Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

in reply—I thank the members who have contributed to this debate—they include the members for Brisbane, Kingston, Holt, Canberra and Hotham. I agree very strongly with the comments made by way of introduction by the member for Brisbane. These are issues about balancing very important protection measures with appropriate safeguards. In fact, the ASIO Legislation Amendment Bill 2006 reflects the government’s agreement that where there were further suggestions that could be helpful they would be pursued. This bill adds rights and safeguards which apply to the subjects of questioning. The warrant regime will provide for an expanded role of the prescribed authority in directing proceedings and enhance the ability of lawyers to represent their clients.

I say this very deliberately because, if you are going to argue about balance, sometimes there is room for differences of view, but it is very important to start understanding where the balance is. It may have been a mistake by the member for Hotham that he suggested in his comments, when I came back into the House, that somebody could be questioned for seven days. The period is 24 hours with a further extension in particular circumstances. It has not been seven days. I simply make the point it is something that can be done over a period of seven days but they are in individual periods within that time. The member for Brisbane also made—

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