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ew South Wales Premier Barry O'€™Farrell has introduced new legislation giving police the power to search individuals who have been banned from owning a gun, without a warrant, in effect giving the police a blank check to further harass these individuals at will.

The purpose of a warrant is to ensure there is scrutiny of the police'€™s investigative methods to ensure that they do not overstep their authority or engage in arbitrary investigations without reasonable cause.

A person who has been banned from owning a firearm should not be penalized twice by having their fundamental rights to due process taken away. If police have a legitimate reason to search such people then let them obtain a warrant.

This is yet another example of the extension of the police state under Barry O'€™Farrell'€™s watch: A premier who gives police what they want, even if it means overturning fundamental rights.

The public will not object because they have been inundated with media coverage of shootings in Sydney. Their bar for peoples'€™ rights and liberties has been lowered, but it is during these times that we need to most ensure that the state is controlled through strong safeguards. A warrant provides that while at the same time gives the police the necessary powers to investigate crime legitimately.

My prediction we will see increased crime and violent resistance to police as a result of O'€™Farrell'€™s ongoing campaign to try and clean up certain parts of Sydney. The reason is that individuals in a fair society have a reasonable expectation that police will not engage in arbitrary incursions into their private space. O'€™Farrell'€™s proposed laws changes this and for that reason are unjust.

The unwritten social contract we have with the state is that its legitimacy is based on acting reasonably. Giving police a blank check to invade people'€™s homes is not reasonable. It does not matter whether the majority of the populace jump on the law and order bandwagon and applaud such laws. Statesmen have a duty to stand above such popular sentiment. Expect more violence, not less, as a result of this!

Adam Bonner
Brogo, Australia