Submission to Migration Amendment (Removal of Mandatory Minimum Penalties) Bill 2012 - February 2012
NSWCCL supports the passage of the Migration Amendment (Removal of Mandatory Minimum Penalties) Bill 2012. In removing mandatory minimum sentencing provisions in relation to certain people smuggling offences, the Bill redresses a situation which has been incompatible with long held principles of justice which are the foundation of our system of jurisprudence.
An Open Letter to the Attorney General regarding adverse ASIO Security Assessments - January 2012
NSWCCL and Liberty Victoria have written an Open Letter to the Attorney General regarding adverse ASIO Security Assessments.
There are currently over 50 people in immigration detention in Australia who have been found to be refugees but have received adverse security assessments from the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).
Refugees who are adversely assessed by ASIO are not allowed to know the evidence or the reasoning which underpin the assessment. They have no right to know of or respond to any evidence or allegations taken into account against them
It is fundamental to our democratic system that a person should not face indefinite detention without being allowed to know why, and without the ability to challenge the factual basis and discretionary considerations which are said to support it.
Submission on issues paper: A Commonwealth Statutory Cause of Action for Serious Invasion of Privacy (Issues Paper) - November 2011
NSWCCL has made a Submission on issues paper: A Commonwealth Statutory Cause of Action for Serious Invasion of Privacy (Issues Paper)
The NSW Council for Civil Liberties (CCL) applauds the Government’s reactivation of the discussion on the obvious and pressing need for more effective protections for personal privacy in Australia.
The current Issues Paper is sensibly drawn from the findings of the three LRC reviews and largely directs our attention to the matters of detail that need to be resolved to allow legislation to be drafted and enacted. CCL agrees that this is the appropriate focus for what is hopefully the last round in the discussion of this important matter prior to Government action to bring forward appropriate legislation.
Submission on issues paper: A Commonwealth Statutory Cause of Action for Serious Invasion of Privacy (Issues Paper) - November 2011
The NSW Council for Civil Liberties (CCL) applauds the Government’s reactivation of the discussion on the obvious and pressing need for more effective protections for personal privacy in Australia. The current Issues Paper is sensibly drawn from the findings of the three LRC reviews and largely directs our attention to the matters of detail that need to be resolved to allow legislation to be drafted and enacted.
Submission in relation to the Inquiry into the Deterring People Smuggling Bill 2011 - November 2011
NSWCCL has made a submission in relation to the Inquiry into the Deterring People Smuggling Bill 2011.
We object to the attempt made in the bill to retroactively criminalise the behaviour of so- called people smugglers. People are entitled to certainty about what the law requires of them; but retrospective laws are arbitrary, and deny them that certainty. Imposing criminal sanctions on people for doing what was legal when they did it is necessarily unjust.
There also appears to be a discrepancy between the perception of assisting refugees to arrive by boat (of which safety is a concern), compared to by air (often considered ok).
Refugees are often fleeing persecution or undesirable circumstances and are subsequently highly motivated to 'move on'. Those who assist them should not be demonised on that account.
Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission concerning its Discussion Paper, released as part of its inquiry into the national classification scheme - November 2011
The purposes of classification have been to determine under what circumstances material may be read, seen or heard, and to give advice as to who should be allowed to experience it. Where classification is refused, the effect is censorship.
Submission on Australia’s Fifth Report under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) - November 2011
NSWCCL has made a submission on Australia’s Fifth Report under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT).
NSWCCL endorses the proposed actions contained in the CAT report, and additionally calls for special attention on the issues of the treatment of incarcerated persons with mental illness/cognitive impairment and the effects of long term immigration detention.
Submission on Australia’s Fifth Report under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) - November 2011
NSWCCL endorses the proposed actions contained in the CAT report, and additionally calls for special attention on the issues of the treatment of incarcerated persons with mental illness/cognitive impairment and the effects of long term immigration detention.
