Rotovia-
15-10-2005, 01:13
Law Society condemns anti-terror plans
Saturday Oct 15 08:58 AEST
The federal government has failed to provide adequate public consultation on proposed new anti-terrorism laws, the Law Council of NSW says.
The ACT government pre-empted the federal government when it released the draft legislation on its website.
The laws provide greater powers for the Australian Federal Police, including giving them the ability to lock up people thought to be involved or to have knowledge of a terrorist act.
The new laws would also result in the introduction of control orders and mean people can be forced to wear a tracking device and also have bans imposed on where they go, who they contact and even on the forms of communication - such as phones and the internet - they might use.
State and territory governments signed off on the tougher counter-terrorism laws last month.
The Law Society of NSW said the federal government's rush to pass the draft laws through parliament is a misuse of power.
"It's of grave concern that such important legislation which intrudes on individual rights is not given adequate time for public consultation and parliamentary debate," Law Society of NSW president John McIntyre said.
"The government's lip-service to basic parliamentary procedure means that potential flaws in the proposed counter-terrorism legislation are likely to go undetected and could be an unnecessary erosion of the fundamental principles of the rule of law."
Mr McIntyre called on NSW Premier Morris Iemma to join the Law Society in its call for extra time to carry out a more detailed assessment of the laws.
©AAP 2005
Original Article (http://http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=66824)
Saturday Oct 15 08:58 AEST
The federal government has failed to provide adequate public consultation on proposed new anti-terrorism laws, the Law Council of NSW says.
The ACT government pre-empted the federal government when it released the draft legislation on its website.
The laws provide greater powers for the Australian Federal Police, including giving them the ability to lock up people thought to be involved or to have knowledge of a terrorist act.
The new laws would also result in the introduction of control orders and mean people can be forced to wear a tracking device and also have bans imposed on where they go, who they contact and even on the forms of communication - such as phones and the internet - they might use.
State and territory governments signed off on the tougher counter-terrorism laws last month.
The Law Society of NSW said the federal government's rush to pass the draft laws through parliament is a misuse of power.
"It's of grave concern that such important legislation which intrudes on individual rights is not given adequate time for public consultation and parliamentary debate," Law Society of NSW president John McIntyre said.
"The government's lip-service to basic parliamentary procedure means that potential flaws in the proposed counter-terrorism legislation are likely to go undetected and could be an unnecessary erosion of the fundamental principles of the rule of law."
Mr McIntyre called on NSW Premier Morris Iemma to join the Law Society in its call for extra time to carry out a more detailed assessment of the laws.
©AAP 2005
Original Article (http://http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=66824)