Canberra, July 5 (ANI): The New South Wales Police will now be given new powers to force Muslim women to remove their head coverings during routine car stops.
The NSW powers, among the toughest burqa laws in the world, are aimed at ensuring that police can properly identify motorists and others suspected of committing crimes, News.com.au reports.
Cops can now order people to remove any kind of head covering, including garments such as burqas and niqabs, during routine stops.
NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith is in charge of drafting the laws, which are expected to be introduced next month.
Queensland police, however, won't seek NSW-style powers to force Muslim women to remove face veils.
"I don't believe personally we need to go down this path in Queensland," said Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson.
"Our legislation is more than adequate, but we will watch with great interest what they do in NSW. I have no intention to ask the Queensland Government to do something similar here," he added.
The move comes as a Muslim woman Carnita Matthews accused of lying about the police trying to tear her burqa off avoided jail because her identity ould not be proven.
Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione called for the Government to close the legal loophole that was preventing officers from identifying suspected criminals. (ANI)
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