Australia will soon enter the dark ages with draconian legislation to fight “terror.” The political imperative will allow Australia’s tradition of (relative) legal fairness to be superseded and forgotten. Caution is being urged but the Howard government knows the power of being seen to be doing something against the terror threat. As ever, foreign affairs are totally absent from the political and media debate.
How these new laws will actually assist law enforcement agencies remains a mystery. Furthermore, Liberal backbenchers – the ones not totally in awe of Howard – are seriously challenging the government’s intentions.
Stay tuned.