vigilant TV

Proposed new Australian anti-terrorism laws, approved by the cabinet, include two troubling provisions, besides the usual extensions of detention powers. The first criminalizes membership, not just in named terrorist groups, but in groups that are not even listed. The second prohibits selling publications written by former (and present?) members of terrorist groups; it’s not clear whether this prohibition extends to unlisted groups.

The laws would allow terrorism suspects to be detained for questioning for up to 24 hours and would make it an offence to train with banned terrorist organisations.

Mr Howard said the laws also would allow people to be prosecuted for being members of terrorist organisations which were not on the official list of banned organisations.

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“At the moment, it’s only an offence to be a member of a listed terrorist organisation,” he told the Nine Network.

“In future, that will be extended to include not only listed terrorist organisations but also an organisation that is in fact proved to be a terrorist organisation even though it may not be listed.”

Mr Howard said the laws also would ban people from making money from selling books or memoirs about their training with terrorist organisations.

– SMH, Cabinet approves anti-terror laws.

The Australian Council for Civil Liberties describes the latter provision as “blatant censorship”.

Mr O’Gorman says if that applies to David Hicks, the public will never learn why he trained with the Taliban and the circumstances surrounding his detention in Guantanamo Bay.

“People in Australia who want to read for themselves an explanation as to why people apparently get involved in terrorist-related activities, what David Hicks has to say when he gets out of Guantanamo Bay, will be denied that opportunity and that is censorship,” he said.

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“Are the Prime Minister and Federal Attorney-General really saying that terrorists who are about to commit a terrorist act won’t do it because they can’t publish a book.”

– ABC, Ban on terrorism books ‘censorship’: O’Gorman.

See also SMH, PM plans new anti-terror laws, and Anti-terror bill ‘an over-reaction’.