I must voice my concern over the proposed amendment to the Penal Code which will allow the police to tap phone lines without the need to apply for a warrant from a judge beforehand.

Already the ISA provides the state with the right to summarily detain without trial an individual for an indefinite period of time. Now the government wants to tap our phone conversation (which also means tapping into communications done through the Internet).

This is a serious encroachment of our individual rights to communicate without fear of surveillance. I don't buy the government's argument that good people have nothing to hide. It's nothing to do with good or bad, but an individual's right to privacy.

I can easily throw back the same argument that good governments should have nothing to hide - so why the need for the Official Secrets Act and the like?

Neither do I accept that the current increased terrorism risk requires the diminution of our personal liberties. If that is so, then the terrorists have won the day as it is their cause to throw us back to the dark age of fear and repression.

In fighting terrorism, we cannot allow our personal freedoms to be eroded. We should instead strengthen our personal freedoms, rights and democratic institutions. There are better ways to track terrorists than indiscriminate phone line tapping.

It's time for the people to put down their foot and tell the government back off with their plans to get Big Brother to watch our every movement.