Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Albanese government is committed to ensuring strong and appropriate oversight of our nation's intelligence agencies. These agencies play a critical role in keeping Australians safe and in protecting Australia's national interest. Effective oversight of these agencies is critical to building and maintaining trust among Australians, something I'm very cognisant of as the chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. Our committee—the PJCIS, as it's known—plays an important role in the oversight of agencies comprising our intelligence community including ASIO, ASIS, AGO, DIO, ASD and ONI. The role we play in the oversight of these agencies as parliamentarians is critical to ensuring their activity and their powers meet community expectations.

In this place we often talk about the declining trust in democratic institutions and government in an abstract way, as if it's effect is only realised in key moments of cumulative disruption. But it is critical to the everyday work of these agencies that we in the government and the dedicated public servants who dedicate their careers and lives to our national interest. Without the faith and cooperation of the broader public, their work and, as a result, our national security are by necessity weakened. This is the importance of oversight. It's not about denigrating the hardworking Australians of our national security agencies. It's not about casting them all with stereotypes from what we may see in the movies and being misinformed by that type of misinformation. It is really about empowering them to go about their work with the faith of the Australian public, who largely not only support their important work but are also immensely grateful for the contribution they make to our safety. In leading the work of the parliament's intelligence oversight committee, articulating and advancing that principle is key to its success. There is a significant amount of good faith and cooperation that goes on behind the scenes to ensure the proper oversight and trust in our agencies. And a lot of that cooperation comes from those agencies, who know this is important for the integrity of the work they do

I reflected on the bipartisan nature of the committee in the past and I would reiterate again the importance of that bipartisanship on the intelligence committee. I think it's probably true to say—this is not a comment on other committees but with the PJCIS—there has been a tradition of leaving partisan politics at the door, because all the members recognise the critical importance of the work that they do in that committee to the national interest and to our national security. That doesn't mean there's not disagreement, certainly not. In fact, there is very robust debate and very often clear differences in views on the substance of the issues, on the execution, on the outcomes and so on. But, at least in my experience on the committee, there has been a good-faith effort made by all members, regardless of their political persuasion, to work as much as possible to reach a consensus on the very important issues that we put to government because, at its heart, we recognise that the work we do is of critical importance to our national security and to our national interest. No matter what side we sit on in this place, I believe that we all share a fundamental commitment to the peace and prosperity of our nation. That's, at its core, something that we all agree upon.

That cooperation extends to our agencies themselves and the people who engage with our committee as we go about our work. I want to highlight and thank the agencies for their professionalism in engaging with our committee and other oversight bodies. The workload is already significant for the agencies. as is the workload for our committee, the PJCIS. In that light, the cooperation and assistance with the functions of the committee demonstrate the high degree of professionalism and pride that guides their work.

So I wanted to contextualise my remarks on this bill today in this way, because, having worked in the national security and foreign policy space for over two decades, I know the critical work that goes on each and every day in our security and intelligence agencies. I also know that it's often a thankless job, done behind the scenes without much fanfare and certainly with no media attention on it, or at least no big pats on the back, if you like, in a public sense. And success is often measured in prevention. It's often measured around what doesn't happen, which is always very difficult to quantify, in a sense. So, it can be and has been an easy target for criticism, sometimes misdirected, in disagreements over policy rather than matters of operational substance.

Unequivocally, I want to recognise and thank the members of all of our intelligence, security and national security agencies today. No-one really needs to tell us how important their work is. I know how important their work is. They go about their job every day, intentionally forgoing recognition or public praise to get the job done. That's really important to recognise. I also want the agencies and the some 8,000 public servants—and that's what they are: 'servants' of the nation—to know that in legislating oversight arrangements your contribution is highly regarded and appreciated in this place. Supporting the work that those intelligence agencies do—all of those 8,000 public servants—and the Australian public's faith in it are key objectives of the federal government.

The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, the IGIS, plays a critical role in overseeing the activities of Australian intelligence agencies through looking at the legality, the propriety and the consistency of human rights as well. This bill that we are debating amends the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Act 1986, the IGIS Act, and makes consequential amendments to related Commonwealth legislation to clarify and strengthen the IGIS's powers. The vast majority of the measures in this bill have been previously reviewed and unanimously supported by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, the PJCIS—our committee. This bill will ensure that the IGIS's current legislative framework is adapted to contemporary circumstances and continues to facilitate effective oversight. As I said upon presentation of the PJCIS report on our inquiry into this bill in the House, the committee expressed its support for the measures in the bill that will enhance the oversight of Australia's intelligence agencies by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security.

This bill will provide IGIS officials with powers to access information that is required as part of their oversight role. It includes the power to enter and remain on any premises, to have full and free access to any information and to make copies or take extracts from documents held by those agencies. It also improves information-sharing mechanisms, ensuring that the IGIS is able to share information, subject to appropriate safeguards, with other Commonwealth integrity bodies, including the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

These amendments will support integrity bodies to obtain information that is required for their oversight purposes and strengthen the IGIS's ability to coordinate with other integrity bodies. They will also make clear that the IGIS has the ability to inquire into human rights related issues in the absence of a referral from the Australian Human Rights Commission, which has been the previous practice. It required the Human Rights Commission to refer any particular case to the IGIS. As someone who has spoken out numerous times in parliament and in public about the promotion and protection of human rights, I will note how much I support this reform which makes clear our commitment to advancing the cause of human rights not only abroad but also here at home

This bill also provides important protections for whistleblowers to fully disclose information to the IGIS without fear of breaching strict secrecy provisions or committing an offence. This will facilitate continued effective oversight by ensuring IGIS officials can receive and have full access to the information they require to perform their oversight role.

I commend the Attorney-General for his role in advancing these critical reforms and I extend my thanks to those who participated in the PJCIS inquiry into this bill, many of whom also play an important role in defending our national security. I commend the Albanese government for its strong commitment to Australia's national security and to strengthening faith in our institutions with these appropriate oversight mechanisms. Again, I thank the 8,000 people who work in the intelligence and security community for their commitment, their dedication and their work, which often is not praised publicly, as I said earlier, and not even noticed or talked about publicly but which plays such an important role in advancing Australia's national interests and keeping Australians safe.

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