In mid-2006 Amnesty International Australia commissioned Roy Morgan to survey the Australian public's knowledge of and attitudes towards the new anti-terror laws, which have been introduced by the government over the past few years.
To obtain reliable findings that would apply across Australia and in each state and territory, a total of 1001 people were selected at random to respond to the survey by telephone.
Here's a snapshot of the national results:
* 95% of survey respondents consider their own human rights to be important with just under three quarters (73%) saying that their rights are 'very important'.
* Most Australians consider that they have moderate knowledge (58%) about their human rights under Australian law. Overwhelmingly, Australians agree that they have the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty (95%) and the right to a lawyer of their choice (90%) under general criminal law. However, the majority of respondents were not aware that these rights may not be available under the new anti-terror laws.
* While the majority of survey respondents (93%) knew that anti-terror laws had been introduced, most people only know a little (54%) or nothing (20%) about their own rights under these new laws, with only 1% saying they know a great deal and 25% know a moderate amount.
* Having been informed of their rights under Australia's anti-terror laws, a significant number of respondents reported being extremely (31%) or somewhat (30%) concerned and fewer felt only a little concerned (23%) or not at all concerned (15%).
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