Search and Surveillance changes recommended 

The Privacy Commissioner is recommending several changes to a new Search and Surveillance Bill currently before government.

The proposed law would widen provisions for searches without warrants and give more search powers to some government agencies.

One of the Privacy Commissioner's recommendations is that those who are the subject of surveillance be notified after the exercise has finished.

However Council of Civil liberties spokesman Michael Bott says the government should be ashamed of the legislation.

He says it's supposedly about human freedom, but is endorsing a reduction in the right to silence and the use of the coercive power of the state to extract information from people still presumed innocent.

Meanwhile, new measures aimed at countering money laundering by gangs have now been passed into law.

The act increases powers to investigate organised crime by following money trails, through financial systems.

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