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

Thank you very much indeed, Senator O'Sullivan. It is the case that last week, accompanied by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, I attended a meeting of attorneys-general and national security ministers in Washington DC involving the so-called Five Eyes nations: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The meeting was hosted, on this occasion, by the United States. It was attended, among others, by the Attorney General of the United States, Loretta Lynch; the American Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson; the British Home Secretary, the Rt Hon. Theresa May; the British Attorney-General, the Rt Hon. Jeremy Wright; and others from the Five Eyes community.

Attorneys-general, national security ministers and, for the first time, immigration ministers participated in meetings which were held together and reaffirmed the importance of continued and enhanced collaboration between our closest security and intelligence partners. Jointly, homeland security ministers and attorneys discussed a range of topics, including information sharing for counter-terrorism purposes, countering violent extremism, cybercrime, encryption and foreign investment in critical infrastructure. The attorneys-general also discussed criminal justice reform, the principle of self-defence under international law, and the need to uphold the rule of law and individual freedoms in the age of national security threats. Separately, immigration and border protection ministers agreed to address the challenges posed by mass migration refugee flows and the need to improve information sharing between their respective jurisdictions. All five nations agreed to continue to coordinate efforts to ensure the security and prosperity of all of our citizens, consistent with the respect we all share for individual rights and freedoms and the rule of law.