Page 2890 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 11 October 2022
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The amendment bill will ensure community safety by extending the operation of the bill by a further five years, until 19 November 2026, and strengthen the human rights protections for individuals detained under the TETP Act. While some—for example, the Australian Lawyers for Human Rights—argued that the temporary and extraordinary provisions of the act’s mandate had expired, the justice and community safety committee inquiry into the bill resolved that there are ongoing threats of terrorism and that the sunset clause of this legislation “proved the right approach to manage the extraordinary nature of the powers and the extreme harm that could be caused from a potential terrorist event”.
The TETP Act was first introduced in 2006, when the ACT government acknowledged the clear need for strong counterterrorism laws. The TETP Act provides law enforcement with extraordinary powers to detain individuals under a preventive detention order, without charge, for up to 14 days to respond to and investigate where there is evidence that a terrorist act is imminent or where a terrorist act has occurred.
When the act was first introduced, the ACT government acknowledged the need for a strong counterterrorism law, as well as to consider human rights obligations and the fundamental principles of justice. The same considerations remain relevant to this proposed amendment bill.
The amendment bill is accompanied by amendments from the Attorney-General aimed at strengthening human rights protections for individuals detained under the TETP Act, as well as to extend operation of the TETP Act for a further five years, until 19 November 2026.
The proposed amendments to strengthen human rights protections, in summary, are as follows. There is a new right for people who are nationals of a foreign country who are detained under the act to have access to diplomatic or consular contact. A definition of a national of a foreign country is also provided, as well as stipulations around who can, and by when, offer a detainee this right. Contact hours for detained people with impaired decision-making ability will be doubled from two to four hours per day. There are also updates to the role of a police officer in the process, including that they take reasonable steps to assist a detainee to have contact with a person or an alternative person, and giving the police power to determine if a person is acceptable to have contact with a detainee.
Police are given a new ground on which to take identification from a detained person. The Attorney-General updated this proposed amendment to clarify that identification material may only be used in a complaint investigation or proceeding that relates to the injury or illness suffered by a detained person while in detention. This was after the JACS committee queried the scope of the use of the identification being taken, commenting that it should be more clearly restricted to protecting individuals who suffer that injury or illness while being detained. Lastly, identification material in the updated section above cannot be used for a purpose other than a complaint and investigation or a proceeding that relates to the person’s apprehension.
In closing, I indicate that the Canberra Liberals will be supporting this bill and the amendments accompanying it.
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