Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move Australian Greens amendment (3) on sheet 5792:

(3)    Schedule 1, item 2, page 3 (lines 7 to 18), item to be opposed.

Amendment (3) is intended to oppose item 2 of the bill, which would insert the subsection 7(2B). The Greens oppose this proposed subsection, which would allow a document in the possession of a minister to be automatically exempt from operation of the Freedom of Information Act when it has originated with or been received from defence or security agencies. Regardless of the government’s protestations that this subsection is merely to correct an anomaly, I believe this subsection in effect is an expansion of the exemptions from the existing act, which we opposed in our previous set of amendments. I commend this amendment to the Senate.