Censorship in Australia involves a defined government system, open and accountable. But suddenly we have booksellers withdrawing books from sale because of religious objection. Mary Walsh explains why this type of warped censorship is fundamentally wrong.

The Rudd government pans to set up a secret list of people suspected only of arson, and to possibly restrain, detain or put suspects under active surveillance for three months every year. The proposals , which represent a new low for civil liberties in Australia, involve creating a secret central database, then allowing local authorities (not judges or magistrates) to decide on "intervention strategies".

Police and the Police Minister in WA seem determined to introduce a system where people are penalised by loss of demerit driving points if they can't prove themselves innocent. The proposal to reverse the burden of proof is a further example of how the traditional rule of law in Australia is being turned on its head.

Australians have been denied the opportunity to restrict the power of the political elite by the Rudd Government's failure to enact a national Bill of Rights, CLA says. Federal MPs who believe in individual rights should coalesce across political boundaries to ensure the Australian Parliament gets the opportunity to consider this important issue.

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SA Premier Michael Rann, up for re-election in March 2010, is proposing that a defendant's personal history should be revealed to juries - before they decide guilt or innocence - so as to send more people to prison. CLA and the SACCL, plus most other knowledgeable legal observers, think Mr Rann is confusing conviction with justice.

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Tasmania still has anti-freedom-to-blog laws that South Australia this month canned before the 20 March 2010 elections expected in both states. In Tassie, you can be fined $12,000 AND sent to jail for three months for not putting your name and address at the bottom of election comment online. CLA today called for Tasmania also to abandon the repressive legislation.

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There's an upsurge of community concern in Perth about how police are using their new stop-and-search powers (which are largely mirrored throughout Australia). WA Premier Colin Barnett has promised to review the powers, so CLA issued a supportive statement encouraging 'sensible compromise'.

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CLA has long argued the need for national legislation so Australians can find out what their DNA tells them without suffering penalties under insurance and superannuation rules. Cheaper DNA testing, sometimes sponsored by insurance companies, is bringing this issue into new focus.

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Updated: Michael Atkinson, the South Australian Attorney General noted for quaint ways, is at it again: a new law means you must attach your name/details to any letter or blog comment once the March 2010 SA election is formally called, which is expected imminently. The SA pollies can accept anonymous donations...but citizens can't make anonymous comments on the pollies' performance.

Atkinson backflip: when's the election?

Wed 3 Feb 2010  A-G Atkinson did a backflip

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style="float: left; border: 0; margin: 5px;" src="/images/taser1a.jpg" alt="taser" The world's biggest maker of stun guns, Taser, has done a backflip and is now warning police forces to not aim the weapons at people's chests. The company appears to be trying to make sure it can't be sued if people die in future after being stunned by the weapons - the accuracy of the aim of police forces could become the issue, rather than the potency of the weapon itself.

New uses for DNA information are permeating Australia without debate about how we want to regulate either a useful guide to health or a tool to discrimate against people who - by accident of birth - are slightly different from whatever 'average' is. Some people are already being barred from accessing insurance or superannuation based on the DNA of their relatives. CLA believes national legislation is needed.

Abortion is a difficult societal issue where health concerns are paramount. Women should have the right to make decisions about their own bodies. Laws around the issue of abortion should be based on health grounds, not criminal penalties.