Senator GEORGES (Queensland) - I take the opportunity afforded by the motion for the third reading of these Bills to raise a couple of matters which have not been raised but which need to be emphasised. In so doing I emphasise the reason for which the Senate has debated at such great length these very important Bills. It is to the credit of the Senate, to the credit of the Opposition, and to the credit of honourable senators on the Government side that the Bills have been examined with such particularity. On the motion for the third reading I wish to introduce a factor which may not have been considered, merely, that the Atomic Energy Energy Amendment Bill clearly contravenes Article 14 (II) of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights of the United Nations, which states:

I know that that matter has been canvassed during the second reading debate and also during consideration of the Bill at the Committee stages. I believe that Senator Wright and Senator Missen, as well as honourable senators on this side of the chamber, have emphasised that this is a matter which concerns them and a matter which should be considered by the Government. The fact of this contravention of an international agreement may not have been emphasised. It is one of the aspects of the Atomic Energy Act which should be noted in relation to the erosion of basic civil liberties. Section 47 of the Atomic Energy Act, which is not being amended by the current amendments and which will stand in relation to the commercial operations at Ranger, is particularly damaging in the context of the erosion of civil liberties. I shall read section 47 (a) because it is important:

This section has applied to, I repeat, the commercial operation at the Ranger site and contravenes the basic right of innocence before proven. It is in effect, a presumption of guilt. Quite clearly, it contravenes Article 14 (II) of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights which states:

It must be remembered that Australia signed this Covenant under the McMahon Government in 1972 and, as far as can be ascertained, the present Government intends to ratify the Covenant in the near future. Further, the use of section 44 of the Atomic Energy Act which relates to communication of restricted information with intent to prejudice defence, contravenes Articles 18, 19 and 21 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, which deal with freedom of speech and assembly. I think it is important on the motion for the third reading of these Bills to place this matter on record. The contradictions between section 44 of the Atomic Energy Act being applied to a commercial development and the Covenant are striking. On the one hand, the Covenant proclaims these basic rights of speech and freedom, whilst, on the other hand, the Atomic Energy Act as it is applied to Ranger would impose a penalty of 20 years imprisonment for a person communicating certain aspects of the Ranger development to the public.

Section 50 of the Act provides for wide powers of detention, search and arrest without warrant, which are extreme measures in relation to the development of uranium. It shows that the oftenmade comment that uranium mining will erode civil liberties, as has been made by many honourable senators, is quite accurate. Further, section 60 which applies to the application of the Approved Defence Projects Protection Act 1 947 to any works carried out by the Australian Atomic Energy Commission and therefore including Ranger, effectively prevents any speechwriting or strike action in opposition to works undertaken by the Commission. The terms of section 60 of the Atomic Energy Act make it clear that the Approved Defence Projects Protection Act provisions apply to any works of the Commission without the need for the gazettal which is otherwise required by section 3 of the Act.

Finally, these objections which I raise to sections of the Atomic Energy Act which will be used in relation to uranium mining at Ranger clearly illustrate the contradictory stand on civil liberties by the Government and the use of extreme powers, which were employed in the Cold War period of the 1 940s, with respect to a commercial development in the late 1970's. It is an inappropriate course of action for the Government to adopt, particularly as it intends to ratify the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights and to introduce legislation establishing a human rights commission.