By Jennifer Thompson
SYDNEY — Prisoners' and civil rights group Justice Action has condemned NSW MP Andrew Tink's new bill, introduced in parliament last week, which would give NSW police the power to detain and interrogate suspects for up to 12 hours without laying charges.
Justice Action called on the Carr Labor government to wait for the findings of the Wood Royal Commission into NSW police corruption before giving support to Tink's "draconian bill".
"There is a royal commission exposing endemic police corruption and abuse of powers. To be giving the police any additional powers only a few months prior to the commission's final report is a serious breach of faith in [it]. This is a time when every measure must be taken to improve accountability and prevent abuses", said Justice Action coordinator George Selvanera.
The bill was a "litmus test" for the Carr government, Selvanera said. The government could reject the bill and wait for the commission's report then act to prevent police abuse of their powers, or they could use the community's misplaced fears — crime rates are actually falling — to "win votes at the expense of human rights", he said. n