Print this Email this

New laws to terrorise Australians

8 December 2005, 08:08AM

The Australian Government's anti-terrorism legislation opens the door to the kind of tyranny that Amnesty International has documented in police states worldwide. The new laws allow Australians to be taken off the street and held without charge.

"This is the stuff of totalitarian regimes, where people are imprisoned without recourse to fair and proper legal processes to test what they are believed to have done," says Katie Wood, Amnesty International Australia's spokesperson.

"At serious risk are people's rights to the presumption of innocence because the government can now imprison people or put them under house arrest without sufficient evidence to charge them of any crime," says Katie Wood.

In rushing the legislation through parliament the government has blatantly ignored calls from human rights groups and the legal profession to remove preventative detention and control orders from the new laws to comply with criminal law and human rights obligations.

"Given revelations of the systematic use of torture in the so-called war on terror, questions must be raised about the quality of any intelligence being relied on in Australia for issuing these kinds of orders," says Katie Wood.

"Australians' fundamental rights are unprotected if an innocent person can be subjected to detention without charge or trial based on so-called intelligence that won't be tested in a court," she says.

The new laws allow the government to place a person under house arrest without charges being laid for up to 12 months, and there are provisions for the government to renew the house arrest for up to 10 years.

The government has also failed Australians by refusing to remove the controversial sedition provisions, which will restrict freedom of speech and stir up a culture of fear and self-censorship.

To arrange an interview with Katie Wood, Amnesty International Australia's spokesperson, contact Debra Maynard at Amnesty International Australia on 0407 299 007.

Make an impact

You can make a difference right now. Your action will help to shine the light of hope into people's lives across the world.

You can make a difference right now. Your action will help shine the light of hope into people's lives across the world.

Check out what 4880 people are doing right now to support human rights.

Act now

Stay Informed

Sign up for email updates

Get Involved

Two Columbian boys smiling and holding their arms out with their thumbs up - a sign of hope

Amnesty International relies on your support to continue our vital work protecting human rights. Please help us keep governments accountable, bring the guilty to justice, and save lives.

Donate