TY - JOUR
T1 - Another expansion of military call out powers in Australia : some critical legal, constitutional and political questions
AU - Head, Michael
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Since the turn of the century, extensive statutory provisions have been introduced, for the first time, specifically empowering Australian government ministers, or if ‘pre-authorised’, the Chief of the Defence Force (‘CDF’), to call out the Australian Defence Force (‘ADF’) to deal with either possible ‘domestic violence’ – including a perceived threat to ‘Commonwealth interests’ – or a likely danger to ‘declared infrastructure’. None of these terms are defined in the legislation, nor are other key phrases, effectively handing vague and potentially far-reaching powers to governments and military commanders. Once deployed, military personnel can exercise extraordinary powers over civilians, overturning basic legal and democratic rights. In late 2018, for the third time since 2000, and again with little public debate or scrutiny, Australia’s Parliament gave several government ministers and/or the CDF new or extended powers to mobilise the armed forces, potentially to put down civil unrest.
AB - Since the turn of the century, extensive statutory provisions have been introduced, for the first time, specifically empowering Australian government ministers, or if ‘pre-authorised’, the Chief of the Defence Force (‘CDF’), to call out the Australian Defence Force (‘ADF’) to deal with either possible ‘domestic violence’ – including a perceived threat to ‘Commonwealth interests’ – or a likely danger to ‘declared infrastructure’. None of these terms are defined in the legislation, nor are other key phrases, effectively handing vague and potentially far-reaching powers to governments and military commanders. Once deployed, military personnel can exercise extraordinary powers over civilians, overturning basic legal and democratic rights. In late 2018, for the third time since 2000, and again with little public debate or scrutiny, Australia’s Parliament gave several government ministers and/or the CDF new or extended powers to mobilise the armed forces, potentially to put down civil unrest.
KW - Australia
KW - Armed Forces
KW - civil functions
KW - mobilization
KW - politics and government
KW - law and legislation
KW - constitutional law
UR - http://handle.westernsydney.edu.au:8081/1959.7/uws:51924
UR - http://www.unswlawjournal.unsw.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2019-5-HEAD.pdf
M3 - Article
SN - 2209-6582
VL - 5
JO - UNSW Law Journal Forum
JF - UNSW Law Journal Forum
ER -