|
Australian sedition law is the area of the criminal law of Australia relating to the crime of sedition. Effectively defunct for nearly half a century, these laws returned to public notice in 2005 when changes were included in an Anti-terrorism Bill announced by Prime Minister Howard prior to a "counter-terrorism summit" of the Council of Australian Governments on 27 September. The Bill was introduced on 3 November and passed into law on 6 December 2005 after government amendments adding some protection for the reporting of news and matters of public interest were introduced in response to community pressure. The changed laws are to be reviewed in 2006. ==History== Early prosecutions for sedition in Australia include: * the conviction of Henry Seekamp for seditious libel over the Eureka Rebellion in 1854; * the conviction of 13 trade union leaders of the 1891 Australian shearers' strike for sedition and conspiracy; and * the action against radical Harry Holland, jailed for two years in 1909 over his advocacy of violent revolution during the Broken Hill miners' strike. During the First World War Sedition laws were used against those who opposed conscription and war, in particular the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in Australia.〔Ian Turner, ''Sydney's Burning (An Australian Political Conspiracy)'' (1969)〕 In 1916 members of the IWW in Perth were charged with sedition including 83-year-old Montague Miller, known as the grand old man of the labour movement. Miller was released after serving a few weeks of his sentence but was re-arrested in 1917 in Sydney at the age of 84 and sentenced to six months jail with hard labour at Long Bay Gaol on the charge of belonging to an unlawful association.〔Joe Toscano, (''Australian Anarchist History - Monty Miller'' ), ''Anarchist Age Weekly Review'' Number 215 2 September 1996〕 The Sydney Twelve were all charged and convicted with various offences including sedition. Lance Sharkey, then General-Secretary of the Communist Party of Australia, was charged that, in March 1949 he:
The last prosecution was in 1960, when Department of Native Affairs officer Brian Cooper was prosecuted for urging "the natives" of Papua New Guinea to demand independence from Australia. He was convicted, and committed suicide four years later, after losing his appeal. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Australian sedition law」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|