Former CEO of News Corp Kim Williams on ABC Radio Melbourne,

Monday February 23, 2015

Host: Data retention? Yes or no
Kim Williams: I think not. I think that liberties are very hard fought for and very
easily lost and the case for increasing the intervention rights of the various
security agencies has never been made properly. The application of the use of
metadata has never been explained. And the case would seem to be built on an
analysis of the tragedy of Man Haron Monis in a way that beggars belief. I mean
on any reasoned analysis the tragic situation of Man Horan Monis is a case of an
individual who was, it would appear, unbalanced behaving in a profoundly
dangerous and unbalanced fashion but it is not evidence of terrorism.
Host: The argument and its an easy one for the security services to run the
argument is give us more money and we might be able to detect these things
and make you safer. Its a pretty easy one for politicians to say, OK, we have to
do that or otherwise were accused of negligence.
Kim Williams: Well I think that its incumbent upon all in the media and all in
the political community to be vigilant about the encroaching power of the state.
Liberty is a relatively recent concept in history and it is very easily attacked,
frankly, in ways that do not grace the advocates. I have yet to see one coherent
argument advanced for increasing the existing extravagant powers that repose
with all of the various agencies. And given that there is so little transparency
attached to any of these activities, one is actually dependent upon old fashion
trust. Now if we take a recent example of gross intrusion and abuse of power in
NSW in relation to Nick Kaldas and all of the repeated warrants that were issued
in order to pursue him and others on the basis of what would appear to be
gossip, innuendo and basic false information, and where there was an aura (sic)
of concern, the only thing that was going to protect us was the action of the
court and it would appear the court trusted the police who were advocating
repeatedly to have these warrants renewed.
Host: And the Prime Minister is saying sometimes we are being played for
suckers and we shouldnt keep on giving people the benefit of the doubt, which
is one of the most fundamental pillars of our justice system.
Kim Williams: But it would seem to me that its about time that we dont give
the benefit of the doubt to the various agencies; that its about time they started
to behave in a professional, reliable and thoroughly provable fashion and actually
make the case good for increased powers. Its not as if they do not already have
extensive powers.
Host: Dare I say it the newspapers that you used to be in charge of - some of
those are fermenting the climate of fear that the Prime Minister uses to get these
extra powers introduced.
Kim Williams: Needless to say I have no writ to act in any advocacy position for
those particular newspapers. I think the general environment of hysteria - and I

think it often is a hysterical environment that surrounds so many of these issues

- is less than helpful to considered action. And I think we all need to be
particularly alarmed at the ease with which people advocate positions that are
aggressively against the nature of liberties.