Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

The honourable member poses a good question. He poses it in good faith, as we all accept, but you have to draw the line somewhere. We have drawn the line with respect to journalists because they are in a very special category. The job of journalists is finding and publishing information that people do not want to have published. I think that one great newspaper man at some time said that the definition of news was something that people in power do not want the public to read. So that is a very special situation that journalists are in.

The point the honourable member is making is a perfectly reasonable question to ask.

The government has chosen to deal with journalists in this very specific way. No doubt this debate will continue, but it is very important that this legislation be passed. We really do need to get on with it. This issue has been knocking around for some years now without resolution, and the government is committed to getting this legislation passed. The police and ASIO are very anxious that it be passed, but it will still be debated, of course—assuming it is passed in this House today—in the other place as well. But I thank the honourable member for his very thoughtful question nonetheless, and I hope he finds my answers at least somewhat satisfying.

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