Letter

In response to Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny – and this on

The infamous Rowland law

Thank you Greg Barns. This Rowland law was passed with utter contempt for the parliamentary committee system which is there to allow public input. She was asked three times on ABC TV to elaborate and obfuscated. Only a handful of the reported 7000 submissions were published by the PJCIS. Although all federal legislation is supposed to pass through a human rights filter, not this time it seems. Both the IGIS and the HRC made submissions, yet I don’t believe their views were actioned; still, I have asked them. S.114.4A (5) is bad law as they and I pointed out in our submissions. There is also that part with no place in Australian law which does away with procedural fairness (eg, audi alterem partem, give a ratio decidendi).

It seems the Greens, Liberals, Nationals and Teals were unable to withstand the steamroller and ensure proper consideration of the bill.

— Geoff Taylor from Borlu (Perth)