Australia's expanded military call-out powers : causes for concern

The Defence Legislation Amendment (Aid to Civilian Authorities) Act 2006 (Cth) was passed in February 2006, considerably expanding the military call-out powers, first enacted in 2000. This amending legislation, and the manner and circumstances in which it was adopted, underscore the concerns that this author has expressed previously about the preparations to use the armed forces against civilians on domestic soil1. After a debate lasting only a total of about six hours in the Senate and House of Representatives, the Commonwealth parliament passed the amendments to the Defence Act 1903 (Cth) (‘the Act’) with little public discussion or media coverage, on the basis of essential agreement between the Howard government and the Labor opposition.