Andrew Wilkie (Clark, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I second the bill moved by the member for Kennedy. I agree very strongly with the member for Kennedy that no Australian security data should be in the custody of any foreign owned company. This isn't about any one particular country; this is about all countries other than our own. No defence or other security data should be in their possession. It should be in our possession.

I spoke in some detail about this matter quite recently, and I made a number of points. And, ever so briefly, I will make those points again. For Australian defence data to be in the custody of a foreign owned company is an affront to our national security. It is an affront to our sovereignty. It is an affront to Australian companies and Australian jobs. Now, I do note the Assistant Minister for Defence came into this place recently and defended the government continuing with a foreign owned company keeping our defence data. I have enormous respect for the Assistant Minister for Defence, and I thought he did a pretty good job of defending the government's position. The problem is that what he said is completely and utterly out of step with community expectations. At the end of the day, we are hired to represent the community. We have a three-year contract to represent the community, and it does not represent the community to allow a foreign owned company to have our defence data in their custody.

As the member for Kennedy and I have often remarked, you can't make this stuff up. It's just an absurdity. You can't make it up that we've got a foreign owned company storing our defence data. It must stop and the member for Kennedy's bill would ensure that. I call on the government and the opposition to support this bill.

Debate adjourned.

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