Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I wish to briefly make some remarks about this same report. I thank Senator Bushby for his reflection of the committee's views in that report, and I don't intend to reprosecute the case that he has made for some of those amendments and changes.

I do wish to briefly highlight the significance of the sunset provisions, as recommended in relation to the two bills that deal expressly with powers to address terrorism. The threat of terrorism to Australian citizens remains, which is most serious, and it's appropriate that we have continuing laws that allow us to address this. However, when these laws were enacted, they were done so on the understanding that it was an extraordinary level of risk and that extraordinary measures ought to be put in place. It was acknowledged that they do in fact burden some of the ordinary protections that would ordinarily be in place in our criminal law, and to that end sunset provisions were included so that these bills would be under constant review. In making these recommendations, the committee has recommended that a sunset provision remain in place. This will allow the PJCIS to reconsider the need for this legislation, and whether it remains in an appropriate form within a specified period of time. These are important qualifications in relation to these laws, which are acknowledged to be extraordinary and exist only because of the seriousness of the threat that we are currently facing. Thank you.