Opposition to new crime legislation in Victoria, Australia
Publish date: 23 November 2004
Issue Number: 1223
Diary: Legalbrief Today
Category: Labour
People investigated under new crime legislation in the state of Victoria in Australia may be treated as suspects indefinitely even if they are never charged with offences, the Bill\'s critics claim.
Coercive powers orders could stand for 12 months, but could be extended an indefinite number of times, said Brian Walters SC, vice-president of Liberty Victoria. Hearings would be secret and people issued with a \'witness summons\' would not be allowed to disclose that fact, except to a lawyer, reports The Age. Anyone who reported on an application for a coercive powers order, or any information from a hearing, would face five years in jail. The new powers allow witnesses to be interrogated without a right to silence and they are also not protected against incriminating themselves. Full report in The Age
