Anti-Terrorism Bill 2004
The federal government has passed an extraordinary number of bills relating to terrorism since 2001. The latest, Anti-Terrorism Bill 2004, will recognise the jurisdiction of the Guantanamo Bay trials and will deny bail to terror suspects, unless there are exceptional circumstances. Civil liberties groups say these laws have fostered a rising tide of racism against Australia’s Arab and Muslim communities, and that they represent a significant erosion of our rights, Erica Vowles spoke to Democrats Senator Brian Greig who, unlike Labor, voted against the Bill. She also spoke to Cameron Murphy, the National Secretary of the Council for Civil Liberties; Walid Kadous, from the Australian Muslim Civil Rights Advocacy Network; Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock; and Joo Cheong Tham, an expert on Constitutional and Terrorism Law at La Trobe University. Overnight the Supreme Court ruled that Guantanamo Bay detainees have the right to appeal their detention in US courts, making an appeal launched by Hicks and Habib likely.