Terror suspects in Aus can now be detained for two weeks without basic rights; centuries of legal process undermined, says UNSW prof

Our government had junked ministerial responsibility, destroyed a bulwark of the Westminster tradition, so that when things went wrong, ministers now looked to put the blame on a civil servant, wrote Professor Buckley, Faculty of Law, University of NSW in The Canberra Times (28/8/2007, p.11). “In Australia, persons suspected of involvement with terrorism can now be detained for up to two weeks without the right to inform their loved ones or have legal counsel. Imagine if your spouse or child simply didn’t come home one day. Imagine if your inquiries at hospitals and morgues came up blank. Imagine the soul-searing distress”. “Now warrants can be approved by senior police officers – the centuries-old role of judges cast aside – the police are now supposed to somehow police their own conduct. A system that worked very well has been discarded for one wide open to abuse,” Buckley added.

Basic legal rights: “Our government refused to request the return of David Hicks for five years. Under laws of over 800 years’ standing, Hicks had a right to have a court determine the legitimacy of his incarceration. Our government denied it to him. Five years without trial is an utter rejection of habeas corpus – the writ identified time and again as the most important safeguard of the liberty of subjects in our legal system.

Barely a peep of protest: “Yet there has been barely a peep of protest to this radical law. Why? Because we of Ango-Celtic descent assume (history would tell us, stupidly) that such powers won’t be used against us – but only against those of ‘Middle-Eastern appearance’. We have accepted the destruction of this right due to a racism we deny, even to ourselves.

Professor Buckley is at the Faculty of Law, University of NSW, and leader of the Security & Prosperity Program, Australia

APEC timetable to 22 September: fireworks finale for summit

The APEC timetable for Sydney was outlined in The Australian Financial Review (3/9/2007 p.B2). Monday 27 Aug: The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) would start a week-long meeting before reporting to the leaders on Saturday morning.

Wednesday 29 Aug: ABAC would release a statement on climate change, underlining the growing regional business focus on the issue. US Chamber of Commerce president Tom Donohue would speak at a lunch.

Thursday 30 Aug: Business Summit at the Sydney Opera House. The focus this day would be on the regional strategic outlook and trade. Gala dinner at the Overseas Passenger Terminal.

Friday 31 Aug: Business Summit would continue with sessions on energy, innovation and financial stability. US President George Bush to address the summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin to host Russian business lunch.

Monday 3 Sept: Chinese President Hu Jintao to arrive in Perth.

Tuesday 4 Sept: Bush to arrive in Sydney, Hu in Perth and Canberra.

Wednesday 5 Sept: Bush to meet Australian Cabinet and hold news conference. Bush-Howard dinner. Hu at state dinner in Sydney.

Thursday 6 Sept: Hu and Howard to meet. Hu to also meet ministers. Bush and opposition leader Kevin Rudd to meet. Bush and Hu meet. Bush to visit Australian Maritime Museum. Vladimir Putin to arrive.

Friday 7 Sept: Howard-Putin meeting. Bush to meet South-East Asian leaders. Howard to hold bilateral meetings with several other leaders.

Saturday 8 Sept: US, Japanese and Australian leaders to hold first trilateral leadership summit.

Monday 10 Sept: Officials from the member countries to draft a summit statement at Darling Harbour.

Wednesday 12 Sept: Foreign and trade ministers to start meeting at Darling Harbour.

Thursday 13 Sept: Foreign and trade ministers to release pre-summit report. Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangestu lunch.

Saturday 15 Sept: Business delegation to meet leaders at Opera House. Leaders to hold retreat.

Sunday 16 Sept: Summit communique to be released around midday. Howard to hold concluding media conference.

Monday 17 Sept: World Bank to release report on trade facilitation.

Wednesday 19 Sept: APEC’s forerunner, the Pacific Economic Co-operation Council, to release a regional outlook.

Saturday 22 Sept: Fireworks display on Sydney Harbour.

1,500 APEC reporters have to list every address occupied in past 10 years

Security at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum seemed designed to foil terrorists by sheer bafflement, judging by the experience of two reporters, reported The Sydney Morning Herald (29/8/2007, p.3).

Nine-page questionnaire: In July they had to fill in a nine-page questionnaire, including every address they had occupied in the last 10 years (with the dates when they had moved in and out). They were told that to obtain a photo identity card they had to appear in person with photo identification. At the Sydney Convention Centre they were confronted by a wall of police and security guards. “You can’t enter without your APEC photo ID passes,” a guard said, barring the way. “But that’s what we have come to collect,” the reporters pleaded, waving emails advising that their passes had been approved. The security officers went into a huddle before ruling the reporters could enter this time.

Not just journos: They collected their photo passes and headed for the exit, where they were stopped again and told to hang their ID cards around their necks. When one reporter explained they only wanted to leave, he was told: “ID passes have to be worn inside the building at all times.” To leave the centre they had to swipe their new cards over an electronic scanner. The 1,500 journalists expected to arrive in Sydney for the summit have all had to register and receive their identification cards. Many people who work and live in the APEC security areas have also had to register and undergo a security check.

Solar pantaloons solve new-age warfare waste: huge piles of barely used batteries from night-sight gear and cameras: solution, Dyesol’s non-reflective 40W/sq metre fabric solar-panels

Soldiers who headed into combat typically dumped partly used batteries in key equipment, such as night-sight gear, to make certain it won’t fade to black when it really mattered, reported The Australian Financial Review (31/8/2007, p.79). Ten months ago, Sustainable Technologies International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dyesol, began a $2 million contract for the Defence Department to create solar fabric for use in the field. Early last month, STI received $200,000 in the third of a series of progressive milestone payments. The core idea was photons of light falling on ruthenium dye knock electrons loose, generating an electric current in an adjacent layer of titanium dioxide.

Solar tents and houses: It took about a square metre of dye-sensitised material to generate 40 peak watts of power. “We reckon that a reasonably energy-efficient house would need 30-40 square metres of panels,” said Sylvia Tulloch, managing director of Dyesol. Given Australia’s minerals expertise, Dyesol saw itself as a materials and components supplier to a multiplying number of practical research laboratories and firms worldwide.

Aus solar-solution: The inevitable result, now a chronic problem in Iraq, was huge piles of barely used batteries, and a constant logistics problem keeping up the supply of replacements. Australian high-tech solar power group Dyesol, based in Queanbeyan, NSW, was being funded under the program, administered by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, to develop camouflaged flexible solar power panels for use in the field to trickle-charge reusable batteries. They could also power cooling equipment, communications gear and sensors, as lightweight mobile powerpacks or integrated into field structures.

Inspired by vegies: The panels could be on backpacks, part of a tent, a vehicle, or laid out on the ground. The camouflage requirement was to stop the panels becoming targets for hostile aircraft or snipers, which might happen with pure silicon panels. The Dyesol technology was derived from conceptual breakthroughs by Swiss chemistry professor Michael Graetzel, now on the board of Dyesol after linking with Australian materials science couple Sylvia and Gavin Tulloch, and their colleague Hans Desilvestro. Using an approach referred to as biomimicry, or biomimetics, Graetzel worked out a process analogous to the way plants use chlorophyll, a green dye in their essential lifecycle process of photosynthesis.

Nanotech process: Solar radiation falling on chlorophyll, particularly the reddish end of the visible light range and near infrared radiation, generated loose electrons which were captured by surrounding plant protein to create weak electric currents used to power the plant’s life processes. In similar fashion, photons of light falling on ruthenium dye knock electrons loose, generating an electric current in an adjacent layer of titanium dioxide. Usually known as Mania, titanium dioxide was a white pigment used in paints and toothpaste. Australia, with its titanium-bearing rutile and ilmenite beach sands, was a major industrial player in titanium products. Research over the last 15 years has shown that having the titania in the form of ultra-tiny grains (nanoparticles) magnifies the effect.

Defence Dept contract: The voids between the nancparticles were filled with an iodide/triiodide electrolyte. The whole mix, including some platinum catalyst, could be squeezed between two glass plates to generate electricity in a window pane, a glass door or a skylight.

Police ban holiday snaps of APEC security fence as newspapers run tabloid spreads of fence-pix

Police were viewing anyone who photographed or filmed the APEC security fence with suspicion, reported The daily Telegraph (3/9/2007, p.8).
Somewhat paranoid: As well as detaining tourists, they also;

• forced a Melbourne documentary maker out of the declared zone; and

• arrested a homeless man who had a mobile phone camera.

NSW Daily Telegraph predicts violence by FLARE (For Liberation Autonomy Resistance Exodus)

Am internet download on how to avoid tear-gas, and bus-fares, during APEC summit by FLARE (For Liberation Autonomy Resistance Exodus) was evidence a group of APEC protestors were secretly plotting an outbreak of violence for US President George W. Bush’s arrival in Sydney, argued The Daily Telegraph (3/9/2007, p.1). The paper described the compilation as a “rioter’s training manual on how to wear gas masks, confront police and even evade fares”.

Police clampdowns in city: “The clandestine anarchist action, six weeks in the making, has been dubbed “FLARE in the void” and was described as an “Anti-APEC counter convergence”. Police were already on edge about security, yesterday clamping down on activity in the CBD – including forcing three German tourists to delete photographs they had of the security fence. And APEC-related arrests have already begun with the charging of 12 Greenpeace activists who boarded inflatable boats to paint “Australia Pushing Export Coal” on the side of a ship in Newcastle Harbour.

Violent intent, claims paper: The FLARE (For Liberation Autonomy Resistance Exodus) manual, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, openly declared an intent to commit violence. It informed protestors engaging in “direct action” to form small groups of five to 15 people and to wear masks so they could not be identified. “It is important to defy police attempts to frighten us,” the so-called Mutiny Collective had written in one section.

Anti-gas precautions: The manual told rioters to;

• wear gas masks, goggles, running shoes and full-body clothing to protect from tear gas and capsicum spray;

• advised carrying water and a bandanna soaked in vinegar to combat the effects of pepper spray;

• how to evade public transport fares, including forcing their way through railway station ticket barriers.

Australian Federal House of Representatives, Standing Committee on Science and Innovation says CO2 dumps lobby plans to amend existing legislation to regulate industry

It was desirable to achieve consistent legislation relating to CO2 dumps across all states and territories, said the report ‘Between a rock and a hard place: The science of geosequestration’ released by the Federal House of Representatives, Standing Committee on Science and Innovation on 13 August 2007. The terms of reference of the report was biased toward commercial proponents, and primary sources and organisations – set up by proponents – were widely quoted as evidence for the findings, in favor of the commercial beneficaries. These included Chevron and Anglo Coal, each of which had major Australian CO2 dump projects, and aimed to fund these through subsidies and carbon credits. The Kyoto rules do not allow credits for CO2 dumps. Australian government papers show its policy, plans credits for CO2 dumps

Law to enable credits for CO2 dumps: “There is currently no specific legislative or regulatory framework for CCS in Australia,” the report said. “There are, however, existing state and federal laws and regulations with relevance to various aspects of CCS. At the state level, the Queensland Petroleum and Gas (Protection and Safety) Act 2004 and the South Australian Petroleum Act 2000, for example, ‘provide for the transport by pipeline and storage in natural reservoirs of substances including carbon dioxide’.”

Cooperation should be extended: “At the Commonwealth level, environmental laws relevant to CCS include:

• the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999;

• the Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981; and the Offshore Petroleum Act 2006.

Need for new laws to enable waste dumps:” Current legislative arrangements involve multiple jurisdictions and approvals. It is desirable to achieve consistent legislation across all states and territories. Similar sedimentary storage sites in different states should be treated in the same way as far as practicable. Co-operation should be extended so that CO2 produced in one state may be able to be stored in another where long-term and secure storage is proximate and suitable”.

No CCS-specific regulatory framework: “The Australian Government is currently in the process of developing a nationally consistent regulatory framework.

• In September 2003, the MCMPR9 established a Geosequestration Regulatory Working Group (consisting of all federal, state and territory jurisdictions) to develop draft regulatory guiding principles for CCS;

• In November 2004, the MCMPR charged its Contact Officers Group with reporting on how to implement a legislative framework to regulate CCS in Australia. Although there is no CCS specific regulatory framework, it was suggested that legislation associated with the petroleum and mineral exploration industries covering approval processes, environmental protection, transport of gases by pipeline (although not specifically CO2), a legislative regime for storage and injection of gases as part of a petroleum recovery operation might provide a foundation.”

Support for MCMPR: “A significant volume of evidence to the inquiry was supportive of the MCMPR initiative and its recommendation for amendment to existing petroleum legislation rather than the development of totally new legislation where possible.

Chevron, for example, stated that: ‘While new or amended legislation may be required to allow the injection of carbon dioxide, many aspects of existing legislation, regulation or the principles behind existing regulation can be readily adapted to facilitate geosequestration projects.’ Chevron suggests using or adapting existing laws and regulations for areas such as:

• environmental impact assessment;

• the transportation of CO2;

• the design, drilling and production regulations in relation to petroleum wells; and

• disposal management plans.

According to Anglo Coal: ‘On balance therefore we think incorporation into existing petroleum legislation is the most practicable route, given that there will be a vital need to promote co-development and to reconcile conflicts between overlapping tenements – both of which would be difficult to achieve if the respective tenements were housed in different regulatory structures with different regulators’.”

Reference: ‘Between a rock and a hard place: The science of geosequestration’. House of Representatives, Standing Committee on Science and Innovation, August 2007, Canberra. For Media comment: contact the Committee Chair, Mr Petro Georgiou MP. Phone: (02) 6277 4419 or the Deputy Chair, Mr Harry Quick MP. Phone: (02) 6277 4304. For information: contact the Committee Secretary. Phone: (02) 6277 4150. Issued by: Liaison and Projects Office, House of Representatives. Phone: (02) 6277 2392. Copies of the report can be obtained from the website:
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/scin/geosequestration/index.htm

Australian State Queensland Premier, Beattie calls AFP “Keystone Cops” after false report of terror threat to Gold Coast

Haneef was arrested at Brisbane airport on July 2 while trying to board a flight on a one-way ticket to India, and was held for a week without charges being laid, in the first use of tough terrorism laws, reported The Canberra Times (28/7/2007, p.B3).

Very leaky investigation: Premier Peter Beattie had called the AFP ‘the Keystone Cops’ and their investigation into Haneef ‘almost farcical’ after a newspaper report said Haneef had been linked with an alleged threat to the Q1 skyscraper on the Gold Coast. There was persistent leaking by the police, but there was no apology yesterday for the seemingly endless stream of leaks from the investigating task force. At a press conference in Perth on Thursday, Keelty spoke publicly for the first time since it was revealed prosecutors had wrongly claimed Haneef’s SIM card was found in the burning vehicle used in the attack on Glasgow Airport.

Error not made by AFP: “I point out that error was made by the prosecutor,” Keelty said. “The facts that the AFP or the investigation team had put before the court were correct. The prosecutor made an oral submission that was incorrect.” He said he was disappointed with Beattie’s criticisms but said he understood his frustrations over the case. By criticising the Haneef investigation, Beattie was criticising his own police force, he said. Keelty revealed one of the team involved in the case dropped dead while on duty last week, on the same day Andrews cancelled Haneef’s visa.

Under a lot of pressure: “There are enormous pressures here,” Keelty said. Keelty repeatedly said the AFP had acted professionally. By ignoring the leaking, he put the emphasis on the main mistake, which was made in the court room by one of the prosecutor’s team.

Habib ‘security threat’ case: intelligence agencies evidence on home phone calls, discredited: calls were made three weeks, after Habib arrested

Holes had emerged in the evidence Australian Intelligence agencies relied on to paint former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib as a national security threat, wrote Natalie O’Brien in The Australian (3/9/2007, p.1).

Phone-calls not possible: Authorities had cited phone calls made by a US terrorist to Habib’s Sydney home in 1993 to bolster their case against him. But The Australian has learned the terrorist could not have made the calls, which phone records revealed were made after he was arrested over the 1993 bomb attack on New York’s World Trade Centre. The two calls – from a New Jersey phone number linked to the convicted terrorist Ibrahim El-Gabrowny – were made nearly three weeks after he had been arrested.

US bombing: It was understood that the records of the call formed part of the reason Habib was considered a security threat. But the latest revelations backed up claims made by Habib that the calls were faxes about fundraising activities sent to him by other members of the New Jersey Muslim community with access to the same phone. The World Trade Centre was attacked for the first time on 26 February 1993, and El-Gabrowny was arrested on March 4 along with several other men.

Trying to clear his name: The Australian has established that the two calls to Habib’s home in 1993 were made on March 20 and 21, while El-Gabrowny was still in custody. The Australian was investigating the basis of the allegations that Habib was a national security threat, as the Sydney father of four attempted to clear his name and regain his Australian passport. Habib was also suing the Federal Government for damages over his detention in Egypt and at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where he was held as a terror suspect for three years without being charged.

Over-heavy police response to APEC protests may damage Howard’s federal election prospects: Leader editorial in The Australian

Climate change and Iraq would no doubt be a focus of the anticipated protest actions that have seen areas of Sydney shut off from public use, according to a leader editorial in The Australian (3/9/2007, p.17).

Protests a fact of life: “Before the barricades had been erected and the heads of state arrived, environment group Greenpeace had already staged its first act of civil disobedience, painting the hull of a ship on Newcastle Harbour to protest against Australia’s coal expoerts. We recognise that protest actions are a fact of life with gatherings such as APEC despite the great contribution free world trade has made to pulling millions of people in the Third World out of poverty.

Political dimensions: “Nonetheless, aside from photo opportunities with world leaders, the level of violence that takes place at what have been billed as peaceful protests, and how the heavy police presence responds to it, may well be the wildcard for what the APEC summit means politically for Mr Howard with a federal election due at any time,” the editorial concluded.