George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

The government is keeping the opposition close. Many of the measures that we are introducing were in fact the outcome of a bipartisan report of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security that was tabled at the end of the last parliament—I want to acknowledge Mr Anthony Byrne, the member for Holt, who chaired that committee, for his work.

In recent weeks, the opposition has been briefed on no fewer than five occasions by the government and agencies. Mr Dreyfus has been briefed on all five occasions. Mr Shorten participated in two of those briefings and Ms Tanya Plibersek participated in three of those briefings. The briefings were given by the Director-General of Security, Mr Irvine, by the officers of the Attorney-General's Department and my office. We will continue to keep the opposition informed as we appreciate their bipartisan support.