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

I move amendment (35) on sheet 6181:

(35)  Schedule 8, page 47 (line 1) to page 74 (line 33), omit the Schedule, substitute:

Schedule 8—Repeal of the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004

1  The whole of the Act

Repeal the Act.

Senators will probably be pleased to discover that this is the last batch of amendments I will be seeking to move to this bill. Amendment (35) is probably the simplest amendment I will be moving tonight. It repeals, in whole, the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004. I will confine my remarks and keep them very brief. Senators will appreciate that we have been pretty moderate in our proposals to date. This is the only large tranche of antiterrorism legislation we sought to simply repeal out of hand as being actually quite offensive to the rule of law as we understand it in Australia. If this amendment is lost—and I do not like my chances—I will move the two further amendments by leave and will then describe why we are attempting to simply repeal this offensive act in its entirety.