Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Goldstein for her amendments and for her constructive engagement on this legislation. The bill contains safeguards to protect the identities of journalists' sources and uphold the public interest associated with a free press. Journalists and their employers would not be required to do anything under the bill that would disclose the identity of their source or enable that identity to be ascertained.

In addition, the government has put forward amendments to further strengthen this protection in response to the recommendations of the joint select committee reviewing these bills and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights. The amendments broaden the safeguards for the protection of journalists in relation to search warrants issued under the National Anti-Corruption Commission Bill and extend protections for journalists' sources to persons assisting the journalist who are employed or engaged by the journalist's employer and persons assisting the journalist in a professional capacity, for example camera operators or administrative staff. The government does not support the proposed amendment.

See this speech in context