Terrorists may soon be detained indefinitely in Australia
The Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has proposed legislation that would allow for convicted terrorists to be held indefinitely in prison if considered a threat.
The proposed changes to legislation would allow convicted terrorists to be detained in jails for an infinite amount of time, regardless of their sentence length. While Turnbull said the changes were about promoting and ensuring community safety in a time of heightened uncertainty, the proposal has been criticised on the basis of civil rights.
Australia has no Charter of Human Rights which would require the Parliament or the courts to consider whether counter-terrorism laws comply with human rights principles. Without this charter, the Australian Government can operate in a legal grey area.
You May Also Like
The Prime Minister outlined that the measures are designed "to deter terrorism, to prevent it, to ensure the nation and that our people are kept safe." Prime Minister Turnbull also cited the recent events in Nice, Orlando and the attack in Sydney in 2014 to warn that the Australian people "cannot for a moment be complacent."
This new stance on convicted terrorists is, Turnbull said, "to provide reassurance that Australians can and should continue going about their daily lives and enjoying their freedom in the usual way. They should understand and recognise that the Australian Government and its agencies are doing everything possible to keep them safe."
In the same press conference, Australia's Governor General George Brandis stated the length of time individuals could be detained would be a matter to be negotiated by individual states and territories.
What this means in the smallest of nutshells, is that the Australian government has proposed that any convicted terrorist who is found to be a danger to society can be held for as long or as little as governing bodies see fit. Within these proposed legislative changes, the danger lies in their potential to legally violate the human rights of the convicted.
The proposals could be simply a distraction from the "real solutions" of combatting terror, the ABC reported.
The NSW Council of Civil Liberties president Stephen Blanks told the outlet there is every possibility these proposals are just "window dressing," as the general public will not be told when terrorists the Government is concerned about are released.
