`Home Grown Terrorism'

Yesterday, I finished work early and decided to go to Town Hall for a spot of clothes shopping.

Bad move.

As I've mentioned before, I was living in New York on September 11th and experienced the extraordinary strictures on civil liberties in the ensuing months. The scenes around Sydney's Central Local Court and the tense atmosphere brought the New York of late 2001 flooding back.

As I walked past the court, I was nearly bowled over by a television cameraman who was jostling to reach the lawyer of the suspected terrorists, who were being held in the basement of the court house. News reporters clustered in their corners, chattering earnestly at cameras or having blush patted into their cheekbones. As I passed, I caught snatches of conversation - `anti-terrorism laws', `sedition', `the bloke they shot' ... the police moved me on. I passed further clusters of them at every cross street, and every crowd I passed for the rest of the afternoon seeemed to have a few bobbing yellow hats in it.

David Marr and a growing chorus of others are now questioning the chance the suspects have of receiving a fair trial - which is roughly Buckleys and none, what with the Prime Minister and Attorney General, as well as their counterparts in the respective states, all unequivocably labelling the suspects `terrorists' - not to mention budgie toilet paper like the Daily Telegraph coming out with headlines like `A Holy War on Australia'.

I only hope the fervour over the arrests does not weaken the Opposition's resolve on the issue of the sedition provisions in the anti-terrorism legislation. Call me crazy, but saying you'll pass legislation even if your amendments aren't accepted seems like a pretty unproductive position. Join the Sedition-a-thon while you still can.