Submitted by Liberty Victoria on Wed, 08/07/2015 - 00:04
The Federal Government is urged to redouble its efforts to help an Australian journalist and his colleague facing charges of criminal defamation and computer crimes in Thailand.
“Just as in the case of Peter Greste in Egypt we have a case of a harsh crackdown on the media,” said the president of Liberty Victoria, George Georgiou SC. “In Egypt Greste was reporting on unrest inside the country. In Thailand the story has been on human rights abuses against ethnic Rohingya migrants.”
The Federal Government is falling into a trap by harshly removing people's rights in the guise of fighting terrorism, Liberty Victoria said today.
"Giving a Minister the power to strip those with dual citizenship of their Australian citizenship if they are suspected of terrorism, with a meagre chance of review plays right into the hands of extremists," said Liberty President George Georgiou SC. "The political use of this power will inflame and incense those Australians who already feel demonised and demeaned."
Is it legal for a neighbour to fly a drone over your backyard? Can you stop someone filming you from above at the beach? Answers to such questions are sought by the unmanned systems industry and human rights community through clear national law reform.
To mark Privacy Awareness Week, Liberty Victoria and the Australian Association for Unmanned Systems (AAUS) today detailed plans for reform in order to resolve these questions and tackle growing concern about the right to privacy at a time of increased private drone use.
Liberty Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australian and Australian Councils for Civil Liberties made a joint submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security on the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (INSLM).
The inquiry sought public submissions on the potential impact on journalists by reason of the operation of section 35P of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 concerning offences for the disclosure of information relating to a ‘special intelligence operation’.
Liberty Victoria has had an opportunity to consider the recommendations of the Law Institute of Victoria and we fully endorse them.
Liberty Victoria would have preferred the opportunity to provide more detailed submissions but the time frame allowed for their provision was impossibly short. We would hope that in future further time is allowed to make submissions on such important issues. We would appreciate the opportunity to give testimony when the Committee has hearings on this matter.
