David Feeney (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I have addressed myself to these amendments in my earlier remarks, but I would simply supplement those by saying that it is the government’s view that this legislation does not interfere with a defendant’s right to a fair trial. I again refer the senator to the matter of R v Faheem Khalid Lodhi and the finding of the court in that matter that section 31(8) of the NSI Act is consistent with the right to a fair trial. I further point out the fact that the overriding discretion of a court to stay proceedings in certain circumstances does protect parties when those proceedings might take a form where one party is unequal to another to the point that they are prevented from adequately presenting their case. It is the government’s view that, yet again, this meets the test of exceptions that are allowed under the ICCPR.