Civil Liberties in Australia Threatened by New Bill

The Telecommunications (Interception) Amendment Bill allows spies, police and other security agencies to keep under surveillance anyone who interacts with the suspects of serious crime - not only those who are proven guilty. This means that even the phones of people not suspected of a crime would be potentially subject to strict controls and therefore the rights of these innocent third parties, including members of the media, would be breached. It would allow not only the tapping of phones but also intercepting of emails, SMS and the monitoring of mobile calls.

Under the law, police would be able to have a tap in place for up to 45 days in the hope that it will lead them to those they suspect of committing a crime, whilst the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) would be able to have the taps in place for three months. Consequences of such a law include a damaging blow to the journalistic notion of confidentiality of sources and could also lead to a culture of self-censorship. Journalists who cover politics, crime or security issues would be particularly affected by these consequences. A journalist's promise to protect his/her sources can no longer really be guaranteed and therefore much crucial information in the public interest will not come to light due to fear of this breach of confidence. More broadly, are concerns over privacy and restrictions of civil liberties of the general public.

The Bill would add to certain potentially damaging powers which the government already has, such as the power to obtain a warrant to access stored communications, including SMS, MMS (multimedia message), email and voicemail messages under the Telecommunications (Interception) Amendment (Stored Communications) Act 2004. Many believe that this new Bill, like the recently enacted anti-terror laws, is unnecessary and excessive, as well as being a blow to democracy and certain basic human rights.

NSW Council for Civil Liberties president Cameron Murphy stated that "this is the first time ever in Australia's history that we see the police being given the power to tap the phones of people who are not suspects, who are innocent people and just people who happen to be in contact with someone, likely to be in contact with someone, who's a criminal".

This is another sad example of the erosion of civil liberties around the Commonwealth in the name of security - let us hope that this is recognized by the Australian Parliament and the Bill is not passed.

www.humanrightsinitiative.org