BY DALE MILLS
SYDNEY Police will be able to stop and search people without warrants after the NSW ALP cabinet approved new anti-terror laws in November. The laws are now being rushed through state parliament.
Among other things, NSW Premier Bob Carr is proposing to give himself powers traditionally associated with federal government, as special powers to protect the state.
The story was leaked to Sydney's Daily Telegraph, which published an exclusive on November 19. The article explained that the Terrorism (Police Powers) Bill would give the police commissioner, deputy commissioner or any police officer above the rank of superintendent, special powers to deal with any person, vehicle, premises or area. The word area was not defined.
If a person was identified under the proposed laws, a general description of that person would allow police to search for, arrest and detain someone fitting it, even if there is no suspicion that he or she has committed a crime. Police minister Mick Costa was quoted in the November 19 Sydney Morning Herald as saying that a description of a person of Middle Eastern appearance would not be sufficient to permit widespread searches. Presumably, a person with a beard and of Middle Eastern appearance would suffice.
The NSW government has also announced that laws which were in place for the Olympics will be reinstated, allowing the state security services to be supplemented by the army, navy or air force, potentially for repressing protesters.
When the time limit of those detained under the proposed NSW law expires, they could be released into the hands of the Australian Federal Police or the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). Then the detention clock would start ticking again.
The proposed new laws follow the October establishment of the NSW Counter-Terrorism Coordination Command led by Chief Superintendent Norm Hazzard, and the announcement that an extra $1.8 million would be spent on improving electronic surveillance in NSW.
Carr is also proposing that the NSW Crime Commission, which has royal commission-like powers, should involve itself in the surveillance of terrorist suspects. The commission will appoint a full-time officer to liaise with ASIO.
These are hardly the first attacks on civil liberties in NSW. Costa achieved fame last month by calling for the banning of Indymedia web sites based in Melbourne and Sydney, until the November 13-15 anti-WTO protests.
An increased police presence and aggression has also been noticeable at NSW protests throughout the past year. An official complaint to the NSW Ombudsman remains outstanding following the use of police horses at the Sydney M1 demonstration this year, and it seems likely that a complaint will be made following the No WTO demonstrations.
Visitors to Sydney's Oxford Street can also get used to harassment by police sniffer dogs. Almost a year after the ALP government rushed through legislation legalising the searches, no major supplier has been caught by the use of sniffer dogs. The dogs cost NSW taxpayers $90,000 each, according to the Redfern Legal Centre, which is collecting evidence from people on the use of the dogs.
The laws seem designed to blur distinctions between protesters, Muslim immigrants and terrorists. According to the November 21 Daily Telegraph, one of the victims of the ASIO raids last month, Jaya Basri of Lakemba, has been detained and sent to Villawood detention centre after irregularities were discovered with his visa as a result of the raid.
The November 19 Daily Telegraph story interchanges the words terrorist and activist.
The proposed NSW laws are based on British terrorism legislation. According to an October 2 report by British human rights organisation Liberty, the British government currently detains nine non-citizens without charge or trial and has done so since Christmas 2001.
Britains Anti-Terrorism, Crime & Security Act also allows the security services to trawl through all government files at will; demand disclosure of activists' files, phone and fax use; and lay charges against activists who do not reveal information about terrorism when questioned.
As the ALP prepares to pass this legislation, a state cabinet sub-committee has reportedly been receiving security briefings from an FBI expert. It seems almost as if Carr has been watching too many American TV shows about cops, spies and the secret service. Let's just hope he doesn't start watching the X Files.
From Green Left Weekly, November 27, 2002.
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