Australian anti-terrorism legislation, 2004
Encyclopedia
Three anti-terrorism
bills were enacted in the Australian Parliament in 2004 by a Coalition government
with the Labor opposition's
support. These were the Anti-terrorism bill, 2004, the Anti-terrorism bill (No 2), 2004 and the Anti-terrorism bill (No 3), 2004.
, introduced the Anti-terrorism bill, 2004 on 31 March. He described it as "a bill to strengthen Australia's counter-terrorism
laws in a number of respects - a task made more urgent following the recent tragic terrorist bombings in Spain." He said that Australia's counter-terrorism laws "require review and, where necessary, updating if we are to have a legal framework capable of safeguarding all Australians from the scourge of terrorism."
The provisions of this bill were:
Ruddock said that the government recognised the need to "ensure that appropriate safeguards are put in place to maintain the balance between security and individual rights and freedom." Existing safeguards in part 1C of the Crimes Act continue to apply to terrorist suspects being investigated in accordance with the Crimes Act regime. These safeguards include:
The bill amended the Crimes (Foreign Incursions and Recruitment) Act to make it an offence for a person to commit hostile activities while serving in any capacity in or with the armed forces of a foreign state.
The bill also amended the Criminal Code to make it an offence for a person to be a member of an organisation found by a court to be a terrorist organisation, and gave the government the power to prescribe organisations for the purposes of the act. A further amendment to section 102.5 of the Criminal Code introduced new offences of providing training to or receiving training from a terrorist organisation.
Finally, the bill amended the Proceeds of Crime Act to extend the operation of the Act to foreign indictable offences beyond proceeds derived in Australia, to also cover proceeds that have been derived elsewhere and then subsequently transferred to Australia. The bill defined "foreign indictable offence" will include an offence triable by a military commission of the United States
under a specified military order.
The bill was referred to the Senate
Legal and Constitutional Committee, which recommended some amendments to strengthen safeguards in the bill. The opposition Australian Labor Party
then indicated that it would support the bill if it were amended in accordance with the Committee's recommendations.
The bill was passed by the House of Representatives
without opposition on 13 May. In the Senate the government accepted most, but not all, of the Committee's amendments. The bill was eventually passed by the Senate with the support of the Opposition on 24 June. The Australian Democrats
, the Australian Greens
and independent Senator Meg Lees
opposed the bill in the Senate.
"Under the new offence," Ruddock said, "what must be proved is that the person communicates or meets directors, members or promoters of a listed terrorist organisation and in doing so provides support intended to assist the expansion or continued existence of the organisation."
The bill was supported by the Opposition and was passed by the House of Representatives on 24 June without opposition. The bill has been referred to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee and will be debated in the Senate when the Committee has reported.
and the Australian Greens
opposed the bills on the grounds that they unacceptably abridged the rights of persons and organisations. Some civil liberties organisations also opposed all or parts of the bills. The Castan Centre for Human Rights Law
at Monash University
said: "No evidence is offered to support this claim that the investigation of terrorist offences is sufficiently complex as to warrant a doubling of the total permitted time of detention from 12 to 24 hours. Indeed, given the breadth of the definition of 'terrorism offences', it is difficult to see how such evidence could be produced. The potential subject matters of investigation are simply too varied."
The New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties said: "The Council is in general concerned about any extension of the power to detain people as proposed by this bill." The Civil Rights Network said: "We are concerned that this proposal does not seem to have arisen from any real, practical difficulty which has been experienced. Further, there has been a complete absence of debate as to the reasons for and necessity of this amendment. When changes to Australia's legal system which have the potential to severely impact on individual's liberty and rights are proposed it is fundamentally important that the community is properly consulted and informed before our elected representatives act."
The Law Council of Australia
also expressed concerns about some aspects of the bills. "The Law Council is not convinced of the need for this legislation," the Council's submission to the Senate inquiry said. "Indeed in our submission the new laws have the potential to operate harshly and will unfairly target members of minority groups, especially those of the Islamic faith
."
Anti-terrorism legislation
Anti-terrorism legislation designs various types of laws passed in the aim of fighting terrorism. They usually, if not always, follow specific bombings or assassinations...
bills were enacted in the Australian Parliament in 2004 by a Coalition government
Coalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
with the Labor opposition's
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
support. These were the Anti-terrorism bill, 2004, the Anti-terrorism bill (No 2), 2004 and the Anti-terrorism bill (No 3), 2004.
Anti-terrorism bill, 2004
The Attorney-General, Philip RuddockPhilip Ruddock
Philip Maxwell Ruddock is an Australian politician who is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the Division of Berowra, New South Wales, for the Liberal Party of Australia...
, introduced the Anti-terrorism bill, 2004 on 31 March. He described it as "a bill to strengthen Australia's counter-terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
laws in a number of respects - a task made more urgent following the recent tragic terrorist bombings in Spain." He said that Australia's counter-terrorism laws "require review and, where necessary, updating if we are to have a legal framework capable of safeguarding all Australians from the scourge of terrorism."
The provisions of this bill were:
- To extend the fixed investigation period (that is, the period for which a suspect can be questioned before being either charged or released) under part 1C of the Crimes Act for investigations into suspected terrorism offences, from four hours to 24 hours. Any such extension would have to be authorised by a magistrate or other judicial officer.
- To permit law enforcement agencies to reasonably suspend or delay questioning of a person suspected of committing a terrorism offence to make overseas inquiries to obtain information relevant to that terrorism investigation.
Ruddock said that the government recognised the need to "ensure that appropriate safeguards are put in place to maintain the balance between security and individual rights and freedom." Existing safeguards in part 1C of the Crimes Act continue to apply to terrorist suspects being investigated in accordance with the Crimes Act regime. These safeguards include:
- A suspect's right to communicate with a legal practitioner, friend or relative, an interpreter or a consular office
- A suspect's right to remain silent
- Requiring the tape recording of any admissions or confessions made by a suspect as a pre-condition for admissible evidence, and
- A suspect's right to a copy of recorded interviews.
The bill amended the Crimes (Foreign Incursions and Recruitment) Act to make it an offence for a person to commit hostile activities while serving in any capacity in or with the armed forces of a foreign state.
The bill also amended the Criminal Code to make it an offence for a person to be a member of an organisation found by a court to be a terrorist organisation, and gave the government the power to prescribe organisations for the purposes of the act. A further amendment to section 102.5 of the Criminal Code introduced new offences of providing training to or receiving training from a terrorist organisation.
Finally, the bill amended the Proceeds of Crime Act to extend the operation of the Act to foreign indictable offences beyond proceeds derived in Australia, to also cover proceeds that have been derived elsewhere and then subsequently transferred to Australia. The bill defined "foreign indictable offence" will include an offence triable by a military commission of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
under a specified military order.
The bill was referred to the Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
Legal and Constitutional Committee, which recommended some amendments to strengthen safeguards in the bill. The opposition Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
then indicated that it would support the bill if it were amended in accordance with the Committee's recommendations.
The bill was passed by the House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
without opposition on 13 May. In the Senate the government accepted most, but not all, of the Committee's amendments. The bill was eventually passed by the Senate with the support of the Opposition on 24 June. The Australian Democrats
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
, the Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
and independent Senator Meg Lees
Meg Lees
Meg Heather Lees was a member of the Australian Senate from 1990 to 2005, representing the state of South Australia. She represented the Australian Democrats from 1990 to 2002, and was an independent senator between 2002 and 2005, adopting the party designation Australian Progressive Alliance from...
opposed the bill in the Senate.
Anti-terrorism bill (No 2), 2004
Ruddock introduced the Anti-terrorism bill (No 2), 2004 on 17 June. This bill amended a number of pieces of legislation to bring them into conformity with the Anti-Terrorism Act described above.- The bill amended the Criminal Code under the Crimes Act to make it an offence to "intentionally associate with a person who is a member or who promotes or directs the activities of a listed terrorist organisation where that association provides support that would help the terrorist organisation to continue to exist or to expand." Current list of terrorist organisations.
"Under the new offence," Ruddock said, "what must be proved is that the person communicates or meets directors, members or promoters of a listed terrorist organisation and in doing so provides support intended to assist the expansion or continued existence of the organisation."
- The bill amended the forensic procedure laws in part 1D of the Crimes Act to ensure that if a terrorist attack or other mass-casualty disaster were to occur within Australia forensic services from all jurisdictions in Australia would be able to work together, using the national DNADNADeoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
database system, to identify the victims of the disaster and conduct a criminal investigation. - The bill amended the Passports Act to give Australian authorities such as the Australian Federal PoliceAustralian Federal PoliceThe Australian Federal Police is the federal police agency of the Commonwealth of Australia. Although the AFP was created by the amalgamation in 1979 of three Commonwealth law enforcement agencies, it traces its history from Commonwealth law enforcement agencies dating back to the federation of...
or the Australian Security Intelligence OrganisationAustralian Security Intelligence OrganisationThe Australian Security Intelligence Organisation is Australia's national security service, which is responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, acts of foreign interference, politically-motivated violence, attacks on the Australian defence system, and...
(ASIO) the power to request an order for the surrender of a person's foreign passport. - The bill amended the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act to give ASIO the power to demand a person surrender their Australian and foreign passports if the person is subject to a request for consent to apply for a questioning warrant.
- The bill also amends the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 to make decisions of the Attorney-General on security grounds exempt from the application of the act.
Anti-terrorism bill (No 3), 2004
Ruddock introduced the Anti-terrorism bill (No 3), 2004 on 24 June. It reintroduced the provisions of the Anti-terrorism bill (No 2), 2004, relating to the amendment of Part 1D of the Crimes Act, the Passports Act and Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act (described above), which had been separated from that bill at the request of the Opposition to allow a speedy passage of these non-controversial sections of the bill.The bill was supported by the Opposition and was passed by the House of Representatives on 24 June without opposition. The bill has been referred to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee and will be debated in the Senate when the Committee has reported.
Criticisms of the legislation
The Australian DemocratsAustralian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
and the Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
opposed the bills on the grounds that they unacceptably abridged the rights of persons and organisations. Some civil liberties organisations also opposed all or parts of the bills. The Castan Centre for Human Rights Law
Castan Centre for Human Rights Law
The Castan Centre for Human Rights Law is a research centre located within the Monash University Law Faculty in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 2000 to meet the need for, and interest in, the study of human rights law globally, regionally and in Australia. It grew rapidly to become the...
at Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
said: "No evidence is offered to support this claim that the investigation of terrorist offences is sufficiently complex as to warrant a doubling of the total permitted time of detention from 12 to 24 hours. Indeed, given the breadth of the definition of 'terrorism offences', it is difficult to see how such evidence could be produced. The potential subject matters of investigation are simply too varied."
The New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties said: "The Council is in general concerned about any extension of the power to detain people as proposed by this bill." The Civil Rights Network said: "We are concerned that this proposal does not seem to have arisen from any real, practical difficulty which has been experienced. Further, there has been a complete absence of debate as to the reasons for and necessity of this amendment. When changes to Australia's legal system which have the potential to severely impact on individual's liberty and rights are proposed it is fundamentally important that the community is properly consulted and informed before our elected representatives act."
The Law Council of Australia
Law Council of Australia
The Law Council of Australia is an association of law societies and bar associations from the States and territories of Australia, and the peak body representing the legal profession in Australia. The Council was formed in 1933 to unite the various state legal associations, in order to represent...
also expressed concerns about some aspects of the bills. "The Law Council is not convinced of the need for this legislation," the Council's submission to the Senate inquiry said. "Indeed in our submission the new laws have the potential to operate harshly and will unfairly target members of minority groups, especially those of the Islamic faith
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
."
See also
- Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005Australian Anti-Terrorism Act 2005The Anti-Terrorism Act 2005 is legislation intended to hamper the activities of any potential terrorists in Australia. It was passed by the Commonwealth Parliament on 6 December 2005.- Chronology :...
- List of terrorist organisations outlawed in Australia
External links
- New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties
- Law Council of Australia
- "Fascist Australia" The AgeThe AgeThe Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
24 August 2004. Column by Gerard HendersonGerard HendersonGerard Henderson is a conservative Australian newspaper columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald.. He is also Executive Director of the Sydney Institute, a privately funded current affairs forum. His wife Anne Henderson is Deputy Director.-Education:Henderson attended the Jesuit Xavier College in...
criticising opposition to the anti-terrorism legislation