Claire Chandler (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As has been foreshadowed in our contributions on the second reading debate on this bill, the opposition will not be supporting this amendment from the Greens. Defence demands continuity, competence and bipartisanship—not politics. The new committee must follow the proven model of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, and membership should rightly be limited to government and opposition parties, as has been the convention for more than two decades in relation to the PJCIS. We believe that appointing the Greens or Independents would politicise classified defence matters and undermine trust with our allies.