Dutton’s mantra: ‘Identify and Disrupt’ civil liberties and rights
Under Home Affairs Minister Dutton, the government’s security laws are getting harsher, the crackdown harder; privacy and rights are shrinking as freedoms dwindle.Under Home Affairs Minister Dutton, the government’s security laws are getting harsher, the crackdown harder; privacy and rights are shrinking as freedoms dwindle.Mandatory C19 vaccination: ethical shot in the dark?
What are the drivers behind the Covid-a9 vaccinations, its priority delivery, the seeking of herd immunity…and whether the vaccine must be made mandatory? In a special cooperative project, CLA and its expert members helped a team of students work through the dilemmas to produce a thought-provoking paper.
Masks inflame passionate response…’Covid is a hoax’
As a reminder that there are lots of diverse viewpoints about the dangers of Covid-19, here’s an excerpt from an email received by Civil Liberties Australia after we made a one-paragraph comment in the Sydney Morning Herald on face mask wearing during a virus pandemic. Civil liberties and human rights are always about the sometimes difficult weighing one person’s freedom with another person’s, or group’s, rights…frequently on the fulcrum of responsibility.
Brewery party! But don’t ask ASIO to organise it
Longtime security shenanigans observer, Jack Waterford, says giving executive power to ASIO was a big mistake, and exposes the hypocrisy of its recent claim to be offended by critical comments in relation to its China briefings, which compromise our diplomatic efforts.
Hear About Julian – 19 Sep 20
Global journalist John Pilger will discuss and update the Julian Assange situation in a Zoom conversation at 1900 on 19 Sept 2020.
Australia extradites with one hand tied, costing Aussies liberty
Australia’s one-side extradition regime gives citizens of other countries much greater legal protection than Australian citizens get. Other countries simply have to allege wrongdoing, and Australia locks up – and extradites – people living in Australia. But going in the other direction, we have to prove, with evidence, our case before other nations will hand over people in their jursidiction. It’s stupid law, and even crazier civil liberties.
Coronavirus Pandemic: Statements by CLA
For all the period of the Covid-19 pandemic, then in the longer-term recovery to normal phase, civil liberties and human rights must be integrated into every decision of all authorities. While a health and emergency policing response is vital, so too is ensuring that the maximum freedoms of Australians are respected at all times. Premiers and others are in danger of forgetting peoples’ rights matter too!
Qld’s new Emergency law comes with inbuilt rights protection
Queensland’s four-month old human rights protection law is doing its job: in a new Covid-19 ‘Emergency’ law, there’s protection for Queenslanders because no provisions of the new law can over-ride the state’s Human Rights Act which came into force on 1 January 2020. Some other Australian jurisdictions should take note.
Asylum seekers, refugees and Covid-19: most vulnerable, most exposed?
Vulnerable refugee claimants are at greater risk of catching Covid-19 illness because of where they are housed, and general poor nutrition and ill-health because of their poverty. Without incomes as the economy grinds to a halt, their plight is worsening. Meanwhile the Australian government appears to have a policy of deliberating slowing down their ‘day in court’ by appointing the wrong people to the main tribunal that hears refugee claims. CLA Director Jennifer Ashton tells the story.
Apps may come to dictate our future ‘freedom’
The more fear and worry, the more governments impose technology “for your own good”. With a virus pandemic, big-tech companies are offering surveillance solutions that are hard to resist in the short-term…but that may be ’trojan horses’ for a widespread big brother, non-parliamentary dominance once the Covid-19 panic has passed.