David Leyonhjelm (NSW, Liberal Democratic Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Powers, Offences and Other Measures) Bill 2018. Half of this bill is terrible; the other half includes one of my greatest achievements. In order to be upbeat, let me just focus on the achievement.

Schedule 3 amends offences for disclosing information about the AFP's controlled operations. Currently, a person faces up to two years imprisonment for any disclosure and 10 years imprisonment if the disclosure endangers a person or operation or if the discloser intended to endanger a person or operation. Under the amendment, this will be changed for entrusted persons. Other people, like journalists, will only face the two-year penalty if the disclosure endangers a person or operation. They will only face the 10-year penalty if they intended or knew the disclosure would endanger a person or operation. They will enjoy a defence of prior publication in instances where they do not believe disclosure would endanger a person or operation. This provides a level of protection for the media and innocent people caught up in these control operations.

The only reason this schedule exists is because I read the bills that we pass in this place. I realised that we needed this change to make the disclosure regime relating to the AFP consistent with the disclosure regime relating to ASIO. And indeed the ASIO disclosure regime was only changed not in response to the protests I raised at the time but later when the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security recommended that it be changed. Following that, I wrote to the former Attorney-General asking for this change and he agreed, so a great deal of credit to him. I can't vote for half the bill—otherwise, I would—but I do record the fact that it does reflect one of my achievements, which makes it not entirely bad.