Marcus Butler
2 May 2016: Some of Australia's leading human rights experts, an international expert in law and a distinguished journalist led a discussion of Australia's anti-terror laws at a public seminar organised by the University of Canberra.
The University's Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis (IGPA) hosted Fifteen Years on: Where to Next for Terrorism Laws - a Democratic Conversation at Old Parliament House.
In 2001, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, new anti-terror laws were introduced in Australia, which included permitting covert surveillance for non-suspects, detention for up to 14 days without charge and warrantless search powers for police.
IGPA's expert panel discussed proposed changes to current Australian terrorism laws, as foreshadowed by the recent Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meetings in December 2015 and April 2016.
Speakers include:
Emeritus Professor Gillian Triggs, President of the Australian Human Rights Commission
Dr Helen Watchirs OAM, President and Human Rights Commissioner at the ACT Human Rights Commission
Dr Fergal Davis, Director of the Parliaments Project in the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law and Reader in Public Law at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London, and
Karen Middleton, Chief Political Correspondent The Saturday Paper
