As the world's population grew, so did political and economic instability, as well as major international conflicts. Tensions between countries and cultures tightened, and eventually and inevitably, one of them attacked. This terrorist act brought with it the panic and chaos fuelled haze that was post-911 Australia, and similar to many situations in the past, the fear and vulnerability associated with the community allowed the government quite a substantial amount of political power. This atmosphere of fear and ignorance lead to several incomplete and somewhat extreme pieces of Anti terrorist legislation to be passed by the Howard government, in order to ensure the safety of all Australians, or so they said. Dr Mohammed Haneef a doctor working in Queensland on a skilled migrant visa, soon found himself a victim of these laws. When two Indian men attempted to bomb an airport in Glasgow, UK, Mohammed Haneef became a suspect in the eyes of the Australian Federal Police, and was arrested shortly. Several blunders and misinterpretations by the AFP lead to the wrongful detention and charging of Dr Haneef, a man who spent a total of 12 days in detention without being charged and had his visa unfairly revoked during his trial. Haneef was eventually released and all charges were dropped against him, when the Public Prosecutor determined that there was no legitimate trial against him. However, the course of events that Dr Haneef experienced brought to light the glaring dilemmas associated with Australia's radical Anti Terrorist laws and corresponding government agencies.
The Clarke inquiry and concurrent recommendations
As a result of the badly handled Mohammed Haneef case, the labour party ordered a full inquiry be conducted into the legal case, in order to identify the key faults and inefficiencies in government agencies and legislation that related to the Haneef Case. This Inquiry was called the Clarke