Reflecting on the recent decision to ban two Islamist books, Norm Abjorensen is critical of how censorship has been used in the war on terror to pursue political rather than security goals. In July 2006 the Australian Government took the unusual step of banning two radical Islamic books on security grounds - the only western...

This paper reviews law and order legislation that was passed in the States and Territories in the period from 1 January 2003 to 31 July 2006.

The Security Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Act 2002 requires the attorney-general to cause a public and independent review of the operation of Security Acts relating to terrorism. The Security Legislation Review Committee’s report recommends a number of important changes to the government’s terrorism-related legislation and measures to ameliorate its impact in the Muslim community.

Legislating now and trying to fix the problems later is a dangerous practice, argues Andrew Lynch.

How well prepared is Australia to meet the twin challenges of infectious disease and bioterrorism? This paper explores these issues and offers some advice about how Australia should incorporate these challenges into our thinking about security. The paper considers the spectrum of biological threats, both natural and deliberate. A summary is available online.