Launch of Be Informed: ASIO and anti-terrorism laws information kit

Congratulations to the UTS Community Law Centre for producing the kit, Be Informed: ASIO and anti-terrorism laws information kit..

How shameful that at the beginning of the 21st century basic human rights are being so seriously eroded in the name of fighting terrorism.

It will be fascinating to see how history treats this period of human endeavour. Hopefully future historians will assess this period as one of the biggest con jobs in human history - where in the name of fighting some great unknown evil human rights are dismantled, countries are invaded, people are locked up with no regard for their legal rights, and great suffering perpetuated.

In Australia Prime Minister Howard, and at times Premier Carr, fan the flame of fear and insecurity, creating an atmosphere that suggests terrorists are in our midst, that our laws are weak, that we should be frightened and worried, and that we need a strong government with tough laws to protect us.

Although today's focus is about federal laws as a NSW MP I wanted to share with you the unnecessary so-called anti-terrorism legislation that has gone through this Parliament.

Since the 9/11 attacks in 2001 the NSW Parliament has passed four anti-terrorist bills into law - the Bail Amendment (Terrorism) Bill, Crimes Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Bill, the Sydney Opera House Trust Amendment Bill and the Terrorism Police Powers Bill.

There is also a new regulation that creates a category of AA inmates who the authorities assert pose a special risk of inciting someone to be a terrorist.

The Greens MP voted against all these bills and moved a motion to disallow the regulation.

We have to consider why a state Labor government has introduced this legislation. We can only surmise but when you consider that the past three elections have been won by Carr running on a strong law an order agenda, and then consider how Carr and Brogden have slogged it out about Macquarie Fields, it should not be surprising.

I feel that Carr introduced these anti-terrorist laws as he did not want to be left behind as the Coalition pushes ahead with its scare-tactic agenda.

I will make some comments about one of these NSW anti-terrorism bills - the bail bill. It is a regressive law that breaks with important international standards.

The changes to the Bail Act mean that people charged with terrorism-related activities cannot get bail, I believe this breaches the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Australia is a signatory to this Covenant.

The Greens voted against this bill when it went through Parliament. It has traditionally been the responsibility of the judiciary to decide whether a person is a threat to society or not. The Greens believe that is how it should remain.

The Human Rights Committee, that is, the committee established by the UN treaty to aid interpretation and monitor implementation of the treaty, in its comment on this article, has interpreted this to mean that pre-trial detention should be an exception and as short as possible.

The United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights includes the following paragraph 5 in article 9:

Anyone who has been the victim of unlawful arrest or detention shall have an enforceable right to compensation.

That opens up the interesting possibility of compensation claims resulting from the NSW anti-terrorism bail law.

Lets remember at both a state and federal level prior to this spate of anti-terrorism laws there already was in place laws that give enormous powers to police and security forces.

Neither the state or federal governments have made an adequate case for the necessity for the new legislation

One day I do believe this war on terrorism madness will pass and these unnecessary laws will be repealed but to get to that point there needs to be a much wider understanding about the danger of these laws.

This kit is an essential tool in helping to educate the Australian community about the new ASIO laws and how they potentially affect all our rights.

People have to know that it is now a criminal offence not to answer ASIO questions and that a suspect can be detained for 7 days without charge.

We don't have a Guantanomo Bay but the laws that allow that hellhole are on par with what Howard has done with the ASIO anti-terrorism laws.

And if we don't speak out, don't produce kits like this, don't inform people of the dangers that flow from Howard's laws then we could have our Guantanomo Bay situation.

Howard and Ruddock are prepared to abuse people from overseas at Baxter. Abusing your own citizens is the next step.

I would like to congratulate Dale and his team on his work in putting this kit together. Now we all need to do our part in informing the public that this kit is available..

END

Congratulations to the UTS Community Law Centre for producing the kit, Be Informed: ASIO and anti-terrorism laws information kit..

How shameful that at the beginning of the 21st century basic human rights are being so seriously eroded in the name of fighting terrorism.

It will be fascinating to see how history treats this period of human endeavour. Hopefully future historians will assess this period as one of the biggest con jobs in human history - where in the name of fighting some great unknown evil human rights are dismantled, countries are invaded, people are locked up with no regard for their legal rights, and great suffering perpetuated.

In Australia Prime Minister Howard, and at times Premier Carr, fan the flame of fear and insecurity, creating an atmosphere that suggests terrorists are in our midst, that our laws are weak, that we should be frightened and worried, and that we need a strong government with tough laws to protect us.

Although today's focus is about federal laws as a NSW MP I wanted to share with you the unnecessary so-called anti-terrorism legislation that has gone through this Parliament.

Since the 9/11 attacks in 2001 the NSW Parliament has passed four anti-terrorist bills into law - the Bail Amendment (Terrorism) Bill, Crimes Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Bill, the Sydney Opera House Trust Amendment Bill and the Terrorism Police Powers Bill.

There is also a new regulation that creates a category of AA inmates who the authorities assert pose a special risk of inciting someone to be a terrorist.

The Greens MP voted against all these bills and moved a motion to disallow the regulation.

We have to consider why a state Labor government has introduced this legislation. We can only surmise but when you consider that the past three elections have been won by Carr running on a strong law an order agenda, and then consider how Carr and Brogden have slogged it out about Macquarie Fields, it should not be surprising.

I feel that Carr introduced these anti-terrorist laws as he did not want to be left behind as the Coalition pushes ahead with its scare-tactic agenda.

I will make some comments about one of these NSW anti-terrorism bills - the bail bill. It is a regressive law that breaks with important international standards.

The changes to the Bail Act mean that people charged with terrorism-related activities cannot get bail, I believe this breaches the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Australia is a signatory to this Covenant.

The Greens voted against this bill when it went through Parliament. It has traditionally been the responsibility of the judiciary to decide whether a person is a threat to society or not. The Greens believe that is how it should remain.

The Human Rights Committee, that is, the committee established by the UN treaty to aid interpretation and monitor implementation of the treaty, in its comment on this article, has interpreted this to mean that pre-trial detention should be an exception and as short as possible.

The United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights includes the following paragraph 5 in article 9:

Anyone who has been the victim of unlawful arrest or detention shall have an enforceable right to compensation.

That opens up the interesting possibility of compensation claims resulting from the NSW anti-terrorism bail law.

Lets remember at both a state and federal level prior to this spate of anti-terrorism laws there already was in place laws that give enormous powers to police and security forces.

Neither the state or federal governments have made an adequate case for the necessity for the new legislation

One day I do believe this war on terrorism madness will pass and these unnecessary laws will be repealed but to get to that point there needs to be a much wider understanding about the danger of these laws.

This kit is an essential tool in helping to educate the Australian community about the new ASIO laws and how they potentially affect all our rights.

People have to know that it is now a criminal offence not to answer ASIO questions and that a suspect can be detained for 7 days without charge.

We don't have a Guantanomo Bay but the laws that allow that hellhole are on par with what Howard has done with the ASIO anti-terrorism laws.

And if we don't speak out, don't produce kits like this, don't inform people of the dangers that flow from Howard's laws then we could have our Guantanomo Bay situation.

Howard and Ruddock are prepared to abuse people from overseas at Baxter. Abusing your own citizens is the next step.

I would like to congratulate Dale and his team on his work in putting this kit together. Now we all need to do our part in informing the public that this kit is available..