And the police state lurches ever closer, with the SMH today reporting on proposed legislation for “New secret search powers”.
The proposed powers would give police the right to execute search, seizure and surveillance under so-called “delayed notification warrants”, without judicial oversight, and including the assumption of false identities by police to gain access. The subject can be denied notice of the s/s/s for up to six months, with extensions available on Ministerial approval, again with no judicial involvement:
The lack of judicial oversight was justified by the Minister for Justice and Customs, David Johnston, on the grounds that a court or judicial officer might leak news of the warrant.
“I don’t want to impugn anyone, but the security of these operations has to be pristine,” Senator Johnston told the Herald.
The article continues:
The position of the Labor Opposition is unknown. The party did not return calls yesterday.
Filed under: Politics, authoritarianism, law, moral panics, obstreperation
[...] matter, are the legacy of bitter lesssons our federal government has yet to learn. There’s more on the propsals from Laurhedel, and David Bath makes a prima facie case that Andrews and Howard [...]