Mark Vaile (Lyne, National Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Inspector of Transport Security Bill 2006 is a part of this government’s commitment to ensuring safe and secure transport systems and is vital to our national security and our economic security.

A very important feature of the bill is the protections that are in place for information provided to the Inspector of Transport Security in the course of an inquiry. These protections are intended to encourage full disclosure to the inspector. The protections provide that the information gathered by the inspector generally can only be used for the purposes of the inquiry.

To provide further support for the protection of information generated or gathered in the course of an inquiry this bill amends the Freedom of Information Act 1982 to ensure that the information is exempt from a freedom of information request.

This bill gives the added protection to information that is required to encourage those that have valuable information to come forward and provide that information to assist the inspector in his inquiry without fear of it being disclosed. I commend the bill to the House.

Debate (on motion by Mr Gavan O’Connor) adjourned.