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Why the Democrats are a defunct and totally spent force.

No need for control order on Hicks, say Democrats
December 29, 2007 09:13am

MONITORING confessed terrorism supporter David Hicks after his release is unnecessary since existing laws and surveillance techniques would suffice, the Australian Democrats say.

The 32-year-old father of two, who has spoken with Osama bin Laden, is a free man for the first time in six years after he walked out of a high-security Adelaide jail this morning.

He spent more than five years in detention at Guantanamo Bay before being transferred to Yatala Prison earlier this year.

Democrats Senator Natasha Stott Despoja said the control order subjecting Hicks to a nightly curfew and requiring him to report to police three times a week is unjust.

"Mr Hicks has made it clear through his lawyer and family that he wants to move on with his life," Ms Stott Despoja said in a statement.

"I hope governments of all persuasions will respect this."

She also hopes the government will not treat Hicks as a "political football".

"David Hicks' treatment is a blight on the former (Liberal) government, which abandoned him overseas for more than five years before his ongoing detention began to bite them politically," Ms Stott Despoja said.

"It appears the Rudd government is following suit, with the Attorney-General's approval of a control order application for Mr Hicks."
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