Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Deputy Speaker. It's good timing for me, thank you. Australia's security environment is becoming more dynamic, diverse and, unfortunately, degraded. We know that Australia is facing multifaceted, merging, intersecting and cascading threats, and the Albanese government is committed to ensuring that our Australian Security Intelligence Organisation is properly equipped to respond to this complex web of threats. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill (No. 2) will amend ASIO's compulsory-questioning powers contained in division 3 of part III of the ASIO Act to ensure the framework reflects the security environment and strengthens existing safeguards.

ASIO's compulsory-questioning powers are a valuable intelligence collection tool to protect Australia and Australians from threats to their security. For over 20 years, ASIO has used these powers to obtain high-value intelligence in circumstances where ASIO's other powers were not appropriate. Since the introduction of this compulsory-questioning framework in 2003, it's been the subject of multiple parliamentary and independent reviews, causing the parliament to extend the sunset date of these provisions on five occasions. This bill will make the framework permanent by repealing the sunset provision, in recognition that these powers have yielded high-value intelligence and been subject to multiple reviews, and would be consistent with ASIO's other powers.

In September 2023 the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security elected to review the existing compulsory questioning framework ahead of its sunset date but did not complete its review prior to the prorogation of the parliament earlier that year. The measure proposed in the bill had been developed with close regard to the submissions made by interested parties in that PJCIS inquiry. The reforms also expand the scope of adult questioning warrants to include sabotage, promotion of communal violence, attacks on Australia's defence system and serious threats to Australia's territorial or border integrity, in addition to espionage and politically motivated violence, including terrorism and acts of foreign interference, to reflect the dynamic, diverse and degraded security environment ASIO have described.

This ASIO bill further amends the eligibility and termination provisions for prescribed authorities to ensure the independence and impartiality of persons appointed to that role. The changes also introduce additional reporting requirements to ensure that the Attorney-General is made aware of relevant information regarding conduct under a compulsory questioning warrant. Finally, the bill introduces an additional safeguard for questioning where a person has been charged with a related offence and that charge is still to be resolved or for whom such a charge is imminent by requiring that postcharge questioning occur only before a prescribed authority who is a retired judge.

These amendments are supporting ASIO during a time at which Australia's security environment is becoming more dynamic and rapidly evolving. We need only see what, unfortunately, occurred on Australia Day in Perth, with a terrorist incident there, and of course the shocking terrorist incident at Bondi on 14 December to know that we are living in a heightened threat environment in Australia and in many respects throughout the world.

The historic threats that we have always considered with respect to violent extremism and terrorism remain. But as the Director-General of ASIO, Mike Burgess, has made clear, increasingly we're also finding people who are younger becoming radicalised faster and radicalised online. This is a deeply disturbing emerging threat. We're increasingly finding people for whom it's no longer a set ideology, albeit what would be viewed as an extremist ideology purporting to be based on faith or what would be described as right-wing racist ideology. It's now also mixed ideologies as part of these rapid forms of radicalisation. That's meant that the threats and the needs have evolved. The government's response needs to evolve as well. In this shifting landscape, ASIO provides the government with the eyes and ears needed to navigate these dangers. They provide the foresight that allows us to protect our sovereignty and, importantly, to protect the Australian people.

Finally, I'd like to acknowledge the people behind the acronym. The officers of ASIO are everyday Australians—our neighbours, parents and friends—who have chosen a career of distinct service. They can't come home and tell their families about their job or the work they do. They work in high-pressure environments, often dealing with the darkest aspects of human nature, yet they do so with professionalism and restraint. They carry the burden of knowing the threats we face so that the rest of us don't have to face those threats. The ASIO Amendment Bill (No. 2) will help support ASIO to continue that vitally important work.

See this speech in context