ANTI-TERROR LAWS GET RESULTS

It's been repeatedly argued that Australia's new anti-terrorism laws won't deter terrorists. Well, France's anti-terrorism laws seem to be working:

Despite a well-integrated Moroccan immigrant population that has lived and worked in Belgium for more than half a century, the country has become the destination of choice for many French-speaking immigrants who are put off by France's intrusive security and intelligence services and tougher laws.

It was in Belgium, for example, that the two Tunisian killers of Ahmed Shah Massoud, the Afghan resistance leader who was assassinated in 2001, received logistical support. Disguised as journalists, they had Belgian passports and had traveled to Afghanistan from Belgium.

Even defense lawyers involved in the Asparagus 18 trial acknowledge the attractiveness of Belgium as a support center for international criminal and even terrorist activity. "Belgium has become a logistical base for these people," said Didier de Quévy, a lawyer who has been involved in terrorist cases in the past and is representing one of the defendants. "They have come here because the penalties have been light."

If anything, Australia's law should be tougher.