The Sydney siege should not be used to justify draconian new anti-terrorism laws
” . . . .
From that point until yesterday’s terrible events, police and Asio had all the authority they needed to keep track of a man who revealed himself over the years to be really nasty and really crazy.
Old laws allowed police to bug his phones, intercept his emails and place him under surveillance. They didn’t even need a warrant to access his metadata and track down everywhere Monis had been and everyone he was talking to year after year.
They didn’t need fresh laws threatening journalists with 10 years’ jail for revealing Asio’s newfangled “special” operations. Look at the superb cooperation the press displayed during the siege: forgoing scoop after scoop to follow the police strategy of denying Monis the oxygen of publicity.
. . . . “
AuntyUta 
David Marr is always the voice of reason.
Excellent article. I especially like this point: “In the months ahead, with due acknowledgement for the skill they showed in the siege, a failure of policing will have to be faced.”
This, the call for draconian anti-terrorist laws, and the fact that Australian Defence Force held a Terror Drill at the exact same location one year ago (https://aotearoaawiderperspective.wordpress.com/2014/12/15/anti-terror-drill-at-martin-place-exactly-one-year-ago/) has led many in the blogosphere to raise the possibility this was a false flag event.
Whether it was or not will become more clear as more facts emerge.
This is interesting, Stuart, Thanks for commenting!
Former intelligence operative Wayne Madsen believes the Sydney siege was most likely a false flag operation to justify intensified surveillance and security measures in Australia and to whip up anti-Muslim sentiment leading up to a vote in Parliament on support for a Palestinian state: http://www.the5thestate.asia/2014/12/wayne-madsen-sydney-standoff-has-all.html
I do hope Australia doesn’t jump on the American terrorism hysteria bandwagon. We’re hysterical enough for the whole world.
I can assure you, Linda, that terrorism hysteria is already very much to be found all over Australia. We are not that much different from the US. So far we do have different gun laws from yours, but there are some voices being heard here that each individual should be allowed to carry weapons for their own defense! Fortunately our politicians are dead against a change in our gun laws. Law abiding citizens do not carry any guns here unless they have a special gun license. The great majority of people do not own a gun license. Unfortunately a lot of illegal weapons seem to be around.