The Australian government has battled for more than a year to get the new laws through parliament. Australia’s main spy agency has been given the power to hold anyone aged 16 and over for up to a week without charge if they are suspected of knowing of terrorist activities. Parliament passed the new powers for the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) late Wednesday after the government watered down a proposal that critics said would create a draconian secret police. Attorney-General Daryl Williams said ASIO now had the tools it needed to identify and prevent planned attacks in Australia. “ASIO can get on with the job of protecting Australians and Australian interests against terrorism and other threats to our security,” Williams said in a statement released Thursday. The proposed law changes were unveiled after the September 11 attacks on the United States, but it has taken the conservative government over a year to negotiate their passage with opposition parties, which hold the balance of power in the parliament’s upper house. Full Story
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