Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks, Mr Speaker. Most people think of your role in terms of the management of the chamber when debate takes place. This goes quite directly to your role, in fact, as one of the shared custodians of the building with the responsibility of keeping people who are here safe. We would all wish that security arrangements could be as they were when some of us first arrived, but, particularly given the events in some international parliaments, we needed to significantly improve the quality of security and that gave rise to new forms of security that, by definition of what they are, accumulate data. We need to make sure that the rules of privilege can be extended in different ways to that data.

I thank the Speaker for the engagement. It's been constructive. I know from conversations with the Leader of the House, it's been constructive for the government, and it's certainly been constructive for the opposition. I thank you for the engagement on how the new electronic access control system interacts with privilege. In the area of safety within the building, it really is vitally important to have bipartisan agreement, and we have that right now. There's nothing more important, in terms of making sure that this place can function, than parliamentary privilege remaining protected as well. The place doesn't work without it. It doesn't work without a few other things, but that's not for this speech.

The implementation of the system is a very important upgrade to the security capabilities in the building. As you've said, this motion reiterates the principles underpinning how the security system works, while making sure that it does not interfere with the important principle of privilege. The code of practice, which is pending, will give further clarification on how the system will operate and how it should be governed. The resolution, of course, also refers to the need to update the memorandum of understanding between the parliament and the Australian Federal Police. I welcome the resolutions being put to the House in this way. I thank you for your work.

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