SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

Final counter-terrorism laws cap off 2016

The final counter-terrorism legislation in the system, allowing the continuing detention of high-risk terrorist offenders, cleared parliament on Thursday night.

1 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Skip to article content

The federal government capped off the 2016 parliamentary year by passing the last remaining piece of counter-terrorism legislation.

Laws that will allow high-risk terrorist offenders to be kept behind bars once their prison sentence ends cleared the lower house late on Thursday night.

Several amendments were made to the original proposal to improve safeguards and oversight following recommendations by a parliamentary committee.

"The scheme is a necessary response to the serious threat that terrorism poses to Australia and its people," Justice Minister Michael Keenan told MPs.

It was the third national security bill to pass in the final sitting fortnight of the year, and eight tranche overall.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

The continuing detention scheme, backed by Labor, has a sunset period of 10 years.


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world