I hope David Hicks is patient

And of course he spoke about the importance of ANZUS.

But what really beggars belief was his remark that there is an intellectual vacuum in Australia which has been filled by special interest groups.

Yes, Minister - each of us has special interests - and I am deeply concerned about David Hicks. Minister Downer should do more for David Hicks and he should do it post haste.

At times, the legal system fails people and in the late 1970s in Sydney that is exactly what occurred. To an outsider it appeared the political machine and federal agencies had joined forces to respond to what many regarded as Australia’s first act of “terrorism”.

Terrorism is an abstract noun and therefore hard to quantify, but for one reason or another, the federal government of the day had to act and act it did.

In 1979, three members of Ananda Marga were convicted of conspiracy to murder. Two were also convicted of attempted murder. All three have since been exonerated. Tim Anderson was the last to have his conviction quashed. He was released after seven years of incarceration.

Before a decision was made whether he was to be released or otherwise, he said he was not confident about the legal system. The Ananda Marga is a socio-spiritual movement of Indian origin.

The three main components of the Hilton Hotel bombing were:

     an unusual degree of critical attention directed towards the Australian security and intelligence services;

     an extraordinary climate of prejudice surrounding Ananda Marga; and

     the bombing outside the Hilton Hotel in February 1978.

About 12.40am on Monday, February 13, 1978, a garbage truck pulled up near the entrance to the Hilton Hotel in George Street, Sydney. As one of the workmen emptied a large street bin into the back of the truck, there was a violent explosion. Two of the men were ripped apart and killed instantly. Several policemen and bystanders were seriously injured - one of the policemen died a week later.