Ne News
7 March 2017
Today, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced plans to create a mega-department similar to the Department of Homeland Security in the United States of America that was established after the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington in 2001. As noted by Peter Hartcher from Fairfax Media, the stated aim of this plan "is to improve co-ordination across the government in preventing terrorist attacks. It would merge at least half a dozen relevant federal agencies from two departments into a mega-department" (http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/turnbull-government-quietly-planning-massive-new-department-of-homeland-security-20170306-gurnpc.html).
The new mega-department would be built on the existing Department of Immigration and Border Protection, which also includes the heavily-militaiarised Australian Border Force. Fairfax has also reported that the putative minister for homeland security will be current Immigration Minister Peter Dutton who is the most conservative member of Turnbull's cabinet and is understood to strongly favour the reorganisation.
Other than the Australian Border Force, other agencies that will be incorporated into the new mega-department will include the Australian Secret Intelligence Organisation (ASIO, Australia's domestic spy agency) and the Federal Police, both of which currently falls under the Attorney-General's office.
However, there has been opposition to the creation of this mega-department, with ministers and officials has complained that it is unnecessary, potentially counterproductive and is based an ambition of Dutton and Secretary of the Immigration Department Mike Pezzullo of "empire-building".
And there is widespread speculation that current Attorney-General George Brandis would be removed from the post by the middle of 2017 and the Attorney-General Department will be reduced to a legal advisory office.
The Department of Homeland Security was established in the United States of America under the Presidency of George W. Bush just after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C.. The creation of this department improved communication and information sharing, but as reported last month, the department's Inspector-General John Roth stated that full co-operation remained elusive.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story should be of concern to all Australians as this could be the start of the construction of a police state apparatus in Australia, and could be the first building blocks towards a Pacific Union as proposed by former Liberal (i.e. Conservative) Prime Minister and Class A War Criminal John Howard or an Asia-Pacific Union as proposed by former Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (who was actually no different from Howard); which will be a police state in which asking for identification papers will be normal. And no doubt that the far-right wing politicians (such as Pauline Hanson and her One Nation party) will support this move towards a police state, just like how many far-right politicians support a police state such as the European Union. This Department of Homeland Security must be stopped before it gets off the ground.
Article Referred To In This Article:
Peter Hatcher, "Turnbull government quietly planning massive new Department of Homeland Security", The Age, 7 March 2017, http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/turnbull-government-quietly-planning-massive-new-department-of-homeland-security-20170306-gurnpc.html, Accessed: 7 March 2017
7 March 2017
Today, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced plans to create a mega-department similar to the Department of Homeland Security in the United States of America that was established after the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington in 2001. As noted by Peter Hartcher from Fairfax Media, the stated aim of this plan "is to improve co-ordination across the government in preventing terrorist attacks. It would merge at least half a dozen relevant federal agencies from two departments into a mega-department" (http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/turnbull-government-quietly-planning-massive-new-department-of-homeland-security-20170306-gurnpc.html).
The new mega-department would be built on the existing Department of Immigration and Border Protection, which also includes the heavily-militaiarised Australian Border Force. Fairfax has also reported that the putative minister for homeland security will be current Immigration Minister Peter Dutton who is the most conservative member of Turnbull's cabinet and is understood to strongly favour the reorganisation.
Other than the Australian Border Force, other agencies that will be incorporated into the new mega-department will include the Australian Secret Intelligence Organisation (ASIO, Australia's domestic spy agency) and the Federal Police, both of which currently falls under the Attorney-General's office.
However, there has been opposition to the creation of this mega-department, with ministers and officials has complained that it is unnecessary, potentially counterproductive and is based an ambition of Dutton and Secretary of the Immigration Department Mike Pezzullo of "empire-building".
And there is widespread speculation that current Attorney-General George Brandis would be removed from the post by the middle of 2017 and the Attorney-General Department will be reduced to a legal advisory office.
The Department of Homeland Security was established in the United States of America under the Presidency of George W. Bush just after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C.. The creation of this department improved communication and information sharing, but as reported last month, the department's Inspector-General John Roth stated that full co-operation remained elusive.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story should be of concern to all Australians as this could be the start of the construction of a police state apparatus in Australia, and could be the first building blocks towards a Pacific Union as proposed by former Liberal (i.e. Conservative) Prime Minister and Class A War Criminal John Howard or an Asia-Pacific Union as proposed by former Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd (who was actually no different from Howard); which will be a police state in which asking for identification papers will be normal. And no doubt that the far-right wing politicians (such as Pauline Hanson and her One Nation party) will support this move towards a police state, just like how many far-right politicians support a police state such as the European Union. This Department of Homeland Security must be stopped before it gets off the ground.
Article Referred To In This Article:
Peter Hatcher, "Turnbull government quietly planning massive new Department of Homeland Security", The Age, 7 March 2017, http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/turnbull-government-quietly-planning-massive-new-department-of-homeland-security-20170306-gurnpc.html, Accessed: 7 March 2017
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