New Terror Laws Announced

On 8 September 2005, Australian Prime Minister John Howard announced proposed new terrorism laws. The legislation has not yet been made public. The PM and State Premiers approved the new laws at their 27 September meeting in Canberra.

The new laws will reduce civil liberties by:

increasing federal police powers to electronically track citizens, detain citizens for up to 14 days without charge, order journalists and others to hand over documents without a court order and to undertake random bag searches
allowing ASIO to spy on citizens for longer and to remove and retain items from citizen’s homes - making ASIO more closely resemble a secret police force than ever before.
making it a criminal offence to leave your baggage unattended at an airport
significantly broadening sedition laws without any reference to the likelihood of clear and imminent danger

Australia does not have a Bill of Rights to protects us from bad laws like the ones proposed by the Prime Minister. Without a Bill of Rights, our courts do not have the power to ensure that our privacy, freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom of religion, freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention, freedom from unnecessary search and seizure, and freedom from discrimination are all protected.

How can you help protect our civil liberties?

If you are concerned about these new terror laws & the fact that Australia does not have a Bill of Rights, then you can:

become a member of CCL and help stop this from happening
contact your federal member & let them know your concerns
contact your state senators & let them know your concerns

Want to know more?

The COAG meeting in Canberra on 27 September 2005 endorsed most of the PM's proposed laws. CCL believes that there is not enough accountability built into the process. Read the media release "Preventative Detention Threatens All Australians" (27 September 2005).

You can also read more in the media release "PM's New Counter-Terrorist Package: Recipe for a Police State" (9 September 2005).

Terrorism and Civil Liberties

There is no security without liberty.

In a recent speech to the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, High Court Justice Michael Kirby delivered an important reminder to all civil libertarians:

"Let there be no doubt that real terrorists are the enemies of civil liberties...

"Nevertheless...we must also recognise...the need to draw a distinction between 'terrorists' and those who are simply objecting to injustice as they see it. In his day, Mahatma Gandhi was certainly called a terrorist. So was Nelson Mandela...

"[We must also recognise] that, in responding to violent antagonists, democratic communities must do so in a way, as far as possible, consistent with the defence of civil liberties."

Full speech: "Terrorism: Keeping Calm" (2004) 197 Civil Liberty 8.

These sentiments echo important UN declarations after the terrorist attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001:

...all measures to counter terrorism must be in strict conformity with the relevant provisions of international law, including international human rights standards.

UN General Assembly, Human Rights and Terrorism (13 February 2002) A/RES/56/160.

States must ensure that any measure taken to combat terrorism comply with all their obligations under international law, and should adopt such measures in accordance with international law, in particular international human rights, refugee, and humanitarian law.

UNGA, Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism (22 March 2004) A/RES/58/187.
UN Security Council, Resolution 1456 (20 January 2003) S/RES/1456.

In this spirit, the NSW Council for Civil Liberties scrutinizes all counter-terrorism measures and legislation undertaken by Australian governments.

Since September 2001, CCL has actively sought to safeguard the civil liberties of all Australians from the heavy-handed counter-terrorist responses of governments. CCL has made many submissions to Parliaments and given testimony to several Senate hearings. For example,

CCL condemns Guantanamo Bay

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties has consistently condemned the unlawful detention without charge of hundreds of people, including minors, by the US military at Guantanamo Bay.

The Rule of Law is fundamental to our society. No one stands above the law - not the terrorist, not the government, not the military.

media release: "Government abandons Hicks to Kangaroo Court" (4 July 2003)

You can also read the Law Council of Australia's official report on the unfair trial process under which David Hicks will be tried.

Know your rights: ASIO, The Police and You

CCL has also worked in partnership with the Australian Muslim Civil Rights Network with their extremely successful publication of "ASIO, the Police and You".

The booklet was launched on Monday 26th July 2004 at NSW Parliament House by His Honour Mr Justice John Dowd of the NSW Supreme Court.

The booklet attempts to answer general questions about Australia's anti-terrorism legislation and how it affects citizens Australian. It is also intended to explain what to do if you are contacted by ASIO or the Australian Federal Police in regards to a terrorism offence.

Articles on Terrorism and Civil Liberties

Christopher Michaelson has written a series of articles about terrorism and the politics of fear. He has kindly allowed us to reproduce them here on this website:

Also of interest is Michaelson's article: "International Human Rights on Trial — The United Kingdom’s and Australia’s Legal Response to 9/11" (2003) 25(3) Sydney Law Review 275

This website has several other articles on terrorism and civil liberties. See also Civil Liberty, the official journal of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, for futher articles and opinion.

We also recommend that read Liberty Victoria's briefing paper on Terrorism and Human Rights (22 September 2005).