Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

With great pleasure I rise to support this bill, the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Harming Australians) Bill 2015, which I co-sponsored with the Attorney-General. I would like to particularly thank Senator Collins for a very gracious contribution in relation to this. It was a very fair summary of the bill. I also want to acknowledge the cooperation of the opposition and, indeed, the discussions I have had with the shadow Attorney-General, the Hon. Mark Dreyfus QC, in respect of this—discussions had as recently as last night.

I think that Senator Collins has summed up the position very well. These are important matters in terms of extraterritoriality and retrospectivity, and the human rights issues have been dealt with comprehensively in this bill. They have been dealt with as a result of an opinion that I obtained from Claire O'Connor SC, an Adelaide based barrister, who is well known for her human rights work. No-one would question Ms O'Connor's human rights credentials and her concern about maintaining not only the rule of law but also a very strong human rights framework. She is well known for her work in respect of asylum seeker cases, for instance.

I also want to genuinely thank the Attorney-General for the work that he has done, both in his time in opposition and as Attorney. This has been a very long process; it has been a very thorough process. The Attorney-General has been terrific to deal with on this and, at the risk of embarrassing him, James Lambie, who is one of his senior advisors—