Reading this article and others on this topic takes my mind back to when I was at school. Specifically the 1950'2 and 60's. Back then special secretive bodies had been established to protect societies from hidden threats. They were effectively accountable to no one and eventually became a danger to society. I'm thinking here of the special branches that each of the state police forces had established.

ASIO is taking on all the halmarks of the worst excesses of the old special branches with their secrecy, accountability (not) and their "we know best" attitude but of course for your own protection we can't tell you.

I see this as the beginning of the end of ASIO or at least its secrecy and unaccountability. Unfortunately with organisations like this there is always much societal pain and suffering needed before the politicians listen to the people they supposedly represent and do something about it.

DKit

The war on terror was invented to make our Govts all powerful.This is part of the UN Agenda for a " New World Order".

Dear Arjay,

Do you bother to read the articles before you comment? The article dealt with the actions of the branch of the Australian government. The actions of that branch of the Australian government denied a person due process which may result in the unfair practice of indefinite detention. It has absolutely nothing to do with the UN, yet, somehow the UN is to blame according to you.

Arjay, suggest you try talking from a little higher up? I agree in broad principle with the Author and her argument. We do need an entirely independent review, by an entirely independent Authority, with the inherent power to entirely reverse any ASIO decision, without ever compromising national security or the provisions of the secrecy act!
That outcome could be seriously ameliorated with the use of non-invasive space age lie detecting technology, computer assisted facial recognition; thermal imaging and voice stress indicators, that could be calibrated via friendly pre examination chat.
The examination would simply ask relevant questions over tea and cake; and suitably empathetic enquiry, that allowed the respondent to feel both at ease and in the company of people interested in both basic human rights and justifiable outcomes!
We simply cannot should not accept, that the secret service/law enforcement agencies of other countries, will always be cooperative or provide entirely unbiased credible evidence; or indeed, factual accounts? What will resolve this and similar human rights issues, is the simple inviolate truth, testicular fortitude and truthful "tested" testament! Rhrosty

Frankly I don't give a toss how long ILLEGALS stay in detention - especially if a good part of the reason is they have destroyed identity documentation.

I do give a toss about the cost to our society and economy.

I am very concerned about the entry into our country via boat from Indonesia of criminals and highly undesirable types.

I do care about the enormous resources going into keeping, investigating and processing these people and then still paying and paying and paying for the queue jumpers that are accepted while many Australian citizens are homeless, waiting for medical procedures, living in unacceptable conditions and so on.

I also care when SCUM we are supporting to live in safety and comparative comfort riot, burn, destroy, harrass, assault and otherwise engage in completely unacceptable UNLAWFUL behaviour and are not immediately incarcerated pending deportation.

I don't care about the subject of the article being female, gravid, a wife, mother etc. - only that she has been properly and adequately assessed to be a proper and genuine person to have been admitted to this country.

I do care that the process may have been cocked up. On the other hand, in absence of any information about this case, it's possible the person in question has become involved in activity arousing ASIO scrutiny since her assessment and release into the community.

I will keep an open mind and wait for further developments to shed more light.

Meantime I pray for an early election to rid this country of the idiots who took a solution and turned it back into a problem.

I will also be watching ABC 4Corners tonight.

Smugglers' Paradise - Australia
www.abc.net.au

divine_msm

Wholeheartedly agree, with a couple of provisos and additions. E.G: “Children used to captain fishing boats loaded with refugees in order to avoid prosecution for people smuggling”.

A brainless mullet (child) has the capabilities of guiding a vessel in a straight line following GPS co-ordinates. My question is, who are the “counter intuitive brainless nitwits” that, by high court challenge to the Governments right to hold such in detention, have opened the gates wide to enable any vessel to be crewed by children alone, from here-on-in.

But sadly, in spite of the most of your intelligent dialog above, blow it all out of the water, by indicating a faith and trust in the Liberals and Tony Abbott to fix the mess…You must be joking!

But otherwise, a very intelligent and shared view.