Terrorism Alert Leads Australia to Toughen Law

Australia is to toughen its anti-terror laws after the country's spy agencies received specific details about a terrorist attack on home soil. The Australian prime minister, John Howard, refused to give details of the threat yesterday, but said he was concerned by the information.

"The government has received specific intelligence and police information this week which gives cause for serious concern about a potential terrorist threat," Mr Howard said, in his most explicit warning ever to Australians.

The threat was not enough for the government to lift Australia's security alert level from medium, where it has been since 9/11. But it was credible enough to prompt Mr Howard to rush an urgent amendment to the country's anti-terror laws through parliament to give authorities increased powers.

The senate will be recalled today so the change can immediately become law. The amendment will change one word in a series of clauses, replacing "the" with "a" when referring to terrorist attacks. "I know that sounds pedantic but ... in order to prosecute people you've got to do it legally and you've got to have the law on your side," Mr Howard said. The change means prosecutors would not have to identify a specific terrorist act, allowing them to make a case against people in the early stages of planning an attack.

The amendment is one of a number of measures the Australian government has drafted since the London bombings in July which are expected to be approved by Christmas. Labor opposition leader Kim Beazley said he would support efforts to tighten terror laws.