In a speech at the University of Sydney, Robert McClelland said the law should comply with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

McClelland suggested the previous government had been to willing to consider extreme interrogation measures in terrorism cases, The Australian reported. Former Prime Minister John Howard, who was in power for 11 years, became a close ally of U.S. President George Bush.

"Australia is back in business on human rights," McClelland said.

McClelland said the government of Kevin Rudd is taking steps to become a signatory of the U.N. Optional Protocol on the Convention Against Torture.

He said the government wants to draft legislation that would bar the use of torture by Australian agents inside and outside the country.