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

What the PJCIS specifically recommended what was that this power be made available to the government, to the Attorney-General of the day, 'to provide for emergency circumstances'. The drafting that has emerged, that has been incorporated into your bill—that you are presenting and speaking for today—has no emergency circumstances provided for. The power to add data to the dataset, by these unilateral declarations, is not limited by any circumstances, emergency or otherwise. It is completely open.

The Attorney brought forward examples of new services being developed and new kinds of devices creating new kinds of data. That is not an emergency. That is the distinction I am drawing. There is no constraint on the power of the government of the day, for any reason that it feels fit—justified or unjustified—to demand that service providers begin capturing more material. That is the point I am trying to make. I do not know whether the Attorney wants to address that comment—otherwise, I am happy to commit these amendments now to the chamber. They are amendments (1) and (4) on sheet 7669 which would remove that arbitrary decision-making power and would restore the ordinary processes that this parliament is used to following.

The CHAIRMAN: The question is that the amendments moved by Senator Ludlam be agreed to.