Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the minister for that. Why is the government insisting that service providers retain data volume? What possible national security consequence could that have?

Just so the minister is completely aware of where I am going, there has been plenty of conjecture as to the ways in which this bill, when it is enacted into law, will be used through processes of civil discovery or, potentially, criminal prosecution should the law relating to copyright infringement ever change. That volume usage would be very useful if rights holders, for example, were attempting to track down illegal file sharing. What is the government's rationale for including volume uses on page 8 of the bill in the table, 'Kinds of information to be kept'?