The stack of new laws rushed through the Queensland parliament in recent weeks have put the Liberal National Party government on a collision course with the judiciary, the legal fraternity, trade unions and civil liberties activists not seen since the days of Joh Bjelke Petersen.
These new laws — directed at bikie gangs, G20 protesters, sex offenders and workers compensation — attack basic freedoms of association, the right to protest peacefully, fair sentencing and the right of workers to sue negligent employers.
Serious questions have also been raised over the independence of the judiciary from political interference.
Premier Campbell Newman is on record making critical statements about decisions of magistrates and judges relating to sentencing and granting of bail.
In October, after a defendant was granted conditional bail over his alleged involvement in a bikie brawl at the Gold Coast, Newman publicly stated his disagreement with the magistrate’s decision and insisted that the judiciary apply the laws “as they were designed by parliament”.
The Director of Public Prosecutions subsequently applied for the bail to end. The presiding judge, Justice George Fryberg, adjourned this bid on October 30, saying the premier’s remarks on the case risked the judiciary appearing to be tools of government.
Fryberg said: “The government’s principal spokesman has publicly told the court what the outcome should be ... and that’s what is troubling me,” the Courier Mail reported on October 31.
The anti-bikie legislation has received wide media coverage, but new laws have been passed targeting people other than bikies.
State parliament passed a bill on October 29 granting police extended powers during the G20 summit in Brisbane next year. New laws will create a restricted zone for the event, including giving police extra search and arrest powers, and the relocation of residents within the zone who do not pass criminal history checks.
Additional police powers include the right to strip search and detain people believed to be carrying a range of prohibited items.
Another set of laws has sparked outrage from the legal profession who are worried the legal principle of separation of powers is at risk.
The Dangerous Sex Offenders Bill allows Queensland attorney general Jarrod Bleijie to recommend serious violent offenders be kept in jail indefinitely. He said: "It does take it out of the court and it does put it in my jurisdiction," the ABC reported on October 16.
Queensland Law Society president Annette Bradfield said the new laws mean "the government is the judge, jury and executioner”.
Queensland council of Civil Liberties spokesperson Terry O’Gorman said: "It just shows the mindset, the arrogance, the megalomania of this vastly inexperienced conveyancer who's now — unfortunately, for the rest of us — been thrust into the position of attorney general.”
Workers’ rights are also up for grabs in this combined attack on civil liberties. After consideration for a year by a parliamentary committee — which recommended to the government that there be no changes to the existing workers compensation law — changes have been legislated which limit compensation claims made through the courts, and remove the right of workers to sue negligent employers.
These have been opposed not only by the trade union movement, but also the legal profession and public opinion.
A recent opinion poll conducted in Newman’s electorate of Ashgrove revealed that 88% opposed the workcover changes, and support the right of workers to sue negligent employers.
Australian Lawyers Alliance spokesperson Rod Hodgson said: “Polling shows clearly 58.5% of Ashgrove voters say they will be less likely to vote for the LNP at the next state election, if the government passes the laws to fundamentally change our current workers’ compensation scheme, which is the best in the country.”
While strong opposition has been voiced from lawyer groups, legal academics, trade unions and the Queensland Council of Civil Liberties, this has not, at this stage, translated into the beginnings of a mass campaign.
It is clear that a broad movement like that which existed during the Bjelke -Petersen era is needed to fight these attacks on our rights as citizens. Such a movement would combine community groups, trade unions, students, churches, academics and political parties.
[Green Left Weekly is hosting a public forum to discuss these issues on November 12. Invited speaker are: Terry O’Gorman, spokesperson for the Qld Council of Civil Liberties, Dr Mark Lauchs, Law Academic QUT, and a representative from the Electrical Trades Union.]