The Australian Greens say the Government's long awaited counter-terrorism White Paper cements the creeping expansion of domestic security agencies.
"It will be essential that key aspects of this package are scrutinised by the Parliament and its committees, and we urge the Government to immediately move ahead with the establishment of the National Security Legislation Monitor, which is delayed again in the House of Representatives," said Australian Greens law and justice spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam.
"The white paper is months overdue and leaves key areas of concern unaddressed. With every word of the Howard-Ruddock terror legislation still on the statute books, there is nothing in the white paper about improving accountability of rapidly expanding agencies like ASIO, or bringing our legal frameworks back into line with long established principles of the rule of law.
"The White Paper is a welcome advance on the one dimensional 'war on terror' language of the Howard era, but it further entrenches the institutional thinking that pervaded that era," Senator Ludlam concluded.
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