Bob Carr’s Terrorism Bill One Step Too Far for Human Rights

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights today expressed its concerns at the breadth of the new powers granted to police under the Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Warrants) Bill 2005. The Legislative Council of the NSW Parliament is to consider the Bill today.

“This Bill allows for NSW Police disguised in Hawaiian shirts to enter the premises of people who have done nothing wrong but live next door to premises where there might be material relevant to a terrorist act,” said Simeon Beckett, President of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights.

“The Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Warrants) Bill 2005 creates a new regime of covert search warrants based not on investigating offences but on the suspicion that one may be committed in the future. This is a realm into which the police have not been permitted to go before now.

“The Bill allows for adjoining premises to be entered in order to get at the real premises the police want to search. Police need not be dressed as police. The Bill allows for the police to impersonate someone else.

“This means that police disguised in civilian or other clothes could enter an innocent person’s house without identifying themselves but using ‘reasonable force’ to enter. It is clear that an occupier is likely to be bewildered and may react negatively to unidentified persons entering his or her house.

“If the person is not at home he or she may not find out until 12 or 18 months later that the police have been in the house.

“This is an unacceptable invasion of people’s fundamental right to privacy and to enjoy their home without arbitrary interference. The Bill fails to strike the right balance between protecting the community from terrorist acts and protecting them from heavy-handed state interference.

“The proposed search warrant power does not mention offences at all – it is based on ‘preventing’ what the police believe may turn out to be a terrorist act or ‘responding’ to a terrorist act. The power needs to be limited to the legitimate investigation of an offence.

“While the issue of warrants will be checked by a judge before execution the Bill does not guarantee that an innocent person’s house will not be broken into in the cause of investigating a suspicion or belief.

“ALHR does not oppose the use of search warrants where there has been a terrorist offence including conspiracy to commit such an offence. Clearly investigation of a terrorist act should occur quickly with the police being given appropriate powers to undertake their work.”

Contact Simeon Beckett: 0412 008 039

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This page last updated 4th May 2004