It is a very difficult task to protect the human rights of Australians while similtaneously taking those rights away with draconian laws.

What human right

I am glad we are free to post comments , including the comments of the ill informed and bigoted, and let's face it this issue has dragged out some real knuckle scrapers.

I am also glad that we are ruled by law and that those laws have their limits and can be applied equally to all. The idea of that is that it protects us from arbitrary and capricious acts by Ministers like Kevin Andrews.

It was unfortunate that Haneef was held on the basis of poor work by the AFP and DPP, and there should be an independant review of what went wrong so that we can improve things for the future.

Howard's end may be because he has failed to secure our nation. The Howard Government gave Dr Haneef the s.457 visa, if he is a person of interest why didn't they check that before he came here ? It is Howard and Co that are responsible for the DPP and AFP, the case falling over is not the fault of some poor sod in Brisbane. The law didn't fail it was those we elected to manage our affairs that have failed us.

Ozbib,

"I think that Australia is at more risk of becoming a managed democracy, like Malaysia, than a despotism. But we are quite some way from that yet."

I agree. But I guess I can get a little carried away when there's an issue that I'm passionate about.

Leigh,

"And, of course, only the dreadful right wingers form military governments!"

I actually meant any distant future government - Left or Right (you may be surprised to find that I actually agree with your points about how the Left can also be a threat to our democracy). But after re-reading my post I can see how you've interpreted it that way. Perhaps I should be a little more clearer next time. It can be hard to narrow everything down into 350 words when your head is spinning with points to make - as I'm sure you understand.

What occurred with Dr Haneef was an experiment in how far they could go under the guise of terrorism and sedition laws for outright political expedience. It was to desensitize the Australian public to the fact that they (the government) was actively seeking the acceptance of the removal of our God given rights. Our Laws are based on the Bible and under these Laws we are all accorded rights that make us all equal no matter what race colour or creed you happen to be.
Though my concern for his mental anguish was present I have to admit that I was primarily worried about our rights of the presumption of innocence were being attacked. The matter of guilty or innocence was secondary to his standing under the Law, after all this is now the second time (under to oversight of our government) that an individual was gaoled without trial or given recourse to appeal directly to those rights under the Law.

This isn't the end this is the begining of a slippery slide; I worry less about terrorism than I worry about our Feral (that was not miss spelled) Government.

Thank you Natasha and associates for standing on the wall BUT DON'T BLINK OR TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THEM , for while they aren't kissing babies they are busy stealing their lollipops.

Quote from an American of long ago " GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH"

Nickmihaleff, good point.

Both fascism and communism have adopted such draconian sedition laws?

In what direction do you think we are headed?

Many people cringe at what I see coming but humour me and consider the formation of zones all over the globe IE the European Union, The North American Alliance (name not declared yet). With these alliances being adopted I see a one world government that will be totalitarian, wanting conformity but for the good of the whole (or is that the official line). This prerequisit for towing the (party line, sounds familiar to the old Soviet system) will be paramount for the system to work. Just look at the glimpse of the way they applied the anti-terror /sedition laws with dr Haneef and you can see the compliance observed by the majority of the people in Australia - please note I didn't say all Australians some still consider the shadows that are cast for tomorrow.
Tomorrow is what really worries me as I personally do not want this legacy for my children or their children it's far too dangerous.

But your question was what do I see, a system of repackaged despotism, rebadged and sold through the use of misdirection for mass consumption. Look at APEC and ask yourself why do so many protest? Some people dismiss it as simply rent-A-crowd but something is truly wrong here they meet behind closed doors and all that time the USA is spending the world into economic collapse. The Pentagon has been quoted that it cannot account for $2.3 TRILLION !
Yet the US dollar is still worth more than our dollar yet we are not spending the money of future generations. No something else is happening I feel we as a populas are being herded like sheep for the pen. My ancestors came out of the Soviet abuses, my Grandfather was shot in the leg crossing the border getting away so I am very uneasy about this and as I said previously I fear the government more than any terrorist.