The ongoing creep of the surveillance state has not paused for COVID-19. Indeed, the current architects of this decades-long endeavour 鈥 Peter Dutton, Mike Pezzullo and Karen Andrews 鈥 have used the unprecedented public health crisis to quietly continue passing new draconian laws.
Since the 2001 terror attack in New York, successive Australian governments have passed at least of national security/counterterrorism legislation with . While they purport to target terrorists, they encroach on all our rights.
Australia is not a lone wolf in this regard. Seven days after the 9/11 attacks of the World Trade Towers, encouraged member states to enact domestic anti-terror laws.
According to University of NSW law professor George Williams, Australia took up the call with greater gusto than other OECD countries, such as Britain and even the United States, in terms of the volume and reach of laws passed.
The John Howard government of the post-9/11 surveillance state with the .听
A new surveillance law reveals just how far the bow can be stretched when rights are incrementally eroded.
Identify and disrupt
The passed on August 25 gives the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Crime Intelligence Commission (ACIC) 鈥渆xtraordinary鈥 powers to hack into citizens鈥 online accounts, even taking them over.
These new laws were drafted up when Dutton was head of the Home Affairs Department. Introducing the bill, Dutton claimed the measures were aimed at combating 鈥渃hild sexual abuse, terrorism and the trafficking of firearms and illicit drugs鈥.
But the law, which took effect in early September, goes much further. The Identify and Disrupt Bill set up that allows agents to hack into online accounts. The measures are pre-emptive; they can impact people who are not suspected of committing any crime.
Two of these warrants now sit in the Surveillance Devices Act 2004 (Cth). The first is the data disruption warrant, which permits agents to hack into a phone or computer and add, copy, delete or alter data, with the purported aim of disrupting a serious online offence.
The second type is the network activity warrant, which provides the means to collect data on an alleged criminal activity by spying on an online account. This data cannot be used as evidence in court, but it can spark further investigative powers.
Both warrants can be applied to a target computer, including that of a non-suspect.
Inserted into the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) is the third type of warrant, which permits accounts to be taken over. An account takeover warrant permits the owner of an online account to be locked out of it while evidence is being gathered. Again, it could be applied to a non-suspect鈥檚 account.
Manipulating evidence
Despite government assurances that these laws will only be applied to the most severe of crimes, the warrants apply to federal offences carrying a maximum of three years prison.
Critics of the new draconian laws say they allow for authorities to intrude into peoples鈥 lives and manipulate the data.
鈥淭he police and spooks of Australia now have more powers and can reach further inside people鈥檚 lives and minds than the notorious Stasi of East Germany ever could鈥, president Bill Rowlings told 91自拍论坛.
鈥淭he new law allows faceless federal agents to 鈥榯arget and destroy鈥 people under what is officially called the Identify and Disrupt Bill鈥, he said. 鈥淭his awful law multiplies tenfold the powers and reach of government intrusion.鈥
These powers will allow intelligence agents to manipulate and omit data, Rowlings said. They will likely lead to the manufacturing of evidence, especially among police, who have been shown to wrongfully plant evidence that has led to wrongful convictions.
鈥淲hy wouldn鈥檛 they plant more 鈥榚vidence鈥 to suit themselves now they are permitted to do that officially?鈥, Rowlings asked.
Spying on you
The bill鈥檚 states it is 鈥渁nticipated that the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) may provide assistance to the AFP and the ACIC in relation to data disruption鈥.
The ASD is one of the nation鈥檚 foreign intelligence collection agencies. Until now, it has been restricted from spying on domestic targets.
The chief concern here is the exceptional powers of the ASD, that听 like those of domestic agencies.
The AFP raided News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst鈥檚 home after she wrote that revealed Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo and defence secretary Greg Moriarty were discussing the proposal to turn the ASD on the public. At the time, Dutton was quick to deny it. But , he said such plans were close to fruition.
Then, Rowlings warned that broadening the ASD鈥檚 mandate to internal targets would lead to less transparency and accountability.
The ongoing creep
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Andrews spruiked the success of the transnational crime investigation, Operation Ironside, which led to more than 220 local arrests.
They also welcomed the laws passed under the , which permits local agents 鈥斕齛s well as their US and European counterparts 鈥斕齮o foil the barriers created by encrypted data systems.
Further, the PM stated that more surveillance laws were waiting to be passed to allow intelligence and law enforcement agencies 鈥渢o do their job鈥. The just-passed hacker legislation was one of these.
鈥淭here is not the slightest question 鈥 [that] these laws will be abused鈥, Rowlings said. 鈥淚f what normally happens occurs, they will be used to target Aboriginal people, the poor, the homeless and the downtrodden.
鈥淲hen will police and spooks target the real crooks, instead of the false hobgoblins they have created to frighten the community鈥, he asked?
[Paul Gregoire is a Sydney-based journalist who writes for .]