ASIO, secrecy and lack of accountability

This article seeks to place the debate generated by the counter-terrorism legislation enacted in Australia since 2002 and, in particular, the expanded powers afforded to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) within an historical context. In the author's view, this is essential to fully appreciate what is at stake in the unprecedented measures that have been adopted in the name of prosecuting the 'war on terror'. One aspect of the legislation that requires close attention is the powers granted to ASIO to secretly detain and interrogate people without charge, together with the agency's expanded powers to carry out surveillance. It will be argued that, on the basis of the historical record, there is a danger that these capacities will be exploited for political purposes. It will be suggested that these dangers are heightened by the lack of any effective legal scrutiny of ASIO's assessments of national security.