Witnesses said the laws were so wide they could be used to prosecute ACTU secretary Greg Combet for his remarks urging opposition to the new industrial laws, and could be applied to those who had supported resistance movements, including Fretilin in East Timor, and Nelson Mandela's African National Congress.
He predicted police investigations into normal crimes would "morph" into terrorism investigations because the new laws gave police such broad powers to search properties.One group that is not complaining about the new laws is the Australian Federal Police, who give their word that the laws would be used "judiciously and cautiously". Which presumably means that officers will only ride roughshod over civil rights when the party in question is a pinko/greeno ratbag, suspiciously dark-skinned, has a bad attitude, or is otherwise un-Australian. Welcome to Bjelkeland, Australians.
The new laws could effectively outlaw any form of dissent stronger than writing a politely-worded letter to one's MP. Of course, no-one expects Howard's secret police to round up all refugee-rights campaigners, Greens voters, socialists and trade unionists and send them to gulags in the far north. They won't need to; the real purpose will be the chilling effect achieved after a few troublemakers have been made examples of, when it is known that being too outspoken in the wrong way about our government, our Queen or our allies, associating with the wrong people, or even expressing general discontent in the wrong way, can be dangerous. This will drive those with anything to lose away from political activism, leaving only a hard core of cranks who can be easily ignored, much as in that beacon of meticulously managed civil society, Singapore.
Posted by: acb | http://dev.null.org | Thu Nov 17 22:23:53 2005
I'm sure they won't arrest bank employees/owners/shareholders.
What is likely is that the laws will be used as a blunt instrument against anyone the authorities find a nuisance. They probably won't go for high-profile moderates like Bob Brown, though could end up putting extreme pressure on grass-roots activists, independent media, bloggers and such. Much as was the case in Bjelke-Petersen's Queensland.
Posted by: datakid | http:// | Fri Nov 18 09:22:04 2005
from whence we got the 'shouting theatre in a crowdded fire" did we not...?
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Posted by: datakid | http:// | Thu Nov 17 22:10:10 2005
...and banks don't like the new terror laws, apparently, because a teller handing cash over the counter to someone who ends up being a terrorist can be jailed....mwhahahahahaha...I LMAO so hard...let them all crumble...
I decided last night I couldn't support a governance system that had o room for surrealism...especially the low level pissant surrealism of things like Howl's Moving Castle. Please give me evenings and weekends? I'd settle for a left field candidate...