The Government cut short debate on the laws to enable them to pass the Senate in the last sitting week of the year.

Labor voted to support the bill, despite failing to secure more protections for freedom of speech built into the sedition section and three monthly reports to Parliament which would have enabled greater scrutiny of their use.

The Australian Greens and the Australian Democrats voted against the laws and the bill was passed 53 to seven.

Democrats Senator Natasha Stott Despoja accused the Government of gagging debate, to the detriment of free speech and democracy. She also accused Labor of selling out on sedition and passing the legislation despite none of their amendments passing the Senate last night. "This is a shameful and sad day for democracy," Senator Stott Despoja said.

"This was arguably the most significant piece of legislation the Senate has dealt with in the last decade. Yet the Government stopped Senators from speaking to the Bill and refused to allow debate on the majority of the proposed amendments.

"In an affront to the role of the Senate, the Government showed no willingness to seriously consider the many amendments circulated by the Democrats and other Opposition parties."

Australian Greens leader Bob Brown compared the laws to the 1950s crackdown on communism in the US. "Never has the Government been able to cogently argue that this legislation is going to defend us from terrorism," he told the Senate. "We are in a new period of McCarthyism and we need to know that, and understand it, and worry that this time it won't be turned around, that citizens, using a law like this, will be brought before courts for political reasons, not security reasons."

The Anti-Terrorism Bill will allow police to detain terror suspects for up to 14 days without charge, place suspects on control orders for up to 12 months and impose a seven-year jail term for sedition.

The Law Council of Australia vowed to monitor the use of the laws to ensure they were not abused by those in power.