Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Foreign Fighters) Bill

Committee review period too hasty on 'Foreign Fighters' Bill

Liberty Victoria shares NSW Council for Civil Liberties concern of the haste with which counter-terrorism legislation is coming into Parliament.

These are very significant pieces of legislation with significant implications for our freedoms and democratic values. It is very important that we consider them carefully and responsibly and that the Australian public fully understands what they mean and if they are necessary.

We therefore welcome the Attorney-General’s statement last night that the new ‘Foreign Fighters’ Bill will be referred to Committee for consideration.

Having, with other community groups, recently struggled to provide comment on the National Security Legislation Amendment Bill (No1) 2014 in the unreasonable time 20 days, we ask that the Attorney-General allows a more reasonable time for the Australian public and members of parliament to consider and respond to these proposed new laws.

A reasonable time frame would be two months. This would enable the Bill to be considered in late November when both houses are scheduled to be sitting.

We urge the Attorney-General to allow a review period of two months for the Foreign Fighters Bill.

This is a councils for civil liberties public statement.