Terror law watchdog wins battle with Government to be given new discretionary powers

The Independent reports something is mostly good news:

As the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, Mr Anderson felt stifled in that he could examine the impact and workings of only four security laws. At present, these reviews have to be conducted on an inflexible annual basis…

Mr Anderson has been granted the discretion to decide when and why he needs to review all but one of the relevant pieces of legislation. [The Independent]

Only “mostly” good news because if you remember some of the views Alex Carlile expressed when he was the watchdog, giving the watchdog more powers is not a guarantee of good outcomes.