During the 12 years of Coalition domination at a federal level, there were a number of laws passed to supposedly make Australia a safer nation from the terrorists. Debate raged on a daily basis about whether our involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan made us a bigger target for terrorists. But since Rudd’s election this kind of debate has completely faded away. Other than the Australian Federal Police’s investigations into terrorist groups, there is no debate about our safety as a nation from terrorist attack, or whether the laws put in place actually provide ’safety’ for Australia’s citizens.
There seems to be a never-ending love affair with all things Rudd.
But the new Rudd ALP federal government supported the Coalition’s anti-terrorism laws. And they voted with the then Coalition government on all of the Bills put forward to Parliament, even the ones that undermined our basic human rights; even when the Democrats and the Greens appealed to their Labor colleagues to respect human rights.
However, as we move to reduce our troop commitment in the Iraq war disaster, we should also reconsider some the anti-terrorism laws introduced since 2001. Since 2001, Australia has introduced some of the world’s most severe anti-terror laws that actually give enforcement agencies significant powers to detain and arrest suspects with no rights to appeal. Anyone arrested under the anti-terror laws are not entitled to legal assistance, are not able to inform anyone of their detention, and can be detained for up to 14 days. And once they’ve been released are not allowed to discuss any aspect of their detention with anyone, especially the media.
How can we allow these kinds of laws to continue?
There will of course be those that give credibility to these types of law by saying law-abiding people have nothing to fear. But the reality is is that anyone, law abiding or not, can be arrested or detained by law enforcement agencies if they suspect you for any kind of ‘terrorist’ activities. There is no way that these laws are anything but unjust.
While there is no ongoing discussion about these laws they will continue to operate with little or no challenge from the ruling old parties.
Filed under: Rants & Raves | Tagged: ALP, anti-terror laws, Australian Greens, Coalition, Democrats, freedom of inquiry, freedom of speech, human rights, Parliament
