http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/25/1098667688189.html?oneclick=true
"In Australia, the rights of citizens amount to what is left after legislation and common law have nibbled away at the freedom of individuals to do as they like. There is no bill of rights or capacity, as in the United States, to 'plead the Fifth Amendment' against self-incrimination in the face of hostile interrogation. More positively, parliaments and the courts in Australia have historically taken the rights of citizens seriously and protected them more effectively than in many countries where, on paper at least, civil liberties appear firmly enshrined. For these very different reasons, changes to the law that infringe further upon the residual rights of Australians must be considered carefully.
The Victorian Government is proposing to appoint a chief examiner, a US-style special prosecutor with the status of a Supreme Court judge. Coupled with the introduction of unprecedented police powers, the move is aimed at pursuing organised crime. Among the powers contained in the Major Crime (Investigative Powers) Bill before State Parliament, the chief examiner will have the power to call suspects to secret interrogation, imprison uncooperative witnesses indefinitely for contempt and jail organised crime suspects who refuse to take the oath, avoid questions or miss hearings. In addition, those who report or publish accounts of secret hearings are liable to imprisonment for five years."
