The Wire

After September 11 2001, Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation was granted special interrogation powers, to detain and question people. Equiped with these powers, ASIO can detain people for up to 168 hours under warrant and and can detain children as young as 16 if they are tought to be likely to commit, or have committed, a terrorist offence. People can be detained even if not suspected of criminal behaviour but are believed to have useful information on terrorist activity. But there was a sunset clause in the legislation, meaning the powers will expire next year if they’re not renewed. Recently Director-General Dennis Richardson called for the removal of the sunset clause on the agency’s authority to carry out questioning and detention of terrorist suspects. He wants the execeptional powers to be permanent. Today in Melbourne and Sydney, a Parliamentary Joint Committee heard submissions from interest groups, about a review of ASIO’s interrogation powers. In the last two years ASIO has used its questioning powers eight times. It’s never used the detention powers, nor has it invoked the right to strip search suspects. Alma Mistry has this story.