If no attack is imminent and Abbott says it is not, then why bother to make the announcement? asks Greg Barns. ...Politicians have a habit of raising fears of terrorist attacks on Australian soil when the evidence suggests that this is a case of rhetoric and reality not meeting eye to eye. ... the evidence presented to the court in that case suggested nothing of the sort. There was no planned terrorist attack by members of this group, just chatter and some bonding activities ... Nothing like panic and fear to trample liberties and freedoms. Remember the aftermath of 9/11 when the Coalition and ALP both supported appalling new laws that criminalised thought and word in the guise of offences such as support for a terrorist organisation? This time around Attorney-General George Brandis wants the Senate to pass laws that would see journalists and editors in jail for revealing illegal activities by ASIO and which would protect ASIO from scrutiny when it bugs phones of foreign leaders (as it did in Indonesia) or bugs the cabinet rooms of a neighbour (as in East Timor). Mr Brandis has also mooted draconian powers, such as cancelling passports of Australians travelling to Iraq and Syria if ASIO thinks they might be supporting ISIS in some way. One of the consequences of Abbotts scare politics will be increased harassment of Australians from the Middle East and of Muslims.... this is an area where politicians and some in the media dont mind gilding the lily. Greg Barns is a barrister and a spokesman for the Australian Lawyers Alliance.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 02:56:01 +0000
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