Ominous silence on new ASIO Bill

by Peter Mac

The Howard Government has refused to divulge details of its amended 
legislation aimed at providing new powers to the Australian Security 
Intelligence Organisation (ASIO).

The original Bill was withdrawn a few months ago after a parliamentary 
report condemned the legislation as draconian. The report was even signed 
by a number of Liberal parliamentarians, and it was clear that the 
legislation would not obtain Senate approval.

Not wishing to admit to defeat, the Government said it had withdrawn the 
legislation because the ALP had "indicated it would like time to settle a 
position on the Bill and any amendments."

If it had been passed, the Bill would for the first time in Australia's 
history have allowed ASIO to incarcerate citizens. Those detained would 
have included not only people accused or suspected of crimes against the 
state, such as terrorism, but also those who, in ASIO's opinion, could 
provide information about such activities.

As George Williams, Professor of Public Law at the University of NSW, 
commented last week, the Bill as originally worded would have allowed 
people, even children, to be strip-searched and held indefinitely without 
contact with the outside world "for rolling periods of two days, which 
could be extended indefinitely."

Failure to answer questions put by ASIO could also have resulted in a two-
year jail sentence.

Professor Williams described the Bill as "the sort of law you'd expect to 
see in General Pinochet's Chile." He added: "(You) have to go back to 1950 
and the height of anti-communist hysteria to see anything like it".

The Australian Parliament resumed its sittings this week. The Government 
has indicated it will only divulge details of the new Bill to Labor 
parliamentarians, doubtless with the intention of bulldozing the amended 
legislation through the Senate if it can reach some agreement with Labor 
first.

A spokesperson for Attorney-General Darryl Williams stated recently, "... 
our intention is to work with Labor ... to ensure swift passage of the 
legislation when it is introduced."

In so doing, the Government appears to be attempting to repeat its success 
at the last federal elections, when the ALP leadership meekly followed the 
Coalition's ultra-conservative ideological line with regard to asylum 
seekers.

The ALP's leader in the Senate, Senator John Fawkner, commented bitterly 
that "...this divisive and highly partisan Government will wait until the 
last minute to reveal its intentions ... as a continuation of their efforts 
to use the Bill as a wedge issue within the Labor Party."

Many eyes are now fixed on the Liberals to see just how far they will go in 
meeting the demands of lawyers, unions, civil rights organisations, 
community groups and others, with regard to the Bill.

Opposition to the Bill in its previous form was strong and united. However, 
much work will now be needed to ensure that opposition parliamentarians do 
not allow the Government to succeed in yet another attempt to crush the 
civil rights of Australian citizens.