New laws passed to reduce terrorism risk

The Counter-Terrorism Acts (Designations and Control Orders) Amendment Bill 2023 passed its third reading on 4 May with strong support across the major political parties.

The new law, which passed its third reading by 92 votes, was – in the end – opposed only by Green Party MPs. Despite criticism from civil liberties groups in relation to legislative creep, parliamentarians believe the Bill strikes the right balance between protecting individual rights and protecting the community from terrorist acts.

“Following the Lynn Mall terror attack, the Government sought a review of how the control order regime could be strengthened. These new laws respond to that and New Zealanders will be safer as a result,” said Justice Minister Kiri Allan.

“The Control Orders Act will be more effective and ensure operational agencies have the right tools to better prevent and respond to terror attacks,” she said.

According to Rachel Boyack, Labour Party MP for Nelson, the new law will strengthen the regime for imposing control orders in the Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Act 2019.

LynnMall shopping mall, Auckland.

The control orders regime allows the Government to restrict the movement, communications and activities of individuals who pose “a real risk of engaging in terrorism-related activities in a country” with the approval of a High Court judge.

The bill, explains Boyack, expands the eligibility criteria for those who can be covered by a control order to include if the person has received a conviction for objectionable publications that promote torture, extreme violence, or cruelty. This is in addition to the current criteria, which includes a conviction for objectionable publications that promote terrorism.

It also expands the eligibility criteria to include people sentenced to home detention and community-based sentences. Currently, eligibility is only limited to sentences of imprisonment.

According to Boyack, the bill allows for greater judicial discretion when setting control order restrictions, to ensure they can be more closely tailored to risk. “And it makes name suppression requirements more flexible so that an appropriate balance can be struck between preventing the glorification of terrorism activity and reassuring the public that a known terrorism risk is being appropriately managed.”

The scheme to designate terrorist entities, which is also used to disrupt and prevent terrorism, will also be strengthened and clarified. The purpose of the scheme is to prevent further terrorist acts by placing restrictions on the assets and activities of identified terrorist entities, including individuals.

“The scheme was brought in to stop New Zealanders from providing financial support to overseas terrorist groups following the September 11 attacks. As the terrorism landscape has continued to evolve, so too will our laws,” said Kiri Allan.