Today, the terrorists have won. The rights and freedoms of Australian citizens have been sacrificed.

And this has occurred for no good reason.

Despite concerns raised by dozens of academics, lawyers, rights groups, the dumped national security legislation monitor Bret Walker, SC, and human rights commissioner Tim Wilson, new national security legislation that will jail journalists and whistleblowers if they reveal information about covert “special” operations passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The legislation cleared the Senate last week with bipartisan support.

No amendments were accepted, other than those introduced in the Senate by the Palmer United Party, which imposed even tougher penalties on leakers than originally drafted.

Anyone – including journalists, whistleblowers and bloggers – who “recklessly” discloses “information … [that] relates to a special intelligence operation” faces up to 10 years’ jail.

Illustration: David Rowe

Any operation can be declared “special” by the attorney-general of the day after ASIO makes an application.

The legislation, which also enables the entire Australian internet to be monitored with just a single computer warrant, is a disgrace. Our Parliament, especially the Labor opposition, has failed us.

As an example of this, we need only look at the shadow attorney-general’s comments on ABC News 24 on Tuesday, when he was asked if operations that embarrass government could be covered up by “special operations”.

This is astounding, especially considering warnings that the new legislation makes it a crime if, for example, the media wanted to disclose the death of an innocent bystander caught up in a bungled covert spy operation.

Under them, “reckless” journalists will be jailed if they report on cases such as the tapping by Australia of the phones of the Indonesian President and his wife.

Labor did not do its job properly, and it was left to the Australian Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt and independent crossbenchers, such as Andrew Wilkie and Cathy McGowan, to speak out.

Under the laws, former and current officers of the Australian foreign intelligence agency ASIS, who communicate any classified information, will face 10 years’ jail, up from two years. eg Andrew Wilkie

If they disclose their names and who they work for, that’s another 10 years’ jail, up from one year.

Make no mistake about it. These laws are designed to stop future whistleblowers who reveal information that might embarrass a government, such as the accusation ASIS spies bugged East Timor’s cabinet room to gain a competitive advantage when negotiating how to split $40 billion worth of oil and gas deposits.

They will also stop future Edward Snowdens from speaking out about abuses of power.

When the former ASIS officer who alleged Australia bugged East Timor’s cabinet room went to IGIS, it’s been reported that he was told to get a lawyer if he wanted to take his case further.

The officer did that, and, soon after, their office was raided, as was that of East Timor’s Australian lawyer, Bernard Collaery.

David Irvine, the former head of ASIO who retired recently, was head of ASIS at the time the bugging was alleged to have occurred.

The bugging case is now before arbitration between Australia and East Timor, and there are fears the new laws could apply to the ASIS officer, known as Witness K, when giving further evidence on the matter.

This would mean the officer could now be jailed for up to 10 years for communicating what he or she believes was in the public interest instead of facing two years’ jail.

Attorney-General Brandis has flatly refused to comment on whether Witness K or future Witness Ks could be subjected to the new laws, arguing that the questions are “hypothetical” in nature.

Will East Timor’s quest for justice be quashed by these new laws? Only time will tell.