Counter Terrorism Laws

Howard open to suggestion on terrorism laws. :

"Prime Minister John Howard says he is prepared to keep talking with the states and territories about the final form of his anti-terrorism legislation, but he will not alter the substance of what has already been agreed to."

I am so glad John Howard is going to keep negotiating the final draft of these laws because that is what it is about. The State leaders and he met a few weeks ago and then the draft was produced which caused some debate. That is only right and proper in a democracy that new laws should be open for discussion and debate so that the final version is as close to workable as possible. It is understood that the Commonwealth Games is a good event to have them ready by. Past a certain point discussion achieves nothing. In the meantime the real issues have been aired and people have made some good points. The trouble with being a colonial country is we still think we have to look to someone for approval and that we cannot just discuss and debate things for ourselves. There is a fear that if it is out there in the open it will somehow fall apart or be lost in the wash. We have no faith in ourselves to make sensible, lasting policies and yet, as a nation, we have had a number of policy debates and our resultant policies have worked and made this a better country. As leader, John Howard needs to make sure we don't go off on a tangent, but any serious issues raised about how the counter terrorism laws are phrased or what the implications might be need to be considered. By the time we've made the adjustments, they will probably be useful additions to what we have to meet the needs of these ridiculous times. The real fear is that once arrested anyone could become a persona non grata. That is not what we want at all and it would serve no useful purpose in a country that has been good at allowing people to get on with their lives.