Paper Summary:

The paper examines how Australia has committed itself to an aggressive foreign and domestic policy stance on confronting global and regional terrorism, and presents the argument that these military and policy approaches are likely unconstitutional and ineffective. The paper looks at the background and inception of Australia's current foreign policy situation and traces it to the Howard government's unwavering willingness to follow the United States in waging war in Iraq.

Outline:
Key Elements of the Terror Policy
Recommendations and Rationale
Background of the Issue

From the Paper:

"In an election-period newspoll, Australians came out vocally on the position that the Howard administration's support of Bush and America had endangered the lives of Australians and damaged the Australian fight against regional terrorism. This indictment of its foreign policy is underscored by the finding that "of 1,205 people found, 51 percent felt less safe, 39 percent believed involvement in the war had made no difference to the country's safety, six percent felt more safe and four percent were unsure." (Agence France Presse, 1) This is an assessment that suggests the foreign policy to have been a relative failure.
"On the domestic level, legislation has proceeded with a policy orientation that is fundamentally unsound and, according to an array of civil liberty groups, unconstitutional. Of the ASIO laws of 2002 and 2005, one critic observes that "although 9/11 has become a significant force in justifying these laws, the truth is that there is an element of opportunism (by some law enforcement and state agencies) behind these claims of necessity for new powers and offences." (Bronitt, 1) This is to make the argument that while Australia has identified itself as a likely target for terrorism, many of its more conservative public leaders have seen Australia as a target for the fear-mongering which has come to associate with the national security policy-making there affiliated."

Sample of Sources Used:

• AAP. (2003). Howard to Outline Case for Iraq. The Age.
• APEC News. (2002). APEC Cybersecurity Strategy. Australian Government: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
• AFP. (2007). Fighting Terrorism in Australia. Australian Federal Police.
• Agence France Presse. (2007). Iraq War Has Made Australia Less Safe; Poll. Common Dreams News Center.
• BBC News. (2003). Bali Attack 'Targeted Australians.' BBC News: Asia-Pacific.

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