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Australia's Howard wins backing for tough new terror laws
Australian Prime Minister John Howard won unanimous support from state premiers for tough new counter-terrorism laws, including preventive detention and electronic tagging of suspects. Describing the legislation as "unusual laws because we live in unusual circumstances", Howard said Tuesday the London bombings in July had brought home the "chilling reality" that terrorist attacks could be staged by a country's own citizens. "We are worried there are people in our country who might just do this," Howard told a news conference after a summit meeting with the Council of Australian Governments. The laws will be reviewed after five years and include a 10-year "sunset clause", after which they would have to be dropped, altered or renewed, he said. They include tighter checks on citizenship applicants, jail terms for inciting violence, detention of suspects without charge for up to two weeks and curtailing suspects' movements and contacts for up to a year. They also will provide police with greater stop, search and question powers. "In other circumstances I would never have sought these additional powers, I would never have asked the premiers of the Australian states to support me in enacting these laws," Howard said. "But we do live in very dangerous and different and threatening circumstances and a strong and comprehensive response is needed." The government will also ask the national counter-terrorism committee to develop "a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear strategy, bearing in mind the potential challenge of those agencies and properties in the terrorist environment", he said. The premiers endorsed recommendations to tighten airport security which include the establishment of special police teams at 11 major airports and the increased use of surveillance cameras. "I cannot guarantee that Australia will not be the subject of a terrorist attack, no law can guarantee that," Howard said. "But I can say as a result of the decisions taken today that we are in a stronger and better position to give peace of mind to the Australian community, and that is our responsibility."
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