President's report to 2024 AGM

QUEENSLAND COUNCIL OF CIVIL LIBERTIES

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

        20 OCTOBER 2024

MCILWRAITH CROQUET CLUB

                                      PRESIDENT’S REPORT

1.               EXECUTIVE

This year, the executive consisted of, in addition to me:

·         VP’s-Terry O’Gorman and Angus Murray

·         Secretary Katherine Gough

·         Treasurer John Drew

·         ordinary executive members-Greg Jones, John Ransley, Eugene O’Sullivan, Chris Main, Siegfried Clarke, Tracy Bryan (newsletter editor) and Nicola Murray

I once again, thank them for their contributions to the Council this year.

I have to announce that this year Tracy Bryan retired as newsletter editor. The job of newsletter editor is hard, often thankless work but it is critical to keeping touch with our membership. We thank Tracy for her contribution. David McIlveen has kindly agreed to become newsletter editor.

2.               ISSUES

As is the tradition with these reports, I set out below the issues with which we have been concerned throughout the year. Except for the confidential submissions, all the submissions referred to below are to be found on the website.

(a)             Refugees

Following the High Court’s overturning of its decision Al Kateb, a long overdue result, the government introduced legislation authorizing applications to a court for an order for the preventive detention of those released as a result of that decision. This legislation is part of an increasing trend by which people who have served their sentences are being subject to further detention or restrictions on their liberty on the basis that they are "dangerous". These types of laws started with sex offenders, moved to bikies, terrorists and recently the High Court said there was nothing wrong with Western Australia legislation that detained people after completing their sentence who had been convicted of house breaking.

(b)             Double jeopardy

We opposed further legislation by the State Government cutting yet another swathe through this important principle.

(c)             Youth justice

This was the issue of the year in State politics, as it was for the previous 12 months. Recent data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing that rates of youth crime in Queensland have plummeted over the last 14 years show conclusively that the behaviour of both sides of politics in relation to this issue has been immoral and reprehensible. Throwing more young offenders into detention or prison is not going to keep the community safe. Rather, it is going to result in better criminals and more crime.

(d)             Right to disconnect

QCCL welcomed the passage of right to disconnect laws.

(e)             Free speech

Issues relating to free speech have become more intense in recent years, given the increasing moral panic about social media and related issues.

We made a submission opposing the government’s proposed doxing laws in their current form. We also opposed the proposed Misinformation and Disinformation Bill 2024.

We condemned the intervention of the e-safety Commissioner in relation to an episode of violence which was shown on mainstream American TV in prime time.

The Internet is not a broadcast medium. Individuals are not at the same risk of being accidentally exposed to content that they do not want to see or hear. Usually, to find material on the Internet you have to go looking for it. Algorithms supply users with material based on their established interests. The risk of unwilling exposure to the type of content under discussion must therefore be small.

The consequence of the Online Safety Act is that the Commissioner is the sole arbiter of whether content from anywhere in the world should be subject to Australia’s film and literature classification system.

(f)              Discrimination

We criticized the state government for not going far enough in its changes to anti-discrimination law.

Religious educational institutions should not be allowed to discriminate against students (current or prospective) on the grounds of their sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or relationship status, or pregnancy, or on the grounds that a family member or carer has one of those attributes.

Religious educational institutions should not be allowed to discriminate against any staff (current or prospective) on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital or relationship status, or pregnancy.

(g)             Human Rights Act

Our submission to the review of the Human Rights Act, amongst other things argued for the inclusion of a right to compensation for breaches of the Act. We argued for the introduction of a right to a healthy environment. Our submission opposed any amendment which might give victims of crime a right to equal access to the criminal justice system.

(h)             Police

The Council opposed the extension of Jack’s Law which authorizes the suspicion less search of people in public with a magnetometer.

We noted the following disturbing statistics about police shootings:

·         There have been 23 Police shootings in Queensland from 2021-2024; and

·         An ABC 7.30 Report by Stephanie Zillman on 4 August 2023 asserted that data shows that Queensland Police shot more people in 2022 than Police in the rest of Australia combined.

As a consequence, we supported a call by the Police Union for a Royal commission into police shootings.

We continued our calls for the implementation of recommendation 68 of the Richards report into Queensland Police Service responses to domestic and family violence which called for the establishment of an independent Police Integrity Unit separate from the Crime and Corruption Commission to deal with all complaints in relation to police.

Angus will no doubt fill you in on his work in the privacy and digital technology areas.

Michael Cope

President

20 October 2024