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

The government does not support the amendments that have been moved by the member for North Sydney, but I am grateful for the support that the member for North Sydney has expressed for the bill itself. The government has given careful consideration to the breadth of the proposed exemptions and defences to ensure that the protection of privacy is appropriately balanced with other legitimate activities. The defence for conduct authorised by law would apply to conduct that is expressly authorised or impliedly authorised where the conduct is clearly necessary to carry out an activity authorised under statute. This is consistent with a similar exception to a number of the Australian privacy principles.

Exempting all journalistic material from the tort will protect the free flow of information to the public through the media. Seeking to confine the exception to material that is in the public interest would lead to arguments about the merits of publications and would only serve to increase the length and expense of court proceedings. The exemptions for enforcement bodies and intelligence agencies are intended to ensure that these entities are not unduly restricted in carrying out their legitimate functions. They recognise that, in some instances, these may need to be privacy intrusive. These agencies do have their own oversight processes and mechanisms that regulate their conduct, which are designed to suit their operating environment.

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