Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, I present the committee's report on the inquiry into the authorisation of access to telecommunications data to identify a journalist's source.

Report made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—I am pleased to present this short report which formally concludes the committee's inquiry into the authorisation of access to telecommunications data to identify a journalist's source. The committee's inquiry followed its earlier completion of an inquiry into the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill 2014. In its report on the bill the committee had recommended that it be tasked with undertaking a separate inquiry on the 'question of how to deal with the authorisation of a disclosure or use of telecommunications data for the purpose of determining the identity of a journalist's source'. Since the referral of that inquiry, however, amendments were made to this bill to introduce a journalist information warrant regime and to establish the position of a public interest advocate for the purpose of making submissions to the warrant issuing authority.

The amended bill also provides that the committee will be notified of the issuing of any journalist information warrants and will have the opportunity to request briefings from the Commonwealth Ombudsman or the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security on any reports produced in relation to those warrants or authorisations. The number of journalist information warrants and the number of authorisations issued under those warrants will also be included in an annual report which the committee will be able to review. The bill as amended was passed by the parliament on 26 March 2015. Given these developments, the committee determined to conclude its formal inquiry on the matter. I commend the report to the House.

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