|
No random phone-tapping: Ruddock
PEOPLE calling the terror hotline could have their phones tapped but only where it was believed it could lead to a terrorist suspect, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said.Mr Ruddock today rejected claims that proposed new telephone interception powers could be randomly used to tap the phones of anonymous callers to the National Security Hotline. He said information provided to the hotline was always treated with the strictest confidence and could be given anonymously. "I am satisfied the strict reporting and oversight mechanisms will ensure this additional power is used responsibly by police and agencies whose duty it is to protect our community from a terrorist attack or serious criminal activity," Mr Ruddock said. News Limited newspapers today reported the Australian Federal Police as saying they would use proposed new telephone tapping powers covertly on civilians who offer information about suspected terrorists. Under what are known as B-party warrants, police who can't identify the phone service used by a suspect or can't intercept a target phone service will be permitted to tap phones belonging to the target's family, friends and associates. Mr Ruddock said changes in the Telecommunications (Interception) Amendment Bill 2006 were part of the Government's commitment to providing appropriate tools to law enforcement and national security agencies. He said the laws would be available in only very limited circumstances to target the communications of terrorist or criminal suspects when all other investigative means had been exhausted. Interception of third party telephone conversations would be permitted only when an issuing authority such as a judge was satisfied there were reasonable grounds for suspecting a person was using or likely to use that telecommunications service. The judge also had to be satisfied information obtained would assist in investigation of a suspected serious offence such as terrorism, murder or kidnapping. Mr Ruddock said that could only happen when the police or security agency had exhausted all other methods of identifying the telecommunications service likely to be used by the suspect. "To ensure the use of the proposed new laws is strictly limited, the issuing authority must also consider additional factors such as the impact on the privacy of any person, the gravity of the alleged offences, the usefulness of the material likely to be intercepted and to what extent alternative methods of investigating the offence have been used," he said. Posted by: Oztralian 2006-03-18 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=145835 |