More erosion of liberty

The Foreign Espionage Bill (or, to give it its full name, National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Bill) going through parliament at the moment is a threat to not-for-profit (NFP) organisations in that it could make peaceful protests punishable by up to 20 years in jail.

Hundreds of thousands of people around Australia took to the streets to protest against Australian involvement in the Iraq war. Potentially, they could all be put in prison if that were to be repeated!

The bill is wide ranging and at times vague in how it will tackle foreign interference, but every year we surrender more and more of our personal liberty in the name of security. It’s a high price to pay for whatever peace of mind it offers.