bazz, if ozzies like you enjoyed the democratic powers i urge you to demand, you could stop people like me moving in. but you're only subjects, not citizens, and the mcmahon government decided to get some educated immigrants without consulting you. saved 'em having to spend money educating the locals, you see. i was glad to come, i found participating in genocide rather depressing and figured life here would be a bucolic holiday.

see, if you had listened to me in the past, you wouldn't have to listen to me now.

goddess, my advice to you is to write to osama bin laden, explaining your sensitive nature, and asking him to put you on his advance warning list. don't rely on the foreign minister, he only knows what the cia tells him. and of course, wave a mop handle under the bed where the reds used to live, before retiring.

EstherL2

With all the screaming from the left of politics about our anti terroism laws, I doubt whether 99 per cent of people have been affected at all. The only infringement on my 'human rights' have been a slightly longer wait at the airport. The screams about these laws were nothing but a storm in a tea cup by a small element in our society that have nothing better to do than to protest in the name of freedom. Often they are the most violent in the community and pretend to represent a large number of people because they get access to the press.

Benjamin Franklin said "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty. " Charles Schumer said "Giving up even an ounce of precious freedom is a very serious thing to do.
". I think these statements say it all. As for preventing "another 9/11", read "The New Pearl Harbor" by David Ray Griffin then decide for yourselves if anyone could.

To imagine that the Government can prevent a concerted effort to commit a violent attack here is nieve. It doesnt take a genius to figure out a way to harm a lot of people, especially if your willing to forfeit your life to do so - for a great example of what I mean, take a snapshot of Iraq, with its 100's of thousands of elite american troops yet still powerless to stop such attacks.

So in effect we are not giving up a little bit of freedom for more protection, we are giving up another bit of freedom for the perception of protection. Yes it makes you feel better I know but when they do strike us because of our participation the sedition laws wont help the victims in any way whatsoever and they may even hinder discourse to finding a solution to the global conflict that we, the US and the rest of the coalition has created.

"Are some of these laws, such as the control orders and the sedition laws too 'harsh' and do they infringe on the basic human rights of the people?"

Hell yes. Thought crimes and censorship is wrong, period. Under these rules it would be illegal to conspire against a government that executed your family in front of your eyes.

if history has any lessons for you, remember: hitler began tearing up the weimar constitution to protect the german people from terrorists. they were content to let him do it, since he assured them that good germans had nothing to fear, and safety was more important than a little loss of liberty.

the current australian government aren't nazis. but if you let them get away with one sedition law, they'll try two, and then three...

unfortunately, there's nothing you can do about it, is there?