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PUBLIC CONSULTATIONS - Review of Counter-Terrorism Laws

Posted 19 October 2012 by Paul Kniest (NTEU National Office)

Council of Australian Governments (COAG)

Review of Counter-terrorism Legislation

On 6 August 2012, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) commenced its review of counter-terrorism legislation in Australia. The review will evaluate the operation, effectiveness and implications of key Commonwealth, state and territory counter-terrorism laws.  

More detail about the review including its Terms of Reference can be found at:

www.coagctreview.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx.

While the date for  submissions to the Review have passed interested members are still able to participate in public consultations.  The dates, times and venues for these consultations as well as how interested members are outlined below.

NTEU Position on the Review of Counter-Terrorism Laws

The NTEU has been active in the debates around the introduction of Anti-Terrorism Act 2005 including a number of reviews of the Act and associated legislation since, including:

• Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) 2006 review of Australia’s sedition laws in 2006 the results and recommendations from which were published as ALRC Report 104 entitled Fighting Words: A Review of Sedition Laws in Australia.
• Attorney-General’s 2009 Amendments to National Security Legislation.   

The focus of the NTEU submissions around Australia’s counter-terrorism legislation have been that the sedition laws introduced as part of the Anti-Terrorism Act 2005 still have the potential to chill research and impinge on academic freedom rights in the broader diminution of human rights.  In particular we are concerned with the definitions of urging or forcing or violence contained in Section 80.2 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 entitled Offences against political liberty and public order.

The NTEU acknowledges that the government has responded to the NTEU’s, and others’, concerns by introducing a “good faith” defence for academic, artistic, journalistic and other activities with the introduction of Section 80.3 into the Criminal Code.  While this significantly improves the potential impact of these laws on academic freedom, we remained concerned that the legislation places the burden of proof on those charged with sedition. That those charged must prove they were behaving in ‘good faith’ as defined by Section 80.3

In this regard NTEU continues to support recommendations made in the ALRC 2006 Fighting Words report proposal to reverse the burden of proof under the law, so that it rests with the prosecution to prove that an accused intentionally urged others to use force and intended that this force or violence should occur.  Recommendation 10.2 proposes that a jury must have regard to whether the conduct was done in the course of any statement, publication, discussion or debate made or held for any genuine artistic, academic, scientific or other genuine purpose in the public interest .A copy of the ALRC’s report can be downloaded from: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/alrc/publications/reports/104/ALRC104.pdf.

A more detailed analysis of the Union’s position on this can be found in our Submission to Attorney General’s Discussion Paper on National Security Legislation.

Submission
(108 KB) - PDF

NTEU Submission

Published: 19 Oct, 2012

COAG Review Panel Public Hearings

To obtain a broad cross-section of views on Australia's counter-terrorism legislation, the review committee will hold public hearings across Australia. The committee encourages all interested people to attend.

The dates of the hearings are as follows:

Public Hearings Guidance Note

This note provides an indication of when and how public hearings will be conducted. It also sets out the process by which those wishing to make a contribution to the Review can participate. Please note that no registration is required for attendance at the hearing. The Committee encourages all interested members of the community to attend.

Registering your interest in speaking

The Committee encourages all those who are interested in sharing their views on the operation, effectiveness and implications of the legislation under review to attend and participate in public hearings. If you or your organisation have sent in written submissions dealing fully with your position, it may still be useful if you or a representative of your organisation is able to speak briefly to the content of your submission.

Registering your interest prior to a hearing will ensure you are placed on a list of speakers. Registering your interest in speaking is not a precondition to making an oral submission. It would, however, assist the Committee ensure the hearing runs as efficiently as possible.

To register your interest in speaking, please email chair.coagctreview@gmail.com with the following information:

1. The name of your organisation;
2. The name of the representative who will attend the hearing to speak on behalf of your organisation;
3. To the extent you know at the time of registration, the specific areas of the legislation under review you intend to address at the public hearing; and
4. The likely period of time required. As you will appreciate the public hearings are within a relatively brief time span with the consequence that the Committee will have to insist on adherence to a limited time for each speaker.