The Wire

This week, while the nation’s attention focusses on Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup, the focus in Canberra will be on two major pieces of legislation that the government is trying to pass through parliament. The new round of anti-terrorism laws is one, while the other is the industrial relations reforms. While the IR reforms have racked up millions in advertising dollars for weeks, the new anti-terrorism laws haven’t required quite as much convincing, with ACNielsen polling last week finding that 66% of Australians support strong preventitive detention laws, although 60% were concerned about the government’s proposed ‘shoot-to-kill’ powers. While public support seems to be mostly behind the new laws, there has been a wide range of organistions vocally opposed to the laws, from the Law Council to Civil Liberties groups, while the premiers have expressed concerns over the need for safeguards. Over the weekend it was revealed that John Howard had accepted compromises with them to ensure greater judicial review of detained suspects who are held without charge, as well as allowing prisoners to seek legal remedy and for a 5 year review of the laws. The Prime Minister is awaiting a response from the state and territory leaders before introducing the laws into Parliament this week. While some concessions have been made, there are many vocal critics who remained concerned about the implications of these laws. Dr.Helen Watchirs, the ACT Human Rights and Discrimination Commissioner, spoke today at a forum in Canberra on national security laws and human rights. The purpose of the forum is to debate human rights implications of anti-terrorism laws while they are still being finalised. She spoke ealier to Wire, starting with the key areas that the forum was looking at.