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| Down Under |
| Anti-terror laws for Commonwealth Games |
| 2005-10-29 |
| PRIME Minister John Howard aims to have anti-terrorism laws in place before the Melbourne Commonwealth Games next March. Attorney-General Bob Debus - who was supposedly against the new laws - yesterday backed the PM's March deadline in an indication that the State Government would support the legislation. As the state premiers prepared to pore over a final draft of the Bill over the weekend, the Prime Minister said yesterday the Anti-Terrorism Bill may not go before Parliament on Melbourne Cup day, as planned. But Mr Howard is determined to drive the laws through some time next week. Each of the premiers is expected to decide on Monday whether or not they will support the laws. "I believe it will go through this session and I am confident that the state premiers will adhere to the agreement that was made," Mr Howard said yesterday. "Nobody is especially wedded to introducing it on Tuesday or Monday or Wednesday," he said. "It would be a good idea if it were passed into law during the current parliamentary session and certainly it is desirable that it be in place before the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne next March." Mr Debus said, while he did not support rushing the anti-terror laws through Parliament, they should be in place before the Games. Meanwhile Attorney-General Philip Ruddock has said he expected the Government to issue newly-created control orders against some people in Australia as soon as the laws were passed. Most likely to be hit with a control order would be the small number of people known to have trained with terrorist groups overseas. "It is clear there are some people who fit the 'descriptor' that is included in the Act to make control orders possible," Mr Ruddock said. It's understood the final draft of the Bill will contain some minor changes, but the major elements, such as the length of detention for suspected terrorists will remain. While the Federal Government is confident of support from NSW, ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope was still unconvinced yesterday. Mr Stanhope - who leaked the first draft of the Bill on his website - said the issue was too complicated to meet the Monday deadline. With the exception of Mr Stanhope, who was accused of breaching confidentiality, Mr Howard has been careful not to alienate the states. "We can't do these things on our own," Mr Howard said. "We do not have the constitutional power on our own ... that is why we have approached the states." |
| Posted by:God Save The World AKA Oztralian |