SYDNEY, October 16, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The Australian government is acting with "indecent haste" to put into effect the new anti-terror draft law, which is dangerously threatening public freedoms, the country's top legal adviser warned on Sunday, October 16.

"The government is acting with indecent haste to bring in these laws," President of the Law Council of Australia John North told public radio, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

North said the government was not conducting proper consultation over the proposed laws, which he said threatened basic Australian freedoms.

On the proposed shoot-to-kill policy, the top lawyer said the government was attempting to prevent the legal fallout experienced by British anti-terrorism police who shot dead Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes in a London subway station last July after mistaking him for a suicide bomber.

"Under this, there seems to be enough room to maneuver and it seems to be directly pointed at the London situation where the person was shot," he said.

He said under current laws police could only shoot to kill if they believed they were directly threatened.

The new draft law, which was drafted by the government after the London attacks, say police need only call on a suspect to surrender "if practicable".

It includes seven-year jail terms for sedition, described as "promoting feelings of ill-will or hostility between groups" that threaten public order or "urging a person to assist the enemy".

It also includes life sentences for anyone who finances a terrorist organization and allows police to lock up terrorist suspects for two weeks without charge.

Police will be able also to issue "control orders" that can place uncharged suspects under house arrest for 12 months, force them to wear an electronic tracking tag and limit access to phone and Internet connections.

The government had kept details of the proposed legislation confidential but Australian Capital Territory Chief Minister John Stanhope published them Friday, saying he wanted them to be properly debated by the public.

The draft law is due to be introduced to parliament on October 31. It has a 10-year "sunset clause" after which it will expire.

While pledging loyalty to the country, Australian Muslims have charged that the new anti-terror measures are fueling anti-Muslim hysteria.

"London, more than any other terrorist attack, drove it home to us that it could happen here," said Howard.

The warning came as Prime Minister John Howard said Sunday that the government will double the size of its main spy agency to combat the threat of a homegrown terrorist attack.

Howard said staff levels as the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) would rise from 980 to 1,860 over the next five years in line with recommendations made by former intelligence chief Allan Taylor, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Howard said he feared Australia could face a similar attack to the London bombings which killed 52 people in July. The attacks were carried out by four British-born Muslims.

"London, more than any other terrorist attack, drove it home to us that it could happen here," Howard told reporters.

Howard said the best weapon in the fight against terrorism was good intelligence.

"It's one thing to have the capacity to respond effectively in the event of a terrorist attack ... it's entirely of another order to have the capacity to anticipate events," Howard said.

Howard has already doubled the spy agency's budget in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.

In August he defended his government's right to send spies into mosques and Islamic schools under the pretext of fighting terrorism, drawing immediate rebuke from the Muslim minority.