Is the way Australia decides to go to war appropriate for a democratic nation? What about formal reporting to the people on war progress, and parliament controlling the purse strings? These major questions will get more prominence in the lead-up to the expected 2010 federal election. Also on the agenda - as CLA prepares for its 2010 electronic AGM - will be the inequitable system where Australians living in the Territories can have their democratically-passed laws overturned just because a Prime Minister doesn't like one clause in them.

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CLA will concentrate this year on liberties issues around mental and aged health, and water rights, as well as focusing on the trend towards greater dominance of executive government. Obviously, internet censorship will be a major issue to fight against, and the upcoming federal election, as well as state elections, will bring rabid 'law and order' fanatics out of the woodwork again, to make more promises about jailing more people in a way that the community is less and less able to afford.

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CLA has succeeded in getting nine words inserted into the new, draconian Serious and Organised Crime Bill so that judges have discretion to overturn cases where it would obviously not be in the public interest to prosecute.  As well this month, there's further 'law and order' excesses of governments throughout Australia, while the trend by governments to use ad-hoc groupings to avoid public consultation and parliamentary votes, in Australia and internationally, continues to expand.

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The Greens' have chosen a candidate for the Higgins federal by-election who is rabidly pro-censorship of the internet - directly contrary to the Greens' stance on the issue, so that they appear to be adopting the rubbery principles of other political parties. This month also sees wide-ranging abuses across most states and federally of liberties and rights...even as the government considers a major Human Rights Consultation Committee report.

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Requests for CLA to analyse and propose improvements to federal and state laws are increasing considerably. Current issues we're working on cover children's issues to the nation's war powers, as well as reforming our electoral laws. The pace will only increase, because shortly the Attorney-General will release the report of the national consultation on human rights, and the Communications Minister will table more definite proposals for how he plans to censor the internet.

Australian are becoming more conscious of liberties and rights, and view with increasing suspicion excessive fear campaigns mounted by politicians and other power groups, CLA reports. Hope rises for a new human rights charter, and a privacy tort, but still there are worries over internet censorship blacklists and draconian laws to catch drug bosses that will ensnare the average Aussie battler