Screenwriter, in Australia for Festival of Dangerous Ideas, says compelling suspects to answer questions ‘stinks of McCarthyism’

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

American author and screenwriter David Simon has described Queensland’s anti-bikie laws as a “recipe for tyranny” in a stinging criticism of the state’s hardline new legislation designed to rid the area of outlaw motorcycle gangs.

In an interview with Guardian Australia, the creator of hit TV series The Wire made particular reference to elements of the crackdown being pushed by the Newman government that would compel suspects to answer during questioning, which he said “stinks of McCarthyism”.

“Police work should only be easy in a police state," Simon said

"Whenever they’re using the fear of violent crime to institute short cuts, in what should be the rigour of police work, I’m disbelieving. I come to the conclusion very quickly, after looking at it in my country, that it’s basically about social control.”

The legislation includes 25-year mandatory sentencing for some ranks of motorcycle gang members, with the premier, Campbell Newman, trying to pressure the judiciary for a blanket ban on bail for gang members.

Simon is in Sydney for the Festival of Dangerous Ideas, where he will deliver a speech on Saturday entitled “some people are more equal than others”, on the fraught nature of the American dream. He also articulated criticism of the political process in America after the federal government shutdown and debt crisis.

“There’s a lot of people who are becoming even more dogmatic about the idea that the markets are the answer to everything, and the rise of libertarianism in my country and the purchase of my electoral process ... by capital makes reform even more problematic,” he said.

“I don’t think the next century will be an American one, based on how we’re going.”

Simon also revisited his criticism of the Guardian’s coverage of the NSA mass surveillance program after a series of blogs he wrote on the issue back in June. Simon voiced criticism that the Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald was an advocate, not a journalist.

“I don’t want to have my journalism strained through advocacy,” Simon said.

He expressed concerns about the secrecy of the foreign intelligence surveillance (Fisa) court.

“I’m very concerned about the secrecy of the Fisa court and I’m very concerned about the misuse of this material. However, it is not through the diminished use of the material or the pretend notion that the material doesn’t have merit in terms of legitimate espionage purposes or counter terror purposes – travelling that road is a fool’s errand.

“Ultimately what has to happen is we have to concentrate on where the safeguards can be put in place so that it isn’t misused.”