News
October 18, 2005
Australians ought to know better than to exaggerate ASIO's powers under the Anti-Terrorism Bill 2005, the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, believes. Why ought they? It is because of the Government's unnecessarily underhand method of bringing the bill forward that they have every right to fear what it will do to civil liberties. Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
LINK: New terror laws spark privacy concerns Civil libertarians warn proposed new anti-terror laws could give police back door access to highly personal financial information and be a recipe for corruption. Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
LINK: Unease mounts over anti-terrorism laws MULTICULTURALISM is an ally, not an enemy, in the fight against terrorism, prominent Liberal Petro Georgiou has declared, as Muslim leaders warn that new laws could increase Australia's security risk by isolating their communities. Source: The Age
LINK: Aussie terror proposals to be refined CANBERRA, Australia, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Australian Prime Minister John Howard said proposed anti-terrorism legislation would likely be refined after criticism it could endanger civil liberties. Source: United Press International
October 17, 2005
LINK: Australia's new anti-terror laws raise widespread concern Australia's Prime Minister John Howard says the Federal Government's new anti-terror laws will go before parliament in two weeks. Source: The ABC
LINK: PM denies deceit in terror laws
LINK: Terror laws 'won't be watered down' PRIME Minister John Howard has said new counter-terrorism laws have not been watered down and denies his government is trying to introduce some measures by stealth. Source: News.com.au
LINK: Stanhope flags doubts on 'hasty' terrorism bill ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope says he may refuse to sign off on parts of the Federal Government's planned anti-terrorism laws. Source: The ABC
LINK: PM 'crashing through' anti-terror laws Australia's two territory leaders and members of the Government's own back bench are throwing tough new anti-terror laws into doubt. Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
LINK: PM won't water down terror laws Prime Minister John Howard insists the government will not water down its tough new anti-terror laws despite fears they could erode civil rights. Source: The Age
PRIME Minister John Howard says new counter-terrorism laws have not been watered down and denies the Government is trying to introduce some measures by stealth. Source: The Daily TelegraphLINK: Draft terrorism laws alarm Muslims The Australia Federation of Islamic Councils says it has been shocked by some of the measures in a draft of the Federal Government's proposed anti-terrorism laws. Source: The ABC
HOW far governments can and should go in their war on terror? As more and more desperate men turn to desperate measures to make their political point, governments around the world are increasingly faced with these inevitable questions Source: The Khaleej Times
LINK: Premiers back counter-terrorism laws The premiers of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania have backed the Federal Government's proposed counter-terrorism laws. Source: The ABC
LINK: Australia to soften anti-terror laws CANBERRA, Australia, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Australia's tough anti-terror laws will likely be softened following community backlash against provisions considered too extreme, The Australian reports. Source: United Press International
October 16, 2005
LINK: Police state fears over terrorism laws Australia is moving towards a police state with harsh anti-terrorism laws that could be pushed through Parliament too quickly, the Law Council says. Source: The Sun Herald
LINK: Libs waver on terror laws Growing fright on the Liberal Party backbench over tough new anti-terrorism legislation has forced the Government to reconsider extreme elements of the laws. Source: The Sun Herald
LINK: Boost for ASIO as PM battles terror law fallout A FIVE-YEAR plan to give ASIO a substantial boost in resources to fight "unknown threats" will be announced by the Federal Government today. Source: The Age
October 15, 2005
LINK: Stanhope defies federal government The confidential details of the federal government's proposed anti-terrorism laws have been made public - after ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope posted them on the internet. The draft paper is available by visiting Jon Stanhope's website. Source: nineMSN
LINK: Make Laws, Not War - A preview of the upcoming episode of Sunday, on Win Television, tomorrow at 9am. As Australia heads into a long hot summer, the threat of terrorism weighs heavily on the nation’s consciousness. John Howard and his security heads convinced all the premiers and chief ministers that tough new laws were necessary. Source: nineMSN
October 13, 2005
Anti-terrorist laws are undermining the foundations of our democracy, writes Alastair Nicholson. Source: The Age
October 12, 2005
LINK: Australia: Anti-Terrorism Proposal Threatens Civil Liberties New counterterrorism measures proposed by Prime Minister John Howard severely threaten Australians' civil liberties and violate international law, Human Rights Watch said today. Source: Reuters AlertNet
LINK: Ex-judge derides tough steps in misnamed 'war' on terror Safeguards in the Government's proposed security legislation are laughable, according to a former chief justice of the Family Court, Alastair Nicholson. Source: The Age
October 11, 2005
LINK: Anti-terrorism bill splits politics The Federal and NSW governments are battling backbench concerns about the details of legislation being drawn up to combat terrorism. Source: The Sun Herald
October 8, 2005
LINK: Cracks in Muslim endorsement of anti-terror laws AUDIO: Cracks in Muslim endorsement of anti-terror laws This is a transcript from AM, reported by Karen Barlow. The program was broadcast around Australia at 08:00 on ABC Local Radio. Source: The ABC
LINK: Laws designed to shut us up Source: The Border Mail
October 6, 2005
LINK: Australia gets tough on terror Tough new laws enforcing preventive detention of suspected terrorists will soon drastically change the laid-back response that Australia has so far allowed to the growing world threat of terrorism. But even before new laws start, the wails of protests from civil-liberty groups are deafening. Source: The Japan Times
LINK: Australia: Labor premiers join hands with Howard at "anti-terror" summit In an extraordinary display of bipartisan unity, the premiers and chief ministers of the eight Australian states and territories—all Labor Party representatives—joined Prime Minister John Howard in adopting measures of a police-state character at a Council of Australian Governments “counter-terrorism” summit on September 27. Source: Asian Tribune
LINK: Labor supports human rights bill call Terrorism and the consequent beefing up of powers for Australian law enforcement agencies make the need for a national human rights bill more necessary than ever, Labor has said. Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
October 5, 2005
LINK: Spy agency oversight toughened Measures that the government says will ensure Australia's intelligence agencies are held to account have been passed by the Senate. Source: The Age
October 4, 2005 LINK: Stop the war on civil liberties! Prime Minister John Howard is using the “war on terror” to promote widespread fear about “terrorists” and “terrorism” in Australia. Source: Socialist-Alliance
LINK: 'Sacrificing liberties makes us no safer'
October 3, 2005
LINK: Terror laws motivated by hysteria: civil liberties groups AUDIO: Terror laws motivated by hysteria: civil liberties groups This is a transcript from The World Today. Daniel Hoare interviews John Howard, Steve Bracks, and Brian Walters on the possibility of a sunset clause, and the result of introducing the proposed new terror laws. The program was broadcast around Australia at 12:10pm on ABC Local Radio. Source: The ABC
LINK: NY civil liberties group tackles Army recruiters The New York Civil Liberties Union launched a campaign on Thursday to help high school students remove their names from lists given to the U.S. military in an effort aimed at ending what the group called aggressive and abusive tactics to recruit for the Iraq war. Source: AlertNet
LINK: States confident civil liberties safe State and territory leaders say they are confident of achieving tougher anti-terrorism laws without compromising civil liberties. Source: The Advertiser
LINK: Civil liberties group fears anti-terror laws 'silencing' The Tasmanian Council of Civil Liberties is warning the Federal Government's new anti-terrorism laws could be used to silence environmentalists and trade unionists. Source: The ABC
LINK: Foreknowledge of the Bali Terror Bombings? According to reliable Indonesian & Australian reports Source: GlobalResearch
Ben Haywood analyses Australia's anti-terrorism laws. Source: The Age
LINK: Relations never better, risks never greater THE latest Bali atrocity hasn't caused as much carnage as the 2002 attack but the messages — reinforced by all that has gone before — are even stronger. Source: The Age
October 2, 2005
LINK: (Transcript) Anti-terrorism summit 'timely' Political commentator with the Australian Paul Kelly says although the latest bombings happened in Bali, they will no doubt reinforce community support for tougher anti-terrorism laws. Source: Insiders
LINK: TOUGH TIMES: New laws to combat terror strke in Australia
LINK: The war on tyranny starts now Did you notice in all the hoo-ha about anti-terror laws last week that two state premiers have promised to go further than the Federal Government in combating terrorism? You may have thought that Philip Ruddock and the Man of Steel were world champions at depriving us of our liberties in the name of public safety but premiers Mike Rann, of South Australia, and Geoff Gallop, of Western Australia, were not about to be upstaged. Source: The Age
October 1, 2005
LINK: It's the threat that serves well to explain our fear THE Prime Minister is correct when he claims his proposed anti-terrorism measures will have the "overwhelming support" of the Australian community. What's interesting is where that support springs from and what it reveals about us. Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
LINK: They know where you live Is terrorism being exaggerated to justify new powers? Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
LINK: Backing resistance no crime: PM's man Australians should be able to support the armed resistance against foreign forces in Iraq - including Australian soldiers - without being thrown in jail, a leading member of the Federal Government's Muslim advisory body said yesterday. Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
LINK: Battle to be the daddy of them all Some American political commentary sorts political parties into two basic personality types - Mummy parties and Daddy parties. Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
LINK: Perils of protest in the new age Writs and new laws are making it harder for activists to speak out without consequences.
LINK: Rights versus wrongs
September 30, 2005
LINK: Civil libertarians have rights: PM CIVIL libertarians had a right to express their point of view, misguided as some of them might be, Prime Minister John Howard said today. Source: news.com.au
LINK: Terror laws 'could impede research' Proposed anti-terrorism laws would unnecessarily erode civil rights, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) warned. Source: news.com.au
September 29, 2005
LINK: Tougher terror laws may be considered FEDERAL Attorney-General Philip Ruddock has left open the possibility of toughening Australia's new anti-terrorism laws by extending the period for which suspects can be detained without charge. Source: The Age
September 28, 2005
PDF: See Documents of Interest for a transcript of The Australian Government's press release regarding John Howard's joint press conference on the subject of the new counter-terrorism laws.
LINK: Hot reception for counter-terrorist package Source: The Age
LINK: Civil libertarians appalled by anti-terrorism regime AUDIO: Civil libertarians appalled by anti-terrorism regime This is a transcript from AM, reported by Alexandra Kirk. The program was broadcast around Australia at 08:00 on ABC Local Radio. Source: The ABC
LINK: Howard Says Terror Risks Real Source: The Mercury
September 27, 2005
LINK: Transcript of Nadia Gilmore reporting from Lateline Presents the views of John Howard, John Stanhope, Dr Ameer Ali, Terry O'Gorman and others, on the new counter-terrorism laws. Source: The ABC
John Howard, Steve Bracks, Morris Iemma and Peter Beattie claim that the new powers employed to fight terrorism are justified.
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