I've been going through various draft posts I haven't had time time to publish over the last couple of weeks. I threw away some draft posts screaming about the new anti-terrorism laws, particularly the ones I wrote before the laws were passed.

All I can think of now is the reaction of the cabbie who took me to the airport a few days ago (muslim, bearded, fits-a-profile). He hadn't heard about it yet and when I mentioned it he immediately said 'I better tell my girlfriend if I don't come home, she should call the police and check...' and wasn't really joking. He was a really nice guy, very passionate about his religion and terribly sad that people think it's a violent religion. He said it promotes peace, that extremists 'aren't muslims and don't represent islam'. He then helped me get my bags out of the boot at the airport and bid me a good day.

I keep thinking about him when the new laws are mentioned. What could he do if somebody decided he might be a risk? He'd be detained, maybe put under house arrest for months on end for absolutely no reason and nobody would ever know about it. Maybe he'd be allowed to tell his family. Maybe.

I mean, sure, so he could be a terrorist. But then I could be a bank robber in my spare time. My next door neighbour could be a disguised alien being beamed over from Mars. Personally I thought we lived in a country where "could" and "might" weren't good enough to lock people up.

At least, that's how it was when I was growing up. I guess it's a different nation now.

...

• drjon: Terror Laws and the Australian Blogger...
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