Anti-Terrorism Bill (No. 2) 2005

Susan Harris Rimmer, The Australia Institute
Ann Palmer
Angus Martyn
Jerome Davidson
Roy Jordan
Moira Coombs

Abstract

On 8 September 2005, Prime Minister John Howard announced a number of proposed changes to Australia’s counter-terrorism laws with the aim of enabling Australia to ‘better deter, prevent, detect and prosecute acts of terrorism’. Drawing on overseas experience, particularly the London bombings in July 2005, the Prime Minister declared that the reforms ‘will ensure Australia’s counter-terrorism legislative regime remains at the forefront of international efforts to counter the global threat of terrorism’.

State and territory leaders unanimously agreed to the proposed changes at the 27 September COAG meeting, with the detail of the major amendments to be settled through the National Counter-Terrorism Committee by the end of October to enable the implementation of the new measures. At a press conference following the conclusion of the COAG meeting, the Prime Minister said that ‘as a result of the decisions taken today, we are in a stronger and better position to give peace of mind to the Australian community’.

An early ‘draft-in-confidence’ version of the Anti-Terrorism Bill 2005 (as the Anti-Terrorism Bill (No. 2) 2005 was then called) was released (against the wishes of the Commonwealth) by ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope on 14 October. Much of the public and political debate on the Bill dates from this time. The Bill has gone through some significant changes since, particularly relating to the control and preventative detention orders provisions in Schedule 4. For example:

• rules of contact for minors have softened

• access for Queenslanders to the Queensland Public Interest Monitor was reinstated

• more detail regarding legal proceedings was added, and

• changes to the issuing process for control and preventative detention orders have been made.

On 3 November 2005, the Senate referred the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Bill (No. 2) 2005 to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 28 November 2005.