Without answers, terror laws should be rejected

WE CAN all agree that terrorist attacks need to be prevented. And we can all agree that civil liberties need to be protected. So beneath the legal and constitutional technicalities, debate over the Government's proposed terrorism legislation involves striking a balance between two opposing risks. One is the possibility that the proposed powers will be misused. The other is the danger that without extra powers the Government would not be able to stop a terrorist attack. So far we have seen a lot of talk about the first of these risks that new ASIO and police powers could be intentionally or unintentionally misused in ways that grossly infringe our civil liberties. This is a serious issue. Even so, I think a lot of people would support new detention and control powers, if they could be convinced that these powers would really help prevent a terrorist attack.