Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak on the matter of the final report of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Reference Committee's comprehensive review of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979. Although many of these issues have been, and will be, dealt with during the Senate's consideration of the data retention bill, I too would like to thank the secretariat for the work put into this inquiry and the production of the report. I also thank the chair for dealing with the matter under somewhat difficult circumstances.

I too joined this inquiry in its later phases, but I would like to highlight that the comments from opposition senators highlight the broader context in which this inquiry was conducted. We remind people following the course of these considerations that, although a 2013 report from the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security regarding the act was unanimous and included the current Attorney-General as one of its members at the time, the Abbott government has still not responded to those recommendations in chapter 2, let alone commenced the considerable work outlined under recommendation 18, which relate directly to the process suggested to update this act.

As I said in my contribution on the data retention bill, this has been most unfortunate for public policy and sensible consideration of these issues. Perhaps that is the one point that I will take issue with the chair, Senator Ludlam, here. In one breath he suggested that people looking at this report will draw their own conclusions, once they look at the various positions addressed in the report; in an earlier, more hysterical breath he referred to Labor having 'caved in' on these issues. I remind senators and anyone listening to this debate that, whilst we have not been happy with the way the Abbott government has progressed not only modernising this act but also the broader data retention issues, there is significant change in the bill that was first presented to the House of Representatives by Malcolm Turnbull. There were 38 substantive recommendations that came out of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. As many would be aware, there was then further movement from the government amounting to, roughly, 75 amendments to ensure that what progresses in the Senate is a far more comprehensive, substantial and balanced approach to the data retention matter. That more balanced approach meets our requirements that we address oversight and privacy issues when considering how, under more appropriate arrangements, we deal with metadata.

I reminded senators earlier today of the unfortunate approach that the Abbott government took when the previous Labor government asked the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security to address many issues. Had the minister of the day, Senator Brandis, taken the committee's advice and proceeded down the way that was recommended—particularly in its recommendation 18—we would, and the government would, probably be in quite a different space. There has been a measured and balanced consideration of these issues and significant changes to how the government first proposed we work with the data retention issues as one element of this report. In terms of a comprehensive review of the act, there is still much more that needs to be done. The government would be wise to reflect on the previous recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security.

We have reminded senators in our report of what those recommendations are. For instance, recommendation 7 covers some of the issues around the specific attributes of communications and the attribute based interception issues. Some of what has been considered by this Senate committee is not necessarily new; it has been previously addressed by the joint parliamentary committee. But we felt it was appropriate to have a process that enabled crossbench senators to participate as well, as they are not presently represented on the joint parliamentary process. I hope Senator Ludlam appreciates that the Greens have had an opportunity to call before the parliamentary committee—the Senate committee—the witnesses that we had called upon the government to engage with, before designing this bill, in relation to data retention.

The Labor senators' contributions to this report put the report as a whole in a broader context of how it might better have been dealt with—not only data retention but also the modernisation of the TIA Act overall. We highlight some of the outstanding issues that the Senate needs to be mindful of. There is the issue of data storage, which has not yet been resolved, and the issues about strengthening oversight of our broader national security framework. Senator Faulkner commenced the process, but Labor will be keen to ensure progress in the context of any further work around the TIA Act and the broader national security issues.

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.