – Justice, Police & Mental Health Action Group (Chair);  Camilla Pandolfini, Senior Solicitor at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre;  David Porter, Senior Solicitor at the Redfern Legal Centre;  and Chris Watson, barrister from Forbes Chambers.

The event was a great success, and discussion both within the panel and with the attending audience brought many issues to light about the functions and impacts of the COPS database including:

• Can a person access information held about them on the COPS Database?
• How do police make entries on the COPS database?
• Are COPS Database entries used in criminal trials?
• What about false entries in the Database? 
• Is the COPS Database just proactive policing, and is that not a good thing
• What would be an appropriate oversight mechanism? 

To read the full report and minutes of the event, please follow the links below. If you are interested in this forum, or others like it, subscribe to our newsletter for more information on upcoming events, become a supporter and tell us what you think, or join NSWCCL and help support the fight for civil liberties!

COPS Database Forum: Full Report

A Chinese-born, Australian passport holder, Zhao Nuo, has been prosecuted in China for the murder of his wife in Perth.

Zhao successfully managed to flee the country before police could prosecute and was then convicted in China. Zhao's conviction was hailed in Australian and Chinese media reports as a major breakthrough in cross-border law enforcement co-operation. But at what cost?

Article: China sentence for Perth murder sets dangerous cross-border precedent

Source: Australian Financial Review

The report by the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor –Roger Gyles QC - on the controversial section 35P provisions of the ASIO Act was tabled in the Senate on 2^nd February.   These provisions created draconian offences with penalties of 5 and 10 years imprisonment for disclosure by any person of any  information relating to ASIO ‘Special Intelligence Operations’ (SIO) at any time.  

NSWCCL, along with the other councils for civil liberties, strongly opposed both the SIO regime and these provisions for their chilling effect on the media and on reasonable scrutiny of ASIO.  The controversy around these offences forced the Prime Minister to ask the INSLM to review their impact on journalists.  

The report is thorough and suggests the INSLM gave proper and serious consideration to the informed criticisms of the SIO regime and the obnoxious disclosure offences.   His findings on the offences are consistent with our views. His recommendations remedy some of the worst aspects of the offences – but sadly fall short of repealing them.

The Government has said it will implement the INSLM’s recommendations in full. 

Daryush "Roosh" Valizadeh, founder of the self-styled men's advocacy group Return of Kings, a "neomasculinist" group, announced on Twitter on Monday evening that he had booked a ticket on a flight to Australia. The move appears to be in response to online outcry over news that Mr Valizadeh's supporters would host face-to-face "tribal meetings" in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane on Saturday. A representative of City of Sydney Council said the council "are making sure the police know about the meeting".

Solicitor Stephen Blanks, the President of the NSW Council of Civil Liberties, said there may be grounds for police to disrupt the meeting.

"If the organisers of the assembly don't give one week's notice to the police then the police may enforce the law about unlawful assembly and obstruction against the people who participate," Mr Blanks said.

"Defending the right of free speech involves providing opportunities to people to express opinions which society appals and rejects. The right to free speech does not include the right to advocate violence in any way that may encourage actual violence against women or anyone else.

"If this group is stepping over that boundary, they have no right to assembly."

Article:'Legal rape' group Return of Kings leader Daryush 'Roosh' Valizadeh announces he will come to Australia

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

The Advertiser revealed a staggering half of an entire Wagga work crew was walked offsite this week after testing positive to drugs. 

Despite the incident acting as a damning reminder of how entrenched the drug scourge is in Wagga, civil libertarians have dubbed the growing reality of compulsory work site drug testing as “ludicrous” and “farcical”. 

NSW Council for Civil Liberties president, Stephen Blanks, said a worker could return a positive reading days, weeks and even months after using, but that their ability to work may not be impaired.

“Employers have a responsibility to make sure the workplace is safe and machinery is operated safely, but drug testing is not a satisfactory way of ensuring that and can operate to the extreme prejudice of workers,” Mr Blanks said. “Detection of drugs in blood or saliva is not a real indication of impairment.”

Article: Drug testing 'undermines work ethic'

Source: The Daily Advertiser

National issues | 800 year anniversary of signing of Magna Carta |Counter-terrorism

NSW Issues | Police Oversight reform in NSW

CCL Issues | Submissions | Action Group Profile: Free Speech, Privacy and Open Government | Join an Action Group

Download December 2015 Newsletter

This Benchmark Television broadcast is with Dr Harry Melkonian who practises in New York, California and Australia with NSW Council for Civil Liberties President Stephen Blanks on USA and Australian gun laws.

Video: Dr Harry Melkonian and Stephen Blanks on Gun Control in USA and Australia (link no longer available)

Source: Benchmark TV

Thousands of protesters are expected to picket the streets of Newtown on December 12, blocking traffic as a “demonstration of the gridlock the WestConnex will cause” and to demand a “liveable city for all”.

The protest will double as a street party, with a ‘multi-stage mobile protest festival’ starring local bands and DJs filling the streets of Newtown.

“The common issue is that the State Government is more interested in looking after lobby groups that have given them money than the interests of the average citizen,” Mr Loch said. “Take the lockout laws, for example. We saw a bunch of property developers smashing up our old venues and putting in plans to build massive apartment blocks on them.”

Stephen Blanks, the president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, told City Hub that the lockout laws limited individual freedom.

“While the lockout laws represent a restriction of civil liberties, one can’t say there haven’t been corresponding benefits,” Mr Blank told City Hub.

“There are competing civil liberties involved in licensing laws: one is the ability to obtain services at licensed premises at whatever time of day suits you, versus the ability to walk the streets safely,” he said. “There are choices to be made about where to draw the line, and balance competing interests, and those should be regularly looked at.”

Article: Protestors fed up with ‘the wealthy always winning

Source: Alt Media 

Australia's parliament has passed legislation to strip dual nationals of their citizenship if they are convicted of terrorism offences or found to have fought with banned groups overseas, despite concerns about deporting jihadists.

Attorney-General George Brandis said the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Allegiance to Australia) Bill, passed late Thursday, updated existing law to reflect "the new age of terrorism".

Stephen Blanks, president of the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties, said Australia would be breaching its international obligations if it sent people back to countries where they faced torture.

"It's not going to have any real impact on solving the problem," he told AFP on Friday.

Article: Australia passes anti-terrorism law to strip citizenship

Source: AFP

Much-loved Australian music festival Strawberry Fields, which took place at Koonamoo in Victoria’s north over the weekend, made headlines earlier this week after police detected dozens of drug drivers heading to the festival. A Victoria Police media release claimed a total of 56 drivers were detected driving to the festival under the influence and a further 60 were caught in possession of drugs as part of a four-day joint operation.

Earlier this year, the NSWCCL came out against the rollout of random roadside drug tests in the state several months back, saying the strict liability offence was unfair to drivers as it depicts anyone with trace amounts of drugs in their system as ‘impaired’.

“Cannabis can hang around in your system for days, maybe even a few weeks, but not have any impact on your ability to drive,” said Blanks. “It is illegal to possess those drugs, but it’s never been illegal to take them. It’s a small point, but it’s worth taking in mind.”

Blanks said the absence of any threshold for drug use, such as the 0.05 BAC for alcohol, was one of the issues with roadside drug tests. “With alcohol, there is a threshold below which it is recognised that usage doesn’t impair ability to drive,” he said.

“With drug tests, there is absolute zero tolerance. The problem of drug driving are issues probably not best dealt with through random testing. Perhaps it should be other ways, like driver education or better laws around drug usage or possession.”

Article:WERE 56 PEOPLE REALLY DRIVING HIGH TO STRAWBERRY FIELDS?

Source: Tonedeaf Online Magazine

NSW police will have the power to shoot armed offenders in terrorist situations on sight under a new policy, but civil libertarians say independent review and high-level training are imperative.

The force is replacing its contain and negotiate policy, and critics are concerned about the lack of detail surrounding the policy, which hasn't been released for operational reasons.

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties says extensive training will be necessary if frontline police are to be given discretion.

"There are very high risks involved in a shoot at first sight approach and obviously a one size reaction won't fit all situations," vice-president Lesley Lynch told AAP.

"It would be important that any incident which led to the death or serious injury of a person was subject of an independent review."

Article: NSW police adopt 'shoot now' approach for terrorist attacks Or NSW police get 'shoot now' discretion (The content we linked to is no longer available);

Source(s): SBS/Sky News

The NSW Police Force illegally hacked the private Facebook account of a Sydney man in a move branded a reprehensible and  "criminal offence" by a magistrate.

After four months of illegal police surveillance on a closed Facebook page, Rhys Liam Halvey was arrested and charged with three counts of using a carriage service to offend police and a further three counts of publishing an indecent article. But all six charges have now been withdrawn and dismissed. In ordering costs against police, Magistrate Brown described the conduct as "reprehensible" and the charges as "trivial."

NSW Council of Civil Liberties president Stephen Blanks said public confidence in the police was being "undermined" by an inability to acknowledge the occasions when "it does the wrong thing."

"How deep in police culture is this willingness to break the law?" he asked. "Even after they have been caught out, it would appear no adverse consequences are going to be suffered by those responsible because the illegal actions are supported by police at the most senior level."

Article:Private Facebook posts illegally hacked by NSW police

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

The Australian Citizenship Amendment (Allegiance to Australia) Bill 2015 has not yet been approved by parliament. The debate on the Bill is scheduled to resume next week. As Labor has indicated it will support the  revised version of the Bill,  it is almost certainly going to be approved quickly and probably without amendment.

As this is such a significant issue,  the NSW, Victorian, Queensland and South Australian Councils for Civil Liberties and the Australian Council for Civil Liberties have issued a joint public statement making one last call on the Australian Parliament to abandon this misguided Bill. 

The NSW government last week announced a $47 million package to dispatch specialist teams and trained counsellors to schools across the state to help identify students at risk of "radicalisation" and help to counter violent extremism in youngsters.

But there are rumblings of discontent among parents who say they were not consulted before the new measures were announced. Parents are concerned they have been left out in the cold as the state government and schools plough ahead with plans to combat "violent extremism" among children.

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties warned that the whole suite of measures to target violent extremism could be derailed without parent involvement.

"It's pretty obvious that programs like this cannot work unless there's wide consultation over the way in which they are framed and the way in which they work," the council's president, Stephen Blanks, said.

"Once you have people who feel outside the program ... that they have not been consulted, that is what is going to undermine the program. I think families and parents are critical players in the fight against violent extremism."

Article:Parents left out in the cold over plans to combat 'violent extremism' in schools

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald