24 June 2013
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus QC today welcomed the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security report examining potential reforms to Australia’s National Security Legislation.
The Government will now carefully consider the detailed report, including all forty-three recommendations, before making any decisions on potential legislative changes.
All communication interception activities and access to telecommunications data carried out by Australian Government agencies are conducted in strict accordance with Australian law. In Australia, the privacy of communications is protected by the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (the Interception Act).
Early last year the Government referred potential changes to these and other national security laws to the Committee for Inquiry because huge technological change has occurred over the past 30 years since the legislation was enacted.
“The current interception regime is over 30 years old. Reviewing the legislation to ensure it contains necessary, effective, proportionate powers consistent with our international human rights obligations and privacy protection will require much more discussion before any reforms can be introduced into Parliament.
“The recent events in Boston and London highlight the ongoing threat of terrorism and the need to ensure our intelligence agencies have the tools they need to keep Australians safe and secure.
The public interest in this Inquiry was significant, with the Committee receiving 240 submissions, 27 exhibits and conducting a number of public and classified hearings. The report has taken the Committee over a year to complete.
“This Inquiry was part of this Government’s plan to engage more broadly with the community on national security issues and to ascertain the views of experts before modernising our national security legislation,” Mr Dreyfus said.
“Unlike the Howard Government, the Gillard Government wanted to give the public a say in the development of any new laws, which is why we asked the Committee to involve the public in its Inquiry.
“The Committee has given the green light to further work being undertaken on most of the proposals, yet the extensive nature of the recommendations means that there is a lot more work to be done.
“The next, important step will be to develop a package of detailed measures for further public consultation.
“This will be particularly important for areas such as the communications interception and access regime, where the Committee has recommended a comprehensive review of the relevant legislation.
“The Committee did not make a recommendation in relation to whether Australia should pursue a data retention regime, but the Committee did make a number of recommendations in relation to the details of a potential data retention regime.
“Accordingly, the Government will not pursue a mandatory data retention regime at this time and will await further advice from the departments and relevant agencies and comprehensive consultation.
“I welcome the Committee’s support for a security framework for the telecommunications sector to ensure that it is robust and resilient and I note that the Committee has recommended a Regulation Impact Statement be developed that takes into account regulatory overlap and impacts on competition.
“The Committee also supported the majority of the proposed measures to modernise and improve laws relating to Australian intelligence agencies, recognising that any changes to the powers of these agencies must be accompanied by the appropriate checks and balances and oversight mechanisms society rightly demands.
“I thank the Committee and its Chair Anthony Byrne for engaging with a wide range of stakeholders to give people a say about the shape of national security laws.”
The report is available at: www.aph.gov.au
