Submission to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Review of Counter-Terrorism Legislation, Australian Attorney-General's Department

Abstract

The purpose of the Review is that the Committee should review and evaluate the operation, effectiveness and implications of the relevant amendments in each jurisdiction. The goals of this Review include recommendations by the Committee as to whether the laws the subject of the Review: • are necessary and proportionate, • are effective against terrorism by providing law enforcement, intelligence and security agencies with adequate tools to prevent, detect and respond to acts of terrorism, • are being exercised in a way that is evidence based, intelligence-led and proportionate, and • contain appropriate safeguards against abuse. The goals of the Review (and in particular the language of those goals) are directly traceable to the content of the 27 September 2005 COAG Communique and to the language in media releases from the ACT Chief Minister. The ACT Chief Minister media releases articulate before the COAG meeting principles that should, according to the ACT Government, be adhered to, and following the COAG meeting, highlight assurances provided by the Prime Minister at that meeting, and assert that the ACT principles had been met. These sources of the language of the Goals of the COAG Review are immediately important for how the COAG Review of Counter Terrorism Legislation Committee fulfills its purposes and mandate.