Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

A contemporary of your great-grandmother? That's very good. That's why it's so important to get it right. In fact I understand that a Labor member contacted a historian to make the point that the member for Goldstein kept mispronouncing it and was making a dill of himself, only to be lectured by the historian that in fact it is 'Gold-styne', not 'Gold-steen'.

But that's not what we're here to talk about, now that we've made that important correction. We're here to talk about the report of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security on press freedom. As you know, Deputy Speaker, I was part of that inquiry, since I am privileged to be a member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. Of course this inquiry came about as a consequence of criticism—justified, I think—of investigations into I think technically former journalist—or certainly on the road to being former journalist or at least sabbaticalled former journalist—Annika Smethurst, where there were investigations into her private home as part of uncovering the source of leaking of documents on the basis of national security.

This inquiry was justified and very relevant for a number of reasons. Firstly, because there was obviously a moment of community concern. I'm not going to try and pretend. Most of the concern came from the free press itself, but there was also community concern about making sure that the free press is not stifled. Being somebody who believes very strongly in not just free speech but also freedom of the press, I share those concerns. I don't care who sits on this side of the parliament, we must speak truth to power. Of course, I'd much prefer it be us, but, even then, I believe there must be truth speaking to power. There were difficult questions being asked, including of myself and the member for Mackellar. I know he has an awful lot to hide! That's the basis upon which I get to speak truth to power to him, but there's also, of course, the Prime Minister and everybody else. In the end, there is nothing more that humans should be concerned about than concentrations of power—economic power or political power, because they are the first be abused. It's one of the core reasons why I'm a Liberal. I can never understand why anybody would want to sit on the other side of this chamber and believe in any other value, because every other political system is anchored around concentrations of power to the benefit of a few and at the expense of the many. We are focused on the many. That is why we believe so strongly in a free press. That's why the minister called this inquiry, that's why the committee, led by a Liberal chair, conducted it, and that's why we came up with such important recommendations.

The second reason I believe in this inquiry is that it does not matter where you are. Even if there are no events, there are important issues that should be revisited from time to time, on both sides of the ledger. What we confronted in this inquiry weren't just issues about freedom of the press, although that is very important and we need to make sure the laws are tinkered in the digital age and are appropriate and contextual to our times; we also looked at the apparatus and the provisions around national security laws and the classification of documents, and whether that was relevant for the 21st century. The report made a series of recommendations looking at reviews, consistent with what has previously been done. Other recommendations were proposed about making sure we have correct classifications of documents so that, if there is information that goes through the appropriate steps or through whistleblowers, legitimately, to appropriate authorities, that information can't be suppressed when it might simply be embarrassing to the government. It needs to have a standard met, at a level that we all would reasonably accept, that it can't be released unless it's on the basis that it breaches national security. That's a good thing. I really support that. I always have a concern that people in positions of power and authority will classify documents or—

A division having been called in the House of Representatives—

Sitting suspended from 16:42 to 17:03

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