Terror Australis: David Hicks and citizenship in an age of insecurity

In responding to post-September 11 insecurity, the Howard government has pushed for a greater sense of Australian national identity against the 'terrorist other'. But what happens to this discourse when the 'terrorist other' is also an Australian? This paper examines the representation of the ultimate unAustralian in the post-September 11 age - the Australian terrorist. David Hicks' imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay as an alleged 'terrorist' saw him branded by both government officials and the media as a 'rat in the ranks': a traitor to Australia's role in the Coalition of the Willing and the embodiment of Australia's 'new' insecurity about terrorism. Nonetheless, those fighting for David Hicks' freedom situated his representation as an 'ordinary' Australian. By analysing various representations of Hicks by Australian governmental authorities and newspaper media, this paper examines the discourse of the 'terrorist threat' in an age of insecurity and how its continuous politicisation appropriates the understanding of citizenship and justice.