The ASIO Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2025 threatens to expand the reach of government surveillance and compulsory questioning powers, risking the use of invasive counter-terrorism tools against ordinary citizens. This is exactly the kind of proposal Australians should debate openly and extensively. These powers affect fundamental freedoms, privacy, legal rights, and the relationship between citizens and the state. Yet the bill is moving through Parliament without the level of broad public attention and democratic scrutiny such a serious expansion deserves.

A short video about the risks can be found here:

https://youtube.com/shorts/XTPf4bIJQYE

If passed, this bill could grant sweeping and permanent powers to intelligence agencies, eroding individual liberties in the name of national security. The potential for abuse, mission creep, and long-term damage to civil liberties is too serious to ignore. If these powers are made permanent, they will not only be available to today’s government, but also to any future government decades from now, including one that may be far less restrained. Once rights are ceded, reclaiming them becomes an uphill battle.

We, the undersigned, believe that giving up fundamental freedoms in the fight against terrorism is usually a bad idea, especially when the public has not been given a real opportunity to understand, debate, and challenge what is being proposed. Citizens’ rights should not be allowed to quietly evaporate through permanent counter-terrorism powers that most Australians have barely had a chance to scrutinise. For these reasons, we call on the Australian Senate to halt the advancement of the ASIO Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2025 until there has been thorough, public, and accessible debate about its necessity, risks, proportionality, and safeguards.

Please sign this petition to demand transparency, public involvement, and democratic accountability before Parliament makes permanent and expands powers that could shape the future of our freedoms.