Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Of course there is not, and that was another example of a failure to understand how this place works. This is a Senate chamber in the Australian democracy and its job is to get information and to make decisions based on that information. Here we have an ASIO headquarters building with the secret service upfront wanting to grandstand on Lake Burley Griffin with its building as a monument—to the spying agency in Australia, which we need and agree to. But it is seeking a different form of review—that is, no review—of its place within the Parliamentary Triangle. It is our job, and there has been a furore about this in the ACT, to get information and make sure we are acquainted with this building and how it fits in with the architecture of this great city. What Senator Troeth and presumably other colleagues are saying is, ‘No, ASIO is exempted from the purview and the scrutiny of the Senate.’ That is a fundamental failure to understand the role of democracy. We are in charge here, not the secret service agents, and if they want to put a building at the forefront of this city it should be under the scrutiny of this parliament and this Senate. It is an abrogation of duty for the opposition or the government to say otherwise.

Question agreed to.