How's this for sedition? by Chas Savage.

The sedition thing worries me nowadays.

With the government betraying our trust and liberty, does it mean that now they can lock us up and throw away the key if we openly disagree with them? Will it be considered to be seditious if we say that we think that they're doing a bad job? What will or will not be considered to be sedition?

In the first draft of the proposed laws, the issue of seditious intent is really broad and covers all sorts of things that people could do without any actual malicious intent, but rather with questions in mind or comments to make about poor governance. And newspapers and the media in general won't be allowed to publish certain things, which would generally be fine by way of actual reporting or opinion.

And we're not allowed to "urge contempt" against the government or constitution or parliament or anything like that, which is a worry because what would you define as "urge contempt"? Would it be asking questions of the government? Would it be saying that they're doing things that are morally and ethically objectionable? Would it be telling the truth?

When we're not allowed to freely comment on our democracy and the people that we have chosen to lead us, then the question must be asked about whether or not we have democracy any more rather than a potential police state. Repressive laws and a lack of transparency in processes that should be open to the people is not something that goes hand-in-hand with democratic principles.

The terrorists probably have already won if they've managed to get the government to propose such things.

They've gotten a free government to work on taking away its own freedoms without even ever having to venture onto Australian soil or making that much of an effort.

*shakes head*