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Government Abuses Power Over Anti-Terrorism Laws
Government Abuses Power Over Anti-Terrorism Laws
Date: 14 October 2005 Type: Media Release Category: Homepage
The Law Society of New South Wales has joined the Law Council of Australia in expressing its outrage over the Government’s rush to pass through Parliament the new raft of anti-terrorism laws.
The Law Society President Mr John McIntyre has accused the Federal Government of misusing its power by denying Parliament and the Australian public the opportunity to properly scrutinise this highly complex piece of legislation, which further erodes fundamental rights.
“It’s of grave concern that such important legislation which intrudes on individual rights is not given adequate time for public consultation and Parliamentary debate.
“The Government’s lip-service to basic Parliamentary procedure means that potential flaws in the proposed counter-terrorism legislation are likely to go undetected and could be an unnecessary erosion of the fundamental principles of the rule of law.
“It makes no sense that the Government is not prepared to allow the opportunity for a detailed and comprehensive examination to the laws, which they continue to argue are necessary to prevent terrorism in this country.
“We are urging Premier Iemma to join the Law Society in its call for extra time to carry out a more detailed assessment on the impact of the proposed anti-terrorism laws upon our traditional rights and freedoms”, said McIntyre.
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